Indonesia introduced the extension of the 30 Day VOA (Visa on Arrival) last year, which was to the delight of many travelers and people who come to Bali often. This can be very handy if you are making a last minute trip to Bali where you will be staying more than 30 days but don’t have enough time to make the appropriate visa beforehand. You will still go through the line for the original 30 Day VOA, only now you have the option of extending it once the time is up. The process of extending is often asked about so we will offer an outline here. Your experience may vary slightly, but most people have agreed that their experience was somewhere along these lines.
Things to bring
- Passport
- Proof of your onward ticket
- Name and address of a local “sponsor”
First find the immigration office. Most people will go to the Ngurah Rai airport one, which is kind of hard to find at first. If you are headed towards the airport from the bypass, after you go straight at the traffic light, go straight again instead of following the road right at the dog leg where you normally continue on to the airport. You will have to make a U-turn at your last U-turn opportunity as it is on the right side. The Google Map image below should show you the exact point. It is the one with the “A” marker.
Note: the immigration office has moved.
The new address is: Jl.Bypass Ngurah Rai, Tuban Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia 80361
This their facebook page with their current address (just in case they move it again).
Although everything tends to work on “Bali time”, you should show up between 9AM and 12PM for your first visit. It is also worth noting that your visa is only for 30 days and not one month so if you are in a month with 31 days, take that into account and also the fact that the new visa will take about 7 business days to complete.
When you arrive go to the cashier window and collect your application. Take the application to the back where you can make a photocopy of your passport and current visa. You should have with you some sort of proof of an onward ticket (physical ticket or copy of an itinerary or boarding pass) and the name and address of a local friend who can act as your sponsor. Fill in all of this information and hand in the application and your passport at counter 2.
Have a seat and wait until you are called up and you will be given an appointment slip that tells you when you should come back to pay.
Come back on the day you are supposed to pay and head to counter 2 and hand over your appointment slip. Then head to the cashier and pay them $25 USD or rp. 250,000 for your new visa. They will then give you a receipt for your visa which you will take back over to counter 2. There they will check the receipt and write upon it the time and date that you should come back to pick up your passport complete with new visa.
If you have done everything right then when you come back at the date and time specified on your receipt then your passport will be waiting for you at counter 2. Don’t forget to bring your receipt with you or they may not want to give you back your passport for security.
That’s it! Sounds like a lot of back and forth and it is, but it is certainly a lot easier and cheaper than flying out of the country and back in again just for another 30 days permission to stay in Indonesia. Hopefully this is all a step in the right direction for a more relaxed and foreigner-friendly visa system.
Thanks a LOT this is very thorough information!
I have heard that you can get fast service(ie 2-3 hrs) but you’ll pay 400.000.
Can you confirm this?
Thanks for the reply Daniel. I have not personally heard about an express service for extending your 30 day VOA, but it may exist. If it does I would imagine it would cost more than rp 400,000 though. Generally when a visa agent extend a social visa they charge double the amount that it would cost to extend it yourself and it still takes about a week. I would find it hard to believe that there is a service that does this in a few hours, and only charges around 30% more than the amount to extend the visa. If you can find any more information on this I would be glad to look into it though.
just got my visa exstened, in one day 400,000 in lonbok, mataram, very good service, did it all my self on problem, go in the morning to had in forms, picked it up at 2pm.
Hi Ujang- I was wondering if you could give a little bit more information about doing this in Mataram. Where was the immigration office? Did you have any forms to fill out before you got there to make it easier? Did you bring a sponsor with you? Is it common to do it in one day, or is there a multi-day process as well.
Thanks so much for the info!!
Just the type of inhsgit we need to fire up the debate.
Hi,
I’m not going to have any kind of sponsor or friend there. Is this a problem?
I have been to Bali about 6 times, but only one time spending the entire 30 days there. I plan to do that, plus more, next February (2012).
Do you have any questions about this sponsorship that you mentioned?
What if I haven’t decided where I will be going from there? LOL…Too bad for me, probably, and I had better make a reservation to somewhere, yes?
Thank you VERY much for this extremely helpful information. It is much appreciated!
Hi Jill,
The sponsor is very simple to find, I suggest you ask any of the staff at your hotel or your favorite bar or restaurant. They don’t need to go with you, just provide a small amount of information.
