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.