Stay More than 30 Days in Bali: Getting a Visa on Arrival (VoA)

First things first, citizens from 169 countries are allowed to travel to Indonesia visa-free for up to 30 days. 

If you want to stay longer, citizens from these countries have the option to get a Visa on Arrival, which enables you to extend your visa for up to 60 days.

How to Get a VoA in Bali

When you land in Bali and enter the arrivals hall, instead of heading straight to the lines for immigration, follow the signs to the “Visa on Arrival Counter”. At the counter, hand over your passport and pay the 500,000 IDR ($35) fee. The counter accepts most major currencies (USD, GBP, Euros, SGD, etc.), but if you don’t have cash on you, don’t worry… the arrivals hall has an ATM so you can pull out the cash you need for the VoA and even some extra rupiah for the taxi ride.

Take your visa receipt and head to the separate immigration lines on the right-hand side of the arrivals hall; These lines are only for citizens and tourists who pay for a VoA, so they’re MUCH SHORTER.

Keep in mind this isn’t a 60-day visa. It’s a 30-day visa with the possibility to extend for another 30 days. So paying for the VoA at the airport is not the only thing you have to do to stay in Bali for 60 days…. Before THE 30 days are up, you have to apply for a visa extension at an immigration office.

How to Extend Your VoA

Know Before You Go:

• Get to immigration RIGHT when it opens at 8am! Seriously, if you do this you’ll be in and out of the immigration office in 10-15 minutes each time, so it’s worth getting your butt out of bed at 7am. *Except on Friday, when they open at 9am.
• *off the record: If you’re staying in Canggu area and you want to make the whole extension process less time-consuming, simply put on your application that you’re staying at a villa/hotel in Ubud so that you can go to the immigration office in Denpasar and don’t have to go all the way to Nusa Dua. They don’t check on this (someone I know VERY WELL may or may not have done this already 4 times now haha) and it seriously reduces the time you have to spend in transit to the immigration office.
• What you need to bring with you (on your first trip): blue/black pen and passport
• You’ll also need to get a photocopy of your passport, your visa page (in your passport) and a print out of your plane ticket as proof that you’re leaving the country before the 60 days are up…. but you don’t have to worry about bringing these to immigration, because you can get all of these AT immigration if you just go around the side of the building. There’s a woman who does photocopies, and the restaurant next door has a printer (so you just need data to email him your flight confirmation).
• Don’t try to extend until you’ve been in the country at least 15 days (apparently they’ll turn you away if you extend it too soon), and DEFINITELY start the process before you’ve been in the country 29 days.
  
  
  
  

To extend your VoA, you have TWO options:

Option #1: DO IT YOURSELF (500k + 3 trips to immigration)

1. FIRST VISIT

• As you walk in the front doors, immediately turn to your right and walk all the way down the hall. Take a number before entering the tourist section of the immigration office and just sit and wait for your number to be called.
• Once it is, go up to the counter and you’ll receive a folder and a form. Head back to your seat and fill these out (they provide English translations for almost everything, but if there’s something you’re not sure of, just don’t fill it out and ask at the counter when you go to return it).
• When you’re finished you don’t have to take another number or wait in line, just go immediately to the counter and give it to the immigration officer along with your passport, photocopies, and print out of your plane ticket. That’s it. You’ll get a piece of paper that will tell you on what day and time to return. DO NOT LOSE THIS PIECE OF PAPER!

2. SECOND VISIT

• Be sure to bring 500,000 IDR cash with you (there’s no ATM at immigration).
• Take your paper immediately to Counter C (next to Counter 3) and hand it over to the immigration officer. He’ll give you an invoice for the 500,000 rupiah fee for the extension application. 
• Take this paper outside to the large orange van and give the paper and the cash to the person working inside it. Once you’ve paid, they’ll give you a receipt, which you take back inside to the immigration officer.
• Again, don’t take a number or wait in line. Just take it directly to the counter and give it to the immigration agent. Now, he’ll give you a piece of paper with a number on it. Sit down and wait for your number to be called so that you can have your photo and fingerprints taken. 
• After your number is called and your photo and fingerprints have been taken you’ll get another piece of paper that tells you the final date and time you can come back to collect your passport. DO NOT LOSE THIS PIECE OF PAPER!

3. THIRD VISIT

• Go immediately to the counter in the tourist section of the immigration office and hand the officer the paper you got last time telling you to return to collect your passport. You’ll get your passport back in literally less than 2 minutes, and that’s it. You can now stay in Bali for another 30 days! DO NOT LOSE YOUR PASSPORT (haha sorry couldn’t help myself, but seriously… don’t lose that)
• *Tip: Also, if you know you’re going to do this whole process again in another month, then before you leave sneak back up to the first counter and ask them for an application. This way, you can have everything ready for the next time.
  
  
  
  

Option #2: PAY A VISA AGENCY (800-900k + 1 trip to immigration)

If you go with this option, whichever service you use will give you all the details about what the process will look like, but it’s pretty standard across the board:

• You give them your info and passport + pay their fee (don’t pay more than 900k for a standard return of 12-14 days).
• They do all the work and fill out all the forms for you.
• You only have to go to immigration once to get your fingerprints and photo taken.
• When your passport is ready they’ll collect it and drop it off with you.

*If you’re staying in/around Canggu, I recommend Visa4Bali or Bali Business Consulting – both charge 800k for standard turn-around times.

The immigration offices are typically open Mon-Thurs 8:00 – 14:00 (closed from 12:00 – 13:00 for lunch) and on Friday 9:00 – 14:00 (closed from 11:30 – 13:00 for lunch). However, these times can be affected by holidays so be sure to double check before you go!

*** You’ll be charged up to 300,000 IDR for each day you overstay your visa. If your overstay is a week or more, you better contact the immigration office as soon as possible.

If you’ve been hospitalized or have had another emergency situation which caused you to over-stay, they’re usually pretty lenient. You’ll have to pay the fine regardless, but try to get it taken care of as soon as possible. In the case of natural disasters, everybody gets a free pass.