Indonesia Visa Overstay Fine Rises Sharply from May 2019

Are you in a situation where your stay permit in Indonesia is about to expire? Or your visa in Indonesia has already expired, but you haven’t left the country?

Make sure to get your visa documentation in order as soon as possible as Indonesia has significantly raised the daily penalty for overstaying a visa in Indonesia.

In this article, we will guide you through exactly what you should do if you have—either on purpose or unintentionally—overstayed your visa in Indonesia.

New regulation on overstaying a visa in Indonesia

Previously, foreigners could be held in detention or refused permission to leave Indonesia until they paid a fine of IDR 300,000 (~USD 21) per day.

However, starting from May 3, 2019, visitors who overstay their visa in Indonesia will face a daily fine of IDR 1,000,000 (~USD 70), as per the Government Regulation No. 28 Year 2019.

Therefore, if you have overstayed your visa by, for example, seven days, you would have to pay IDR 7 million (~USD 490). For a month-long overstay, you would pay IDR 30 million (~USD 2,100).

We strongly advise against using visa overstay as a way to stay longer in Indonesia. Besides a hefty fine and the fact that you will be stuck in immigration (for potentially hours), it can also affect your ability to get visas in the future.

If you want to stay longer or visit the country frequently, get a business visa in Indonesia.

Overstaying visa in Indonesia for more than 60 days

Staying in Indonesia longer than your visa or entry permit allows is considered an overstay in Indonesia. There is an opportunity to pay a fine; however, the purpose of the regulation is not to provide an endless extension for your stay.

The difference between the legal consequences to one who is overstaying less than 60 days and the one overstaying more than 60 days is simple. The one staying less is getting a daily fine. However, the one staying over for more than 60 days can face deporting and blacklisting.

Overstaying less than 60 days	Overstaying more than 60 days
A daily fine of IDR 1,000,000 (~USD 70)	Deportation and blacklisting

Once you have overstayed more than 60 days, officials will investigate as well as question you thoroughly. You will also be no longer welcome in the country for re-entry for a particular time.

It can be months as well as years, depending on the decision of the officials. Also, keep in mind that getting out of the blacklist in Indonesia isn’t an easy process.

If this is already the stage you are in, show regret about what has happened. Be as kind and humble as you can towards the officials who are handling your case.

Avoid losing self-control like happened to the British woman who was sentenced to prison in Bali for assaulting an immigration officer after she was asked to pay a 48 million IDR fine (~USD 3,400) for a 160-day overstay. With the new regulation, the fine would have been IDR 160 million (~USD 11,000).

Whatever the case, remember that Emerhub can help you with your visa problems in Indonesia. Contact us at indonesia@emerhub.com (Jakarta) or bali@emerhub.com (Bali) for a personal consultation.

Avoid getting deported from Indonesia

Deporting and blacklisting in Indonesia will follow once you fail to pay the fine while being in the country still less than 60 days. The same applies when you are in the country with a stay permit that is no longer valid and exceeds 60 days. However, blacklisting and sending out of the country is something you can prevent.

Note that the Immigration officials in Indonesia are doing an excellent job at keeping their eye on any immigration-related violations. Besides, it is often a case of receiving a tip from someone, which leads the officials to check upon the documents of expats and foreign businesses.

Therefore, always make it a priority to have your documentation in line with the country’s regulations.

Apply for the right visa in Indonesia

Various entry regulations apply to citizens of different countries. For short term stays you often do not need a visa at all (Presidential Decree No. 21 of 2016 for Visits Without Visa). However, in many cases, these are the travelers who overstay their visit as well.

If you are amongst those citizens, who can enter without a visa, yet wish to stay longer than 30 days, plan your stay ahead. You cannot extend your stay, neither upgrade it into another type of stay permit. Thus, you must apply for a new visa to stay longer. Make sure to choose a visa that is most suitable for your visit.

Read more on short-stay visa on arrival in Indonesia.

However, if you already know that the duration is going to be longer, it is probably wiser to apply for a visa allowing you to stay longer before entering Indonesia (rather than starting to process one on the spot).

Indonesia visas for longer than 30 days

Business visa is convenient and highly used – applying for it before entering the country would be the best way to stay in Indonesia for longer than 30 days.

Choose between a Single-Entry or Multiple-Entry Business Visa which have similar purposes but different durations. Also, one allows you to enter the country multiple times.

A Single-Entry Business Visa, also known as Social or Social Budaya Visa, grants you a 60-day stay and is extendable for up to 4 times. It gives you the opportunity to both conduct business and study the market.

A Multiple-Entry Business Visa, on the other hand, has the same purpose but is valid for one full year since issuance and after that is not extendable.

Note that you can also get a business visa together with an Indonesian bank account. A benefit that saves you the trouble of continually using an overseas bank account for expensive transactions in Indonesia.

Emerhub created the package after long cooperation with several Indonesian banks – we will deliver your business visa in Indonesia together with a local bank account.

Dreaming about living in paradise? Read more on how to live in Bali as an expat.

Leave your contact details along with any unanswered questions in the form below. Emerhub has offices in Jakarta and Bali, and we can assist you in regards to overstaying visa anywhere in Indonesia.

Photo by Paolo Nicolello on Unsplash