More countries get visa facility<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
In a further reversal of the previous administration's highly
\nrestrictive visa policy, the government has extended visa-on-
\narrival facilities to 14 more countries in an effort to help the
\ncountry's tourism industry.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin said at a
\nmedia conference on Friday that the decision had been made after
\na screening process was conducted involving an assessment of
\ncommercial benefits and security aspects.<\/p>\n
\"There was a protracted debate about it. The tourism industry
\nproposed a number of countries based on frequency of visits here
\nby their citizens. But not all of them have been included as we
\nalso had to consider the security aspects,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Following the decision, the number of countries that have been
\ngranted the facility now stands at 34.<\/p>\n
The government has set a target of attracting more than six
\nmillion foreign tourists to Indonesia this year.<\/p>\n
The government introduced the visa-on-arrival policy last year
\nafter it revoked the visa-free facility for nationals from 48
\ncountries. It initially extended the on-arrival facility to 12
\ncountries, and later increased the number to 22.<\/p>\n
But the policy had been roundly criticized by the tourism
\nindustry, which says that it only serves to discourage foreign
\ntourists from coming here.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Hamid said the government had also extended the
\nlength of stay permitted on a US$10 on-arrival visa from three
\ndays to seven.<\/p>\n
A 30-day on-arrival visa is available to tourists at a cost of
\n$25.<\/p>\n
The government also announced that from now on overseas
\nnationals could enter the country through Bintang Pura port in
\nTanjung Pinang. This brings to 17 the number of ports and
\nairports across the country where on-arrival visas are available.<\/p>\n
Among the airports are Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta
\nInternational Airport; Polonia Airport in Medan, North Sumatra; I
\nGusti Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali; Tabing Airport in
\nPadang, West Sumatra; Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, North
\nSulawesi; and Juanda Airport in Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
On-arrival visas are also available at the ports of Tanjung
\nPriok in Jakarta, Tanjung Perak in Surabaya and Benoa in Bali.<\/p>\n
I-box<\/p>\n
Additional countries granted visa-on-arrival facilities<\/p>\n
Austria
\nBelgium
\nEgypt
\nIndia
\nIreland
\nKuwait
\nLuxembourg
\nMaldives
\nPeople's Republic of China
\nPortugal
\nQatar
\nRussia
\nSpain
\nSaudi Arabia<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-countries-get-visa-facility-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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