Govt delays implementation of new visa policy again

Govt delays implementation of new visa policy again

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has again postponed the implementation of the new
policy revoking the visa-on-arrival facility extended to
nationals of 48 countries, saying the President must consider
opposition from tourism industry players.

The implementation of the controversial policy had earlier
been delayed on Oct. 1 because its operational regulations had
not yet been issued.

Ade E. Dachlan, spokesman for the Directorate General of
Immigration, said on Thursday that the justice ministry was
currently discussing with the tourism ministry the formulation of
the implementation guidelines, particularly those concerning the
pay-visa-on-arrival procedures and the fee to be charged for a
visa application.

"The tourism industry wants US$20 while the justice ministry
proposes $35. We're close to an agreement."

He said the justice ministry planned to adopt a simple
visa-on-arrival procedure, as applied in Thailand, which only
took an applicant several minutes to obtain his or her visa.

"Immigration officers just seal a special stamp on the
visa-on-arrival form after visitors pay a sum of money there,"
Ade said.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed the decree on the new
visa policy on March 31, which was expected to come into effect
six months after signing. The government later said it would take
effect on Dec. 1.

But Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra
confirmed recently that the new visa regulation would not be
operational on schedule.

"It will not take effect this year. Perhaps in January as the
President needs time to think about it," Yusril told reporters at
his office.

He said a noted senior economist, who he refused to identify,
was responsible for the postponement of the policy for asking
Megawati to take the opposition of the country's tourism industry
players into account.

"But, I will stick to the stance," Yusril asserted, claiming
that the policy was supported by other ministries, particularly
the foreign affairs ministry which initiated it.

He reiterated the visa-free facility was supposed to be given
on a reciprocity basis, meaning that Indonesia would only grant
it to citizens of other countries that provide the same service
to Indonesians.

Consequently, the government has removed citizens from some
two thirds of 48 countries, including Australia and Japan, from
recipients of the visa-free facility despite the fact that they
have contributed a lot to the tourism industry.

Under the new policy, nationals from certain countries will be
entitled to a non-extendible visa-upon-arrival at a port of
entry, while those from other countries must apply for regular
visas from Indonesian consulates and embassies in their home
countries.

The new policy cuts the length of the free-visa-on-arrival
stay from 60 days to 30 days. The new pay-visa-on-arrival would
also only allow visitors to stay here for 30 days.

The decree permits short free-visa-on-arrival visits for the
nationals of 11 countries, namely Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,
Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Chile,
Morocco, Turkey and Peru.

Turkey was later deleted from the list because the country no
longer imposed the visa-free-facility on Indonesians.

The immigration office replaced it with Vietnam, which will no
longer require Indonesians to apply for visa to visit the
neighboring country starting from Dec. 4.