Path To Recovery: Immigration Taking an Increasingly Central Role in Indonesia’s Fight Against The Pandemic

In a bid to revive the tourism industry, Indonesia’s Directorate General of Immigration (DGI) has started accepting tourist visa applications from all nationalities visiting Bali and the Riau Islands (including allowing visa free entry for Singaporean tourists visiting Batam and Bintan). These re-openings have long been waited upon by the tourism industry and are much further relaxation of the visa rules as compared to the 15 October 2021 announcement (whereby only 19 nationalities can be granted tourist visas to visit Bali and the Riau Islands as tourists then). Bali, an island synonymous with rich, cultural experiences and jaw-dropping vistas, has long been a popular destination for tourists, and so the latest relaxation will be a further boost to revive the tourism industry, which had been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Until the recent re-opening, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia had suspended visa-exempt entry and Visas-on-Arrival, which were used by the bulk of foreign tourists to enter Indonesia in pre-pandemic times. The latest development certainly proves the authorities’ effort to bring back tourists, and underscores the increasingly important role that immigration policy is playing in Indonesia since the pandemic. 

Indonesia’s border controls

Like other countries around the world, Indonesia has been fighting both a health and economic crisis since early 2020. To curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Indonesia imposed strict immigration measures, including the suspension of visa applications for foreign nationals for most of 2020. However, to balance against the needs of the economy, there were exemptions granted by the DGI. For example, the DGI was still willing to grant work visas to foreigners who were coming to work for Indonesia’s National Strategic Projects (NSP) (i.e., infrastructure development projects identified by the government as strategically important to the country). In the same vein, the DGI has also been willing to issue work visas to foreigners whose companies were able to get recommendations from Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

Nevertheless, with the worsening of the pandemic, and especially with the spread of the Delta variant last year, even these exceptional applications were put on hold in July 2021. Once the pandemic situation in Indonesia stabilised in September 2021, the DGI lifted the suspension of such work visa applications, on the condition that the applications were supported by a relevant government ministry.

Indonesia’s immigration rules in response to the pandemic

While Indonesia had been streamlining its immigration procedures over the last few years prior to the pandemic, the pandemic probably accelerated the rate of reform. Below are three examples:

• The Electronic Visa (eVisa) was implemented in October 2020 in a bid to further streamline the visa application process. Prior to that, foreign nationals applying for their work visas had to pick up their entry visas (VITAS) at a pre-selected Indonesia consular post, which proved to be one of the biggest challenges in the midst of COVID-19. While COVID-19 may not be the actual reason for the introduction of the eVisa, COVID-19 could be seen as having accelerated the government’s decision to implement eVisas, as it eliminated the need for in-person filing at the Indonesia consular posts abroad.
• Allowing In-Country Work Visa Application for foreign nationals already in Indonesia: Prior to the pandemic, foreign nationals in Indonesia applying for a new work visa had to exit Indonesia, get their passport endorsed with the entry visa at an overseas Indonesian Consular post, and enter on the new work visa (under the new employer), which was a rather inconvenient and time-consuming process. This relaxation resulted in huge savings for both the company and employee, both in terms of time and costs.
• Allowing Offshore Stay Permit (ITAS/ITAP) and Re-Entry Permit Renewal for foreign nationals outside Indonesia: This lesser known (yet equally important) relaxation allows foreign nationals outside Indonesia to renew their Stay Permit (ITAS/ITAP) and Re-Entry Permit without returning to Indonesia (known as an “offshore renewal”). Previously, foreign nationals had to be in Indonesia to complete their renewals; otherwise, their Stay Permits and/or Re-Entry Permits would expire if they remained outside Indonesia after the expiry date.

Indonesian immigration playing an increasingly important role

Prior to the pandemic, the requirements to apply for a visa were more straightforward and were mainly focused on the applicants’ eligibility. Since the pandemic, however, increasingly, the DGI has been implementing additional requirements on behalf of other authorities, particularly the Health authorities (i.e., mandating visa applicants to submit a Vaccination Certificate, among other health requirements). While there seem to be increasing requirements being imposed, we do see that the authorities are prepared to be flexible if there are challenges in providing the additional documents. For example, initially for the work visa application, the applicant needs to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct issued by the local police. However, due to the challenge of obtaining the certificate, given the current COVID-19 situation, the authorities have been willing to accept alternative documentation, such as Statement Letters of Good Conduct issued by the sponsoring company.

As Indonesia has achieved a 47% vaccination rate, we will more likely than not see Indonesia continue to gradually relax its immigration rules to allow more foreign nationals to enter the country as well as further streamlining the processes as the vaccination rate continues to rise. We would also expect to see even more flexibility in the application processes to further cater to business needs, and possibly the implementation of a long-term visa for digital nomads, which tourism officials have been proposing in order to revive the tourism industry, especially in tourist hotspots like Bali.

At the same time, we should be prepared to see frequent changes in rules as the COVID-19 situation continues to remain fluid. Currently, Indonesia still requires all travellers to be quarantined upon arrival. At one time, the quarantine duration was reduced to three days of quarantine; however, with the Omicron variant, it is now back to five days for fully vaccinated travellers and seven days for travellers who have not been fully vaccinated.

Indonesia continues to face multi-faceted challenges of controlling the pandemic, re-opening its economy, supporting business needs and increasing local employment. To tackle these challenges, the government will need to implement policies swiftly and effectively, and we expect to see more coordination between the various government agencies, including the Ministry of Manpower and DGI. Through all of this, it is clear that immigration policies and border controls will continue to play a key and central role in navigating these requirements.

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For further information on this topic, please contact Alfred Chong at [email protected]. This blog was published on 9 February 2022, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please visit our dedicated COVID-19 site, subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.