New Transitional Visa A Game Changer For Long-Stay Bali Lovers 

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Indonesia’s Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, has announced the launch of a new transitional visa.

This new visa will make it easier for foreigners residing in Indonesia long term to transition from one visa to another without having to leave the country. 

According to the Directorate General of Immigration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, this new visa is part of a new Transitional Residence Permit policy.

The visa, also referred to as a Bridging Visa, functions as a ‘bridge’ between an old residence permit and a new residence permit for foreign citizens (WNA) in Indonesia.

The new policy has been brought into legislation as Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulation Number 11 of 2024 on April 1, 2024.

Karim has explained that this new policy allows foreigners who have Visit Stay Permits or holders of Limited Stay Permits and Permanent Stay Permits that cannot be extended to obtain new residence permits without needing to leave Indonesian territory.

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This is huge news for many long-stay foreigners across Indonesia.

To be able to transition from one visa to another without having to leave the country means avoiding an arduous reapplication process outside of the country and a pensive wait for confirmation that the new visa has been granted and cease having to stay in weeks of limbo will bring a huge amount of relief. 

In a press statement, Karim explained, “In this way, it is possible for foreign citizens holding a Visit Stay Permit to submit it via visa.immigration.go.id to obtain a Limited Stay Permit without having to leave Indonesian territory.”

Government officials always cite the visa.immigration.go.id website; however, the website address that actually leads to the Official E-Visa Website for Indonesia is https://molina.imigrasi.go.id/ 

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Karim added, “With a Transitional Stay Permit, foreigners can save time, energy, and accommodation costs that would otherwise be incurred if foreigners had to leave Indonesian territory in order to submit an application and wait for approval for a new visa.”

To apply for the Transitional Residence Permit, foreigners must make an application on the https://molina.imigrasi.go.id/ website at least three days before their current visa expires.

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Karim told reporters that this new policy is part of the Directorate General of Immigration’s efforts to create legal certainty for foreigners and facilitate the immigration administration process in Indonesia.

He shared his hopes that this new policy will support more efficient and comfortable stays for foreigners while in Indonesia, as well as increase international trust in Indonesian immigration procedures.

The Transitional Residence Permit is valid for 60 days and only applies to foreigners who are already residing in Indonesia.

Karim confirmed that foreigners who have been granted a Transitional Stay Permit would not be subject to overstay fines if their Transitional Stay Permit application is approved after the validity period of the previous stay permit expires, provided that they have made the application at least three days before the original visa expires.  

Indonesian Immigration says, “If you overstay your visa, you might be asked to pay fines of IDR 1,000,000 per day, detained, deported, or banned future travel to Indonesia for a specific period.”

In Indonesia, overstaying visas are taken very seriously, and tourists should always double-check the day their visa expires the moment they are stamped into the country to ensure that they have been given the number of days they anticipated. 

The Transitional Visa, or Badgering Visa, can be used by foreigners who are currently residing in Indonesia on a limited-stay visa.

This does not include the visa on arrival or most socio-cultural visas. This new Bridging Visa can be used alongside the Golden Visa, some student visas, and Limited Stay Visas E28 A-F.