Ministry of Law and Human Rights Agrees on Visa-Free Entry for Kazakhstan and Macau
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Coordinating Ministry for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Services has agreed to provide Visa-Free Visit (BVK) facilities for Kazakhstan and Macau, during a coordination meeting in Jakarta on Monday (11/5).
Acting Assistant Deputy for Coordinating Immigration Service Strategies at the Coordinating Ministry for Law and Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Services, Herdaus, stated that the policy of granting BVK facilities must still consider the principles of prudence and reciprocity.
“This is important given that there are still countries that do not provide similar facilities to Indonesian citizens,” said Herdaus during the meeting, as quoted from a statement confirmed in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, proposals for BVK for Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand still require further study before being designated as BVK subject countries.
According to him, discussions on BVK policy must be conducted carefully, considering various national strategic aspects, such as balancing service ease, tourism sector growth, and national security aspects.
Therefore, he said, cross-ministerial and institutional coordination is important so that the policies taken remain aligned with national interests.
The event was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services (Imipas), Ministry of Law, as well as other related ministries and institutions.
The discussion focused on proposals to add BVK facilities for Macau, Kazakhstan, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, as well as proposals for Visa on Arrival (VoA) for holders of permanent resident status from Australia.
The Ministry of Tourism stated that BVK policy is an important instrument to increase foreign tourist visits and support national tourism sector growth. The government targets the number of foreign tourist visits to return to 16 million as before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services also emphasised the importance of implementing selective policies and strengthening screening of foreign nationals to prevent potential misuse of BVK facilities.
Therefore, every proposal needs to be comprehensively studied, considering economic benefits, immigration supervision aspects, and its impact on bilateral relations between countries.
Through cross-ministerial and institutional coordination, the Coordinating Ministry for Law and Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Services continues to promote adaptive, selective immigration policies that support national interests.