I recently returned from Bali. It was my first trip to Bali in around 9 years, and a lot has changed since then.
Back in the day, you would get a full-page visa in your passport – after queuing for around an hour in the airport, or, alternatively paying someone to fast-track you through the proceedings.
Nowadays, as with many other countries, Indonesian immigration can all be done online. This is a massive improvement, and we recently breezed through immigration in Bali in less than 5 minutes!
But. This is only possible if you are well prepared before you arrive. (It is still possible to do Visa on Arrival, but you need to be prepared to queue).
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So here is exactly what you need to do to get prepared and make your arrival into Denpasar airport as quick, easy and pain-free as possible.
NOTE: All of the below is assuming you are travelling to Bali for less than 30 days.
IMPORTANT: You need to have a minimum of 6 months’ validity on your passport to enter Indonesia.
The Four Steps to Bali Immigration Online
- Visa On Arrival
- Electronic Customs Declaration
- Health Pass
- Tourism Levy
Step 1: Visa On Arrival
You can still do Visa on Arrival at the airport: just join the queue at the airport when you land. However, I highly recommend doing this online before you go to save time.
This can be done up to 90 days prior to your date of entry to Indonesia. The cost is 500,000 IDR (approximately $50 AUD).
The good news is, Indonesian immigration has introduced a new website, which makes applying for an online Visa on Arrival is now even easier than before.
Only use this official Indonesia Immigration website. There are other websites online that will charge you a premium for processing your visa, or worse still will take your money and run!
This is the new website: https://evisa.imigrasi.go.id/web/application_bvk
NOTE: I couldn’t get this website to work on my phone, only my laptop. So if you’re having trouble using it on your phone or iPad, try using a computer (as long as it has a camera as you need this to scan the passport).
Choose Visa type – B1. Then use the website to scan the bottom of your passport and it will automatically fill in all the details. Follow the following steps:
- Carefully check the details it has entered are correct and tick each box next to it.
- For airport, choose Bandara Internasional Ngurah Rai airport.
- For City, choose KAB BADUNG or KOTA DENPASAR, and it will autofill the province to Bali.
- Pay online (you can choose to pay on arrival at the counter but it is much quicker just to pay now online)
The visa is usually issued immediately or within 24 hours. I recommend taking a note of your application number in case you need to contact them.
Don’t have a camera to scan the passport? You can use the old website: https://evisa.imigrasi.go.id/
However, this requires you to upload scanned copies of your passport, passport photos etc and takes a lot longer. You may as well just queue up and do Visa on Arrival at the airport.
Step 2: Electronic Customs Declaration (ECD)
The Electronic Customs Declaration (ECD) can be done in the 3 days prior to arrival in Indonesia. You will need to fill in all your passport details again. There is NO CHARGE for doing this.
This is the website: https://ecd.beacukai.go.id
You can fill in the form for you and anybody travelling with you.
You will be given a QR code. Either print this up or save it somewhere accessible on your phone as you will need to scan it before you can leave the airport.
Step 3: Bali Tourist Levy
The Bali Touris Levy can be paid up to 180 days prior to your arrival into Bali. The cost is 150,000 IDR (approximately $15 AUD).
This is the website: https://lovebali.baliprov.go.id/
Step 4: SatuSehat Health Pass Declaration
The final step is the Health Pass Declaration. It basically asks you questions about your travel history prior to arriving in Indonesia and about your current state of health.
It can be completed within 3 days prior to arriving, but once you have your seat number on the flight, so usually once you have checked in for your flight to Bali.
This is the website: https://sshp.kemkes.go.id
And that’s it! It sounds like a lot of steps, but the websites are generally easy to use, and it saves you SO much time at the airport and you can smuggly walk past everyone in the immigration queue as you breeze through the e-Gates.
Frequently Asked Questions:
All travellers aged 6 and above can use the e-Gates. Travelling with kids under the age of 6? I still recommend doing the visa online, although you will need to go to the counter. They were fast-tracking families with young kids when we went through.
You have two options: You can extend your B1 Visa (one time only) for a further 30 days for an additional 500K IDR, ginving you a total of 60 days. Or you can apply for a C1 60-Day Tourist Visa. This costs 1 million IDR for the initial visa and can be extended twice for 60 days each time, giving you a total of 180 days.
If you are travelling outside of Indonesia, then yes, you will need to apply for (and pay for) a Visa each time you enter the country. If you are travelling on to another part of Indonesia, eg. Lombok, Gili Islands, Yogyakarta, then you do not need to apply for another Visa.
Yes you can, just be prepared to queue.