A controversial new policy abolishing visa-free entry for citizens of 39 countries and reducing the length of a tourist visa from 60 to 30 days will come into force on December 1, the government announced Tuesday. Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said that under the new system, visa-free entry will only be granted to citizens of 11 countries that offer the same facility to Indonesians.
The government currently grants 60-day tourist visas on arrival to citizens of 50 countries.
Last month, thousands of tourism industry workers on Bali demonstrated against the new policy. They said it would cause further economic problems for the resort island, which was devastated by October's nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. In response to the protest, Yusril said the tourism industry should provide free hotel rooms if it wants to attract more tourists.
Many observers have said the move to scrap visa-free entry will destroy efforts to revive the tourism industry, which has been further hit this year by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and bomb attacks in Jakarta.
The new visa regulation is mandated in a decree signed by President Megawati Sukarnoputri on March 31. Yusril said certain details of the new policy are yet to be finalized and will require approval from Megawati and her cabinet. For example, he did not say how much the new tourist visas would cost. Officials have previously said the cost could be anywhere from $30 to $50.
Although the new policy signifies an end to visa-free entry for citizens of 39 countries, Yusril said only 23 countries had been selected so far. They are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States of America.
Once the new policy comes into effect, citizens of the following countries will also likely lose the visa-free facility: Austria, Belgium, Egypt, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Slovak, Sweden, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.
The 11 countries that offer Indonesians visa-free facilities are: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, Turkey, Peru, Chile and Morocco.
Yusril said the 30-day tourist visas would only be renewable for 15 days to approved applicants for an additional fee.
He said the new policy will be socialized at Indonesia's main airports and seaports, adding that immigration offices at the points of entry are making preparations so that tourists can be charged for their visas on arrival.
The Directorate General of Immigration and the Justice and Human Rights Ministry have repeatedly tried to justify the revocation of free tourist visas on the grounds that many foreigners work in Indonesia illegally, but expatriates have ridiculed most of their arguments.
Yusril earlier this year argued the policy is vital to protect Indonesia's internal security. "We have found some cases which involved political activities that support the separatist movement in Indonesia," he said in April.
He was referring to a case last September, when authorities arrested and later jailed British academic Lesley McCulloch and American nurse Joy Lee Sadler for misusing their tourist visas by meeting with separatist rebels in Aceh province.
Critics of the policy point out that any foreigners determined to undermine Indonesia's security will willingly pay $50 for a 30-day visa, whereas foreign tourists would think twice about choosing Indonesia as a holiday destination.
Yusril has argued that making tourists pay for visas will boost Indonesia's foreign exchange earnings. "Let's say we stated $40 for one person, if 5 million people come to Indonesia every year, we will receive $200 million from visas and this will earn much more than the plantation companies in Indonesia," he said.
Last year 5.03 million tourists visited Indonesia, down slightly from 5.15 million in 2001. Analysts say numbers are likely to fall further this year because of concerns following SARS and the terrorist bombings.
Many expatriates in Indonesia feel the new visa policy is simply an effort to enable Indonesia's notoriously corrupt immigration officials to extort more money from foreigners.