Categories: Travel

Indonesia eyes visa waivers for 20 countries, including India, ET TravelWorld

Indonesia is considering granting visa-free entry to nationals of 20 countries, including the United States, China, Australia, India, South Korea, Germany, Britain and France, to boost its tourism and economy, its tourism minister said on Thursday.

The list will be finalised within a month, statement released by the tourism minister said.

Sandiaga Uno, tourism minister of Indonesia said that they have received instructions from the government to consider visa waiver. The aim of this move is to boost economy, increase tourism and foreign investment.

There were more than 16 million foreign arrivals in Indonesia in pre-pandemic 2019, according to official data.

From January to October this year, Indonesia received 9.49 million foreign visitors, an increase of 124.3% from the same period in 2022.

Thailand and recently Malaysia have also waived visas for visitors from China and India.

In September, Indonesia also announced golden visa to woo foreign individuals and corporate investors.

Asia and the Pacific lagged behind, reaching only 62 per cent of pre-pandemic levels during this period due to a slower reopening to international travel. Notably, South Asia displayed a remarkable recovery of 95 per cent, while North-East Asia trailed at approximately 50 per cent, illustrating mixed performances among subregions.

“The golden visa is granting a residence permit for an extended period of five to 10 years,” director general of immigration, Silmy Karim said in a statement.To be eligible for the five-year visa, an individual needs to set up a company worth $2.5 million. If you want a 10-year visa, an investment of $5 million would be required.

Corporate investors are required to invest $25 million to get five-year visas for directors and commissioners. They need to invest double, or $50 million, to gain a 10 year visa.