As for your onward ticket, you will of course need to leave the country before the next 30 days is up, so buying a ticket now would be cheaper, the problem which is up to you is just figuring out where else you want to go!
Thank you so much, Raja! I hope I can find the place as I always come in to the Denpasar Airport, and I normally stay within 20 minutes of there.
I get lost and confused VERY easily! Are you aware of an immigration office closer to that airport or in the main part of town?
What type of questions does the sponsor need to answer, and is there some type of form?
I’m terrified of doing this all wrong and getting deported!
I wonder why I wasn’t notified of your response. I checked the box. I decided to come back here to check, just in case.
I really appreciate your help!
Thank you so much. 🙂
Jill
Jill, the immigration office there on the map that I posted is extremely close to the airport, walking distance even from the airport. THe other one in the southern section of Bali would be in Renon and I would guess you would get much more lost trying to navigate through Denpasar to get there.
Your sponsor shouldn’t need to answer any questions really as long as you have a copy of his KTP (ID card) and info on his/her address etc. Some people are even reporting that they didn’t need a sponsor but to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Don’t worry about getting deported, just get in to the office in enough time and they will help you smooth things out, I have never heard of someone getting deported over filling out the forms to extend a tourist visa incorrectly.
As for the notification of your comment, I will look into that. In the mean time would you mind checking your spam folder to see if it is there? If it is then there is likely nothing wrong with the plugin that sends notifications, just the way some e-mail clients interpret it.
Thanks!
Conni,It might be a good idea to go back the country where you are orilinalgy from (I would assume Canada or USA), and find a steady job to replenish your bank account, getting the moral support from your family and friends, sort your priorities and making plan for your next move.Teks from sunny PHX-AZ 🙂
Oops! I just realized that we are talking about the same airport. Sorry.
Save the hassle of extending your 30 day VOA.
TOO slow and time consuming.
Just apply for a 60 day visa at the Indonesian consulate in your own country before departure to Indonesia.
You don’t need sponsors because it is a 60 DAY TOURIST VISA.
Good point Barry, A 60 day tourist visa would be almost always preferable to extending a 30 day VOA, especially because it could later be turned into a 180 day Sosial Budaya visa if you decide to extend your length of time in Indonesia. Still though, lots of people enter the country on a 30 Day VOA and I thought it would be important to outline the steps of extending it, especially since when the article was written, the ability to extend the 30 Day VOA was still fairly new.
There is also some confusion regarding conversion to a social budaya visa if entering Indonesia on a VOA.
The rules state that this is not allowable.
Another good point. The rules might say that it is not available but like many things in Indonesia, theory and practice are two entirely different things. Conversions from 60 day tourists visas to sosial budaya visas are generally carried out quite smoothly.
Raja, I understand what you are saying and you are correct about that. It will take a long time to change.
Cheers
Sembunyi
Oh I do not miss making the trips to renew my visa 🙂 I was lucky though, one of the clerks at immigration recognized me and was very helpful at times.
Next time I go I’m just going to use an agent like Bali Mode. I figure for about 600,000rp I would save myself the time and hassle of going every month (multiple trips each time).
Read up on the rules before you go to Indo, then again when you get there. A little research can save a lot of headache. Sometimes the rules change and they are not the best at updating them across the board. Bali is worth all the challenges though.
@roland budi
you have supported the corruption racket by going down this path.
The Immigration officials will love you because they get a commission from any agents involved.
Stop corruption in Indonesia now.
Hello,
Thank you for this useful thread. We are travelling through SE Asia at the moment and will be in Bali mid-April. We don’t have time to get a 60 day visa beforehand (as we are never anywhere long enough to be without our passports for a week) so I just wondered if it is still possible to renew your 30 day visa (or if there’s been any recent changes to the rule?)
When extending your 30 day visa to a 60 day visa, can you do this as soon as you arrive in Bali, rather than waiting til you use up most of the 30 day one?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Lucy
Hi, Gee I wish I read your post before the two times I went and got it wrong (such as wrong time, etc).
I’m up to the second time I have to go – that is to go to pay. Can you advise if there is a certain time of the day I have to do that or can i go anytime outside of the lunch break?
Thank you!
