Indonesia has appointed the International visa service provider VFS Global as its new visa application provider.
The move will help streamline visa application services for those traveling to Indonesia.
The mission is to enhance traveler convenience and attract more tourism and investment to Indonesia while making the visa application process as easy as possible.
The Directorate General of Immigration signed a partnership with VFS Global in October 2024, and more details have been revealed.
VFS Global will work as the exclusive private partner for the Electronic Visa on Arrival, also referred to as the eVOA.
When the Directorate General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, took on his role in 2023, he committed to leveling up immigration services across the board; he stated clearly that he wanted Indonesian Immigration to be the the gold standard for both international citizens and Indonesian residents.
Speaking at the official signing of the partnership, Karim explained, “The Directorate General of Immigration offers the latest digital solutions that enhance the experience for foreign nationals who wish to visit Indonesia. In our collaboration with VFS Global, we aim to effectively contribute to increasing the arrival of foreigners, taking into account the network and digital platform owned by our partners.”
Over the last 18 months, Karim and his teams have vastly improved the digital application service for foreigners, making it easier than ever before for foreigners to apply for every visa category without the need for a visa agent.
Foreigners are now able to apply for the visa online upon arrival, as well as the full spectrum of socio-cultural visas, the second home visa, and the golden visa categories.
In his statement, Zubin Karkaria, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of VFS Global Group, said, “Indonesia is a very popular destination for travelers across the globe, and we are excited to unveil a service that will make their visa application process quicker, simpler and much more convenient.”
He added, “This user-friendly and highly secure digital e-Visa on Arrival (e-VoA) service will considerably enhance the visa application experience, thereby facilitating an increase in tourism to the country. We are honored to partner with the Directorate General of Immigration under the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia for this service.”
The visa on arrival currently costs IDR 500,000, though, over the last two years, there have been calls from leaders to both scrap the fee entirely and increase it dramatically.
The eVOA is currently available to tourists from 97 nations, including Australia, the UK, the USA, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, China, and India.
By partnering with VFS Global, visa application services will soon be available in —English, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, German, and French, with further language support to be made available to ensure the service is available to as many travelers as possible.
There will also be a dedicated email and live support available to support applicants as they are making their bookings. Applying for the eVOA through VFS Global will look and flow much the same as the process does right now.
Applicants will apply online by completing a few simple forms and uploading their passport and travel details. They will pay the fee and be sent their eVOA via email that they can either show to the immigration officials upon arrival in Indonesia or use the autogates.
The new application service operated by VFS Global is set to launch in the first half of December. There is hope that the transition will be seamless as over one million international tourists usually travel to Bali during the festive season.
VFS Global is currently the main visa application service provider for 67 countries and has over 3,400 application centers in 153 countries worldwide.
The company’s headquarters can be found in Zurich and Dubai and is majority-owned through investment funds managed by Blackstone Inc., along with the Swiss-based Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation and EQT.
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Shorty
Monday 18th of November 2024
There's a great upside to this.
There's many opportunistic websites and agents feeding off RI visa issuance.
None have the backing or support of RI Imigrasi. Apart from rip of prices there's no support or recourse when things go wrong.
The partnership with VFS should be commended.
For the dubious. RI is not handing over visa decisions to VFS. That decision will still remain with RI Imigrasi.
Paul
Thursday 14th of November 2024
Just landed so payment for voa at airport. If using c.c you pay 630000rp cash 500k so getting ripped off for 30visa still apply this island is just as croupt as ever
Shorty
Monday 18th of November 2024
@Paul,
What card did you use? There's a surcharge on AMEX. Also bear in mind your credit provider may charge you a transaction fee, and you will be charged a foreign exchange fee.
GIRI
Thursday 14th of November 2024
What will happen to the eVOA which people have already applied through current Indonesian eVOA immigration portal for their travel to bal within the next 3 months ?
John
Wednesday 13th of November 2024
Outsourcing all the personal data of the travelers to a private company? Nice! :)
Shorty
Monday 18th of November 2024
@John,
You're obviously very naive. You have a problem with your banking, internet, phone..... You call the service number to sort it out.
In a large, maybe majority of cases you'll be connected to a private company off shore or remote call centre.
Are you still worried? So what.
Shorty
Thursday 14th of November 2024
@John,
Come into the real world.. Facebook, Google, all social media sites, banking, eBay, Amazon, Lazada, Temu, online news sites, government, travel like Agoda, bookings.com, .....collect personal data. It's analysed and used for marketing purposes. In many cases it's onsold.
Randy
Thursday 14th of November 2024
@John, Obviously you know nothing how it works. Some people need to get visas to a destination that requires them to do so. VFS handles visa applications for Europe, Canada, UK, Japan and a few among others. To determine the applicants’ eligibility the host countries will review the application and supported documents and will make an approval and NOT VFS. All documents are sent to the respective Embassies or Consulates that will make the decision.
In this case, Indonesia will have VFS handle the paperwork and the decision falls upon the Indonesian authorities whether you are eligible (not on Interpol list, red alert or a criminal record) to enter Indonesia and NOT VFS.
Randy
Wednesday 13th of November 2024
Easier and streamlined procedure through VFS online platform and no more fussing around with the Indonesian immigration website. Apparently the VOA for certain countries including the US will not be scrapped after all. Some other visa categories can also be done through the VFS site and no more visits either to the embassy, consulate or using a visa agent. Coming this December, it will be a whole lot easier.