Govt to reject new visa-free facility plan
Govt to reject new visa-free facility plan
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza
Mahendra has said the government would probably reject the idea
proposed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to give a visa-
free facility for foreigners from some 20 countries in Europe and
Africa.
According to Yusril, the government has adequate reasons to
abandon the proposal of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
which was aimed at boosting the number of foreign tourists
entering the country.
The 20 countries have no diplomatic relations with Indonesia
and some of them, such as Bulgaria, are still in crisis, he told
The Jakarta Post after attending a pre-Christmas gathering at his
office late on Friday.
"If we give a visa-free facility to the troubled countries, it
would just bring new problems for us," he said.
Yusril also doubted the willingness of the Ministry of Culture
and Tourism to take responsibility should visitors from the 20
countries make trouble in Indonesia.
"They (the ministry) might simply leave the responsibility to
the immigration authorities," he said. In Indonesia, immigration
is under the supervision of Yusril's office.
"The quarantine costs are not cheap for accommodating foreign
visitors prior to deportation to their countries.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism would never take
responsibility for this. So, we must be careful," Yusril warned.
The proposal, therefore, needs to be cautiously considered
before it becomes effective and causes other problems, he added.
Yusril's office has been considering charging fees for the
issuance of visas upon arrival for tourists from 47 countries,
which have long enjoyed the visa-free facility granted by
Indonesia.
But he insisted on Saturday that the government did not have
the intention of taxing foreign visitors to Indonesia.
"What we are doing is reviewing the visa-free policy for a
two-month visit," Yusril said.
The planned policy should be carried out since Indonesians
traveling overseas have been receiving unfair treatment in which
they have to pay quite a large amount of money for visas to enter
any of the 47 countries.
Under the new planned policy, visitors from these countries
could simply come directly with their passports without having to
secure a visa from the Indonesian representative office in their
countries.
"They can get their visa upon arrival at any destination
across the country," he said.
Separately, Director General of Immigration M. Mudakir told
reporters at his office on Friday that the scheme of charging
visa fees upon arrival was being discussed by a small team in
Bogor over the past two days.
Mudakir said the results of the discussion would be forwarded
to the office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Social
and Security Affairs pending a cabinet decision.
He said, the planned fee to be charged for the visa on arrival
was only US$50, while the length of the visit would be reduced
from 60 days to at least 30 days. (01)