Suzanne
Suzanne
I would recommend going in the morning if you can. Things like that are usually carried out in the morning whereas picking up your passport usually happens in the afternoon. By going in the morning, the worst case scenario is that they just tell you to come back after lunch.
Hi Raja,
V. useful info – thanks! One question, does the local have to be Indonesian or can it be an expat?
Thanks!
Sam,
There are some instances where a visa can be processed with a KITAS-holding expat as the sponsor but it is always a better idea to have a local be your sponsor. Besides, after 30 days in Bali it should be no problem to find a Balinese to sponsor you, there are more Balinese on Bali than anybody else! Good luck!
dont you need a ‘up to date’ bank statement and a contact number from your employer ? and what comes fist flight ticket or visa ?
wainz.
Hello!
Thanx for the info!
We just have question…do we have to go to extend the visa 7 days before the 30day visa expires, or can we go on the 30th day?
Thank you!
Maria,
You should definitely do yourself a favor and go before the visa expires. Going on the 30th day will only lead to headaches for you.
Is immigration still at the location on the map, or has it moved because of the airport construction?
As far as I know the immigration office in that area and the one in Renon are still in the same place despite any construction going on.
hi raja ,
i m coming 12 july with my family to balito stay 46 days
me my girlfriend and our three children,
i i just got back our pasports for the visa s ,
and the applicatan for the children failed,
so the 30 days voa wont b a problem ,
i would like to know if it is possible to make the extension
directly at airport?and also can i do it directly
or is it realy a extension so when the 30 days are finnished
then to extend ?
It will not be possible to do this extension at the airport, it needs to be done at an actual immigration office, which is walking distance from the airport although you won’t want to do it right when you arrive. It will be an extension that you will need to make on the visa and you should start the process AT LEAST 1 week before your visa is to expire. Hope this helps.
wow that was fast!
thank a lot!
i hope it wont b to much of a hsssle
greetings
dennis
Hello,
we are two friends staying in bali for 3 months. We have visa 60 days and it expires in 15th august. We need to extend one month more until 5 september. We’ve been to the immigration office and they told us we must bring a sponsor. In our visa 60 days appears the hotel of first night as sponsor. We went to that hotel and talk to the boss or manager come with us to the officce and sponsor us. He said he cant because bla bla bla, a little ignorant… So now, we must find sponsor, it can be a normal person? For example one friend from bali? Just go with him and his ID in the officce is right?
Thank you very much
Is the name of your sponsor written on your 60 day visa? If so then that person should be the one to be your sponsor officially. The manager of the hotel doesn’t actually need to go anywhere with you, as you can bring the forms to him to sign and you can ask him for a copy of his KTP (ID card). If there is no name written on the visa then you can use any friend as a sponsor as long as they have a valid KTP from Bali, one from Java or anywhere else won’t work.
If the hotel manager’s name is written on there and he is still unwilling to assist you, I suggest trying to explain your situation to immigration while having a new sponsor with you in attendance to help smooth things over.
Hope this helps!
This question was allready asked, but not answered. Can you extend you visa on arrival, directly after you arive(same day/week)? So will it be valid for 30 extra days, or do you have to extend it a week before your visa expires, so that it will be valid for 30 days from the day you receive your new visa?
Sorry, it can be hard to address each question especially when there are several questions in each comment. Theoretically you could extend your 30 day VOA on your first day although it is a bit impractical. This is because the building where you would extend it is not connected to the airport. You could walk there if you only have a backpack but if you have more luggage than that you would want to take a taxi. Also, since the process needs to be started in the morning time, your flight schedule would have to line up perfectly with it all for it to work out for you. Hope that helps.
Hi Raja,
What Ymco means is if you go and apply for the visa extension when you arrive or even in the first few days do the visa’s run concurrently or will the extension visa kick in once the VOA 30 day visa has run its duration? Curious about this myself.
Regards,
Mike.
Hi Raja,
Can you get an extension for the 30 day visa in Jogjakarta or Surabaya?
I will be flying into Jogja (from Cambodia), then heading to Surabaya before getting back to Ubud.
thanks and great blog!
Hi everyone,
My 30 VOA will run out 4 days before my flight departs, I have read that it I possible to extend it by 7 days for $10…. Any one ever heard of this???
