RI says visa-on-arrival facility for Chinese tourists on reciprocal basis
RI says visa-on-arrival facility for Chinese tourists on reciprocal basis
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian government will issue visas on
arrival to Chinese tourists arriving in Indonesia only if the
country does the same thing for Indonesians, a senior tourism
official said here on Tuesday.
"The Chinese government must consider our requirements because
visas should be provided under a reciprocal principle," tourism
and the arts deputy state minister I Gde Ardika said.
The law and legislation ministry is formulating a policy to
ease immigration rules applying to Chinese people visiting
Indonesia in response to President Abdurrahman Wahid's official
visit to China late last year.
Whilst there, Abdurrahman blasted Indonesia's overly strict
immigration regulations for Chinese citizens entering Indonesia.
Indonesia and China resumed diplomatic ties in 1990. They had
been frozen since 1967, two years after an abortive communist
coup that Indonesia claimed involved China.
Ardika said his office had proposed to the law and legislation
ministry that Chinese tourists be given a visa free facility, an
immigration incentive, which allows foreigners to stay in
Indonesia for a maximum of two months for traveling, conventions
and business talks without a visa.
"But, the facility will be granted only if China does the same
thing," he said.
The visa free facility is currently given to citizens from 48
countries, including the United States, Australia, the
Netherlands, Britain, Japan, Ireland, Germany, Kuwait, Malaysia,
Singapore, Egypt, Mexico, France, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates, Greece and Hong Kong, enabling them to enter Indonesia
without having to obtain a visa prior to arrival.
Separately, the head of the program and planning division of
the Directorate of Immigration, Taswem Tareb, said, however, his
office was considering reviewing the facility.
At a seminar on visa facilities for tourists on Tuesday, he
said that the length of stay allowed for visitors using this
facility would likely be reduced from 60 days to an average of 15
days.
Taswem also said it was likely that several of the 48
countries currently given visa free facilities would lose the
privilege.
"We have to review the facility because it has been abused by
many foreigners, who are using it to find jobs here as
consultants, language tutors, lawyers or anything," he said.
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