Jakarta: Foreigners can apply for an Electronic Visa on Arrival (e-VOA) before arriving in Indonesia. The holder must use the visa within 90 (ninety) days after issuance. Sub-coordinator of Public Relations of the Directorate General of Immigration, Achmad Nur Saleh, stressed that the validity of an e-VOA to enter Indonesia differs from the e-VOA stay permit validity.

"We discovered many misunderstandings in the community regarding whether the validity period of e-VOA is 90 days or 60 days. First, we underline that the 90-day visa validity is before foreigners enter Indonesia. It is the time limit when e-VOA is good to enter Indonesia after the date of issuance. Meanwhile, the validity period of an e-VOA stay permit is 30 days starting from the foreigner entering Indonesia and can be extended once for the next 30 days. Hence, the total is up to 60 days," explained Achmad on Monday (20/02/2023).

Achmad gives an illustration: a foreigner outside Indonesia applied for an e-VOA (website: molina.imigrasi.go.id) on 20 February 2023 and was granted an e-VOA on the same day. So, the latest date the foreigner can enter Indonesia using the visa is 21 May 2023.

"Then, the e-VOA stay permit of 30 days is started from the time the officers at the Immigration Control (TPI) at the airports, seaports, or cross-border posts stamp an entry mark on the foreigner's passport," he said.

The e-VOA stay permit extension can be done online through the website molina.imigrasi.go.id. The procedure flow is similar to applying for a new e-VOA. Foreigners do not need to upload an Indonesian entry stamp because their data is already recorded in the immigration system. After verifying that all the information is valid, the foreigner will proceed to the payment page, where the foreigner can use a credit or debit card with the Visa, Mastercard, or JCB logo.

"If you have received an e-VOA stay permit extension in an electronic document, foreigners no longer need to come to the immigration office. So, save more time and energy. As long as there is a smartphone and internet connection, foreigners can extend their e-VOA stay permit anywhere, everywhere," he concluded.

Reporter: Ajeng Rahma Safitri
Editor: Muhammad Fijar Sulistyo