Thanks in advance for any info
Hello,
I am coming to bali on the 4th of Sept, 2013 on a one-way ticket. . I am volunteering on the Writer’s festival and i wish to stay for at least 2months. I intend on applying for an extension visa when i am there before my 30 visa expires. I have booked a one way ticket because i was unsure on whether i will be continuing my journey from Bali to Indonesia after my 2months. If i do that i believe i have the option of taking out a day by day visa for US25. However, my question is….
When i arrive in Bali and i am completing my immigration card should i just state that i am staying in the country for 1 month. I fear that if i state that i am staying for 2months they may query this and ask me to show my departure ticket date which i don’t have.
I was wondering if you could assist me with this?
Thank you….
Hi, another question. I intend to stay 4 months for research at the University of Surabaya. The information from my sponsor came to late, so I only have a VOA valid until 1st of November.
What do you recommend?
Many thanks!
hi I just realized we have a trip of 34 days to bali planned and was planning to do visa on arrival, do you know if we will be let in on a 30 day voa and let to extend later or is a 60 definatley needed before we leave
thanks
mark
wow just read all this and really helpful. I have been to bali five times now but will there in october and need to renwed my visa so the above information is wonderful thanks Raja – I will be in Bali again in December then again looking next year looking for any pet house sits I have my own profile so if you know anyone that would need any sits I would appreciate any information you may have.
Thanks
Jan
Hi i would like to move to bali and i heard about lots of kinds of visa…still dont know which one is right fir me…but my boyfriend lives there…he is officially from jawa, not bali….he lives in bali tho…does it mean that he cant be my sponsor because he wasnt born in bali ? …thank you…
I have a multiple entry business visa, paid $600 for it valid for 12 months. I have to do a visa run to singapore every 2 months. Went to batam by ferry only took 45minutes from singapore. Batam immigration said I needed a visa on arrival. Got one, paid $25. Came back to bali. They said my business visa was now void because I got a visa on arrival at batam and I would need to pay another $600 and get a new one. On top of that I have to purchase a visa on arrival to enter bali. These guys a just so corrupt. Anything to screw you over and take more of your money. Be careful
Hi, I will be flying into Denpasar next week and have my return 6 weeks later. I will apply for VOA and be looking to extend. Is having an onwards ticket beyond the initial 30 days going to be a problem or do I just tell the official that I am going to extend ? Thanks for your time
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to clear one thing up for everyone. If you want to extend your VOA in Bali for a further 30 days you DO NOT need a sponsor. You just go the the Immigration Office (the one near the Airport is best) with your passport, 2 photos (sometimes you don’t need these but best to have them anyway) + copies of your passport, original visa page and onward flight ticket (email confirmation is fine). You then just fill out the form, hand everything over and take your receipt. Go back the next day (or sometimes later that day) to pay the fee. They will then give you another receipt with a time to collect your passport with extended visa – usually 1 or 2 days later.
Hope this makes things clearer. Maybe you you used to need a sponsor but you definitely do not need one now. This is information is correct as of Aug 20015.
Your map is wrong mate, you have marked the customs office not the immigration office.
Does anybody know whether people from visa-free countries can still pay and get a VOA which can then be extended? I hear different things on the ground here and really need to plan ahead for my wife’s visit – i.e. we need to know if she’ll be able to pay and extend the visa for a total of 60 days or if she can only get the 30 day visa-free stay. Thanks in advance!
Hi –
I know that the day on which you arrive into Indonesia is included into the 30 day visa.. But if you extend, is the date that the first visa expired, the ‘first day’ of your next 30 day visa?
Thanks!
Hi Sasha, I have the same problem.just wondering if you sorted this out? It is now mid of January 2015. Your comment is from September last year. Many thanks
Great article! However, i’d like to ask what exactly is a sponsor, and what sort of information do they need to provide for one to extend the visa?
Hello, I am planning to travel to Bali for 6 weeks and won’t be able to get a visa in advance. Traveling with an american passport. Am planning to get in with the 30 day visa and extant it when i am there.
My question is regarding the flight ticket. is there any problem that my ticket back from Bali is for more then 30 days when the visa i will get at the airport is only for 30 days? Do they check that..? and if they do, do i just say i am planning to get 30 more days when i am there..? Will that be acceptable..? Thank you!
Hi I was wondering if you can extend your visa twice so for 1 month and then go back and extend for another month (3 months in total) or is it only allowed 1 extension? Thanks
I came in with a free visa on arrival from the Netherlands. And i wasn’t be able to extend that for another month.
So i went to Singapore and came back at the airport and asked to pay there for a visa on arrival.
Apparently you can only extend your visa if you have paid for the visa on arrival and you cannot extend a free visa on arrival.
So the thing you need to do is ask to pay for a visa on arrival at the airport even if you suppose to get a free one. It’s a bit strange but that’s the condition they have for extension.
There is a lot of misinformation here (especially before 2016).
The current situation goes like this:
1. A free VOA can NOT be extended (as Victor found out)
2. A paid-for VOA can be extended for one month (but it’s time-consuming)
The easiest way to get a visa to stay here for 60 days is to apply for a normal Tourist Visa at the Indonesian Embassy/Consulate in your own country. Saves you a lot of headaches and wasted time going to local offices. And probably cheaper in the long run, all things considered.
I am an expat living in Bali (been here 21 years). Believe me that stuffing around with trying to extend a VOA is no fun. I had to laugh when somebody above stated that you can walk from the airport to the “nearby” Immigration office. Well, you could (in theory), but you’d be sorry in the end. What if it’s closed when you get there?
Just get a Tourist Visa and do yourself a huge favour.
We are going to Indonesia for 90 days. But we unfortunately have not got a 60 day visa so I gather we will have to buy the first month when we arrive (VOA) then at least one week before our 30 days run out we will be in Sumbawa and need to buy then next 30 days. Can we go to the embassy in Sumbawa Besar? Then do we have to leave Indonesia after the 60 days or are we able to pay for another 30 days? We will be in Kupang at this time. I don’t really want to go to Singapore. Can we get from Kupang to Dili and renew then?
Hi can i change free visa from social budaya sponsor by my wife indonesian.. I am filipino citizen..
Hi, I am already in Bali on a free 30-day visa on arrival. However, my circumstances have changed and I’ve had to extend my flight home which means I will now be leaving after my 30 days is up. Am I still able to apply for a visa extension even though I didn’t pay for my original visa?
Thanks!
Hey Does anyone know if there is anyway of doing this said extension yourself, without having a a onward flight ticket ??
I need to do extension next week, but dont have a return flight home yet ,as don’t know if i will fly back home after this 2 months, or fly out come back in and do 4 months in total.
Anyway around this??
Hey thanks a lot for all the precious info. I already got it, but i wanna be sure, question is: if u already in Bali, entering with a 30 days payed voa, is there any chances to extend the visa for a total of 72 days, so 30 plus 30 plus 12, WITHOUT LEAVF THE COUNTRY?
Thanks a lot
Mauro
Hey guys!
Does anybody knows what happens if you just stay 1 or 2 days longer that your visa expiration date? do the immigration agents at the airport charge an extra fee or fine because of that?
Thanks!
I hope someone can help me with this…. Can I apply for a 60 day tourist visa for Indonesia in New Zealand? I am from the UK but I am travelling for a year, so I won’t be able to apply for the 60 day visa in the UK.
Does anyone know? I have rung people and researched but I can’t find an answer.
Thanks
This information is fantastic. Do you know how many times per year can i extend a 30 day VOA? If I enter the country on 30 day VOA and extend that, leave the country, enter again and extend for an extra month etc how many times can I do this in one year?
My plan is to basically live in Bali for 60 days, meet my friend in Hanoi, fly back to Bali to hang again for another 60 days (as in VOA + Extension), then leave to country and fly to Europe. I’d love to go back again after Europe but I don’t know how many times I can enter the country and extend the visa… any insight?
Hi there- Thank you for the information! I arrived in Bali a couple days ago and received a free entry visa but I’m planning on staying 2 months. Is it possible to go back to the airport and get a Visa on Arrival even after already getting the free visa? Or will I have to do a visa run? If I do need to do a visa run is it okay to go to Singapore for a few days and return? Once I return will I be able to get the free visa again? Finally, will I need a flight out of Bali before leaving Singapore?
Thank you!