Previously timed for April 1, the broader reopening of Southeast Asia’s largest nation has just been brought forward.
Sunrise over the volcanic peaks of Mt Bromo, Batok, and Semeru. (Photo: Kevin Zhang/Unsplash)
In a surprise announcement on Monday night, Indonesia’s tourism minister Sandiaga Uno said the no-quarantine policy for the islands of Bali, Batam, and Bintan would be expanded to the rest of the country with immediate effect. He explained that Jakarta had decided to end mandatory self-isolation for fully vaccinated arrivals after the successful trail reopening in all three destinations, citing an extremely low Covid-19 positivity rate and the sustained decline of the virus’ reproduction rate. Sandiaga also signaled the end of the pre-departure testing requirement, with only an on-arrival PCR test needed for the time being. An official circular confirming the exact details of the new regulation will be issued no later than today.
Meanwhile, Bali-bound travelers from 19 more countries, including China, India, Brazil, and seven EU nations, are now eligible to apply for visas on arrival — bringing the total number to 42 jurisdictions. It is not immediately clear when visitors coming in via other ports of entry, such as Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, will receive the same privilege. Sandiaga said he was optimistic Indