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. (cst) `