Govt to revamp visa policy again
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Following massive protests from the local tourist industry, the Indonesian government says it is considering granting 23 countries, including the United States, Japan and Australia, with a visa-on-arrival facility.
The facility is part of a new visa policy that will take effect on Dec. 1.
The new policy will also exempt citizens of 10 countries or territories -- that have already granted Indonesians with visa- free entries -- from having to apply for a visa for visiting Indonesia, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said.
Nationals from countries other than the two above categories are required to apply for a visa through conventional procedures.
"At the next Cabinet meeting, President Megawati will decide which countries (of the 23 countries) will be given the visa-on- arrival facility," Yusril told reporters at a press conference at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs.
During the press conference, Yusril was flanked by Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The new policy, which was initially scheduled to take effect this October, excludes visitors from 10 countries, mostly in Southeast Asia. They are nationals from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Chile, Morocco and Peru.
Regarding the controversial amount of fees for the visa-on- arrival facility, Yusril said that the government would determine the amount at the next Cabinet meeting.
The amount of fees has been a source of controversy after the government, through its Presidential Decree No. 18/2003 dated on March 31 this year, stipulates that visitors must pay US$30 for a visa when entering Indonesia.
The visa fee has triggered massive protests, especially in Bali last month, where thousands of local tourism players staged a street rally protesting the policy. They said the policy would badly hurt domestic tourism industries who had yet to recover from the Bali bombings and the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta.
The number of arrivals nationwide in the first four months of this year dropped by almost 20 percent compared with a year earlier.
Yusril said that the granting of the facility was also based on reciprocity and mutual benefit principles.
"The visa-on-arrival policy is not given to countries that do not grant Indonesian citizens the same conditions with the policy," said Yusril.
Meanwhile, the number of tourists a foreign country contributes to Indonesia is another consideration behind the government's decision to grant or not to grant the visa-on- arrival facility.
The new visa policy replaced Presidential Decree No. 15/1983, which granted free visas to nationals of 48 countries. It also reduced the length of stay, from 60 days to 30 days. Only after strong protests from domestic tourist industry that the government agreed to loosen the policy and agreed to grant a visa-on-arrival facility to the 23 countries.
In Tuesday's meeting, State Minister of Tourism I Gde Ardika suggested that the length of stay for tourists be extended to 45 days. The government has yet to respond to his proposal.
The visa-on-arrival facility will be available at seven airports, including the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta and Polonia Airport in Medan, North Sumatra and several seaports, including Tanjung Priok in Jakarta and Belawan, North Sumatra.
Countries short-listed for visa-on-arrival facility
1. The United States 2. The United Kingdom 3. South Africa 4. Argentina 5. Brazil 6. Denmark 7. United Arab Emirates 8. Finland 9. Hungary 10. Australia 11. Italy 12. Japan 13. Germany 14. Canada 15. South Korea 16. Norway 17. France 18. Poland 19. Spain 20. Russia 21. Switzerland 22. New Zealand 23. Taiwan