Before my first trip, I also thought the main thing was to buy a ticket, arrange the visa and bring my passport.
In practice, it turned out that before entering Indonesia, it is better to prepare a few more things. Some of them are part of the official requirements, while others simply save a lot of time after arrival.
If you hold a passport from another country, do not rely only on someone else’s document checklist.
On the official Indonesian immigration website, you can select your passport country and see which entry options are available specifically for you: Check the requirements for your nationality
Rules can change, so this is one source I would check before every new trip.
Passport
For entry with a Visa on Arrival, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date you arrive in Indonesia.
It sounds obvious, but this is exactly the kind of thing that is better checked before the evening before your flight.
Visa
For Russian citizens, at the time of this article’s update, Visa on Arrival — VOA is available.
You can arrange it in two ways:
- online in advance as an e-VOA;
- after arriving in Indonesia.
A standard VOA allows you to stay in Indonesia for up to 30 days. It can be extended once, for a maximum total stay of 60 days.
The official VOA fee is 500,000 IDR.
If you arrange an e-VOA in advance, you do not need to stand in a separate visa queue after arrival.
For this, it is better to use the official visa selection tool rather than rely on visa names from old guides. Immigration rules change.
Return ticket or onward ticket
For Visa on Arrival, you need a ticket confirming that you intend to leave Indonesia.
This can be:
- a return ticket;
- an onward ticket to another country.
Sometimes you may hear:
“No one asked me for it at all.”
Maybe.
But that does not change the official list of requirements.
If you are planning to extend your stay after arrival, it is still better to have a ticket at the time of entry that matches the conditions of your current visa. Rather than hoping that you, specifically, will not be asked.
Trust me, you will be the one they ask))
All Indonesia
Before entering the country, you need to complete the electronic All Indonesia declaration.
It currently combines information for:
- immigration;
- customs;
- health;
- quarantine control.
The form can be completed starting 3 days before arrival in Indonesia.
After completing it, save the QR code.
I would actually take a screenshot in advance. After a long flight, the last thing you want to do is search for the right email or try to remember where you saved the document.
Bali tourist levy
Bali has one additional rule that does not apply when travelling to other parts of Indonesia.
Foreign tourists are required to pay a tourist levy of 150,000 IDR per person.
It is paid through the official Love Bali service.
Some visa and residence permit categories are exempt, so here too, it is better to check the conditions for your specific status shortly before travelling.
After payment, save the confirmation.
Proof of accommodation
When we entered Indonesia, we were asked to show our accommodation booking.
So before the flight, I would save:
- the name of the hotel, villa or apartment;
- the address;
- booking confirmation;
- contact details for the accommodation or host.
Even if no one asks you to open the booking specifically, you will still need the accommodation address when completing documents and after arrival.
What I would save on my phone before departure
I would put everything into one folder instead of leaving documents scattered across different emails and chats:
- passport details;
- visa or e-VOA;
- return ticket or onward ticket;
- All Indonesia QR code;
- tourist levy confirmation, if required;
- accommodation booking;
- accommodation address.
And I would take screenshots of anything that might be needed immediately after landing.
Not because Bali is incredibly complicated.
It is simply much nicer after a long flight to open one folder, show the document you need and keep going, rather than figure everything out at the airport.
Official sources
For visas and entry rules: Immigration Indonesia — check visa options by nationality
For the mandatory pre-arrival declaration: All Indonesia
For the Bali tourist levy: Love Bali — the official service of the Bali Provincial Government.
Before travelling, it is worth checking all three sources again, even if you have already been to Indonesia before.
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Officially, I'm an editor of city media around the world. But really, I'm just that traveling frog who chases adventures, connects people, and discovers new ways to make life a little more meaningful, exciting, and full of wonder every day
