Australia welcomes Indonesian tourists

I wish to clarify a number of points in your article RI ponders fees for visas on arrival of Nov. 3. 2000 edition.

Australia welcomes Indonesian tourists and encourages genuine tourists to travel to Australia. Nine out of ten visa applications are approved and most take between two to three working days to process (business visas are normally done immediately).

The application fee for a tourist visa is currently Rp 310,000. As the fee is non-refundable, applicants should provide as much information as possible to help ensure success. It is particularly important that all of the questions on the visa application form be completed accurately. Further information on Australia's visa requirements is available from our webpage: http:///www.austembjak.or.id or the Visa and Immigration Section of the Australian Embassy which is open between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday.

There is a lot of interest from people wanting to go to Australia in the coming months so we encourage people to apply for their visa now as we are quickly approaching our peak season.

JOSE ALVAREZ

Counsellor (Immigration)

Australian Embassy

Jakarta