Ahead of international events in Indonesia, the Directorate General of Immigration has officially issued sports visas and music and art visas.
Sports visas and music and art visas are specifically intended for foreign tourists for sports activities, as well as music and art performances.
This good news was announced directly by the Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim in Jakarta on Thursday, 14th September 2023.
Karim said that the issuance of sports visas and music and art visas was aimed at welcoming international events which will be held in Indonesia in the near future.
“We are taking this momentum. Soon many international events will be held. In October we have MotoGP, in November we have the Coldplay Concert and the U-17 World Cup,” said Karim.
“We are simplifying the visa requirements for sports visa and music and arts visa so that Indonesia becomes a destination country that is taken into account for international sports and music events,” he added.
Karim said that through this visa the Directorate General of Immigration will simplify the application requirements for foreign athletes and artists.
So that in the future, official athlete teams, event organisers or international artist promoters will no longer need to attach difficult requirements documents.
These include a labour permit, a Police Record Certificate and a certificate of at least five years of work experience.
The decision regarding the requirements for sports visas and music and arts visas is not without reason. This was initiated based on the consideration that foreign athletes and artists usually only work for a short time in Indonesia.
Apart from the time period, the work context of arts and sports practitioners also has a competitive effect on the local workforce.
Applications for sports visas and music and art visas can also be accessed online via the evisa.imigration.go.id page.
“Is it necessary for an athlete of Cristiano Ronaldo’s level to play exhibition football in Indonesia to require a Police Record Certificate? Is it true that if Coldplay wants to have a concert in Jakarta, we require a minimum of five years of work experience? That’s the irrelevant requirement that we removed,” Karim noted.
He added that the presence of sports visas and music and arts visas could encourage progress for Indonesia.
So that in the future, Indonesia can hold more sporting events or music performances on an international scale.
Therefore, Karim really hopes that in the future Indonesia can also become a magnet for foreign tourists, not only for holidays but also to come to watch international sports matches and music concerts in Indonesia.
“What has happened so far is that Indonesian citizens have flocked to watch concerts in Singapore, Thailand, Australia and even Japan, so we are simplifying the requirements so that event organisers are increasingly interested in holding concerts in Indonesia,” explained Karim.
“So many foreigners come to Indonesia to watch shows, which can bring in foreign exchange and from the Indonesian side there is no need to fly overseas to watch concerts or sporting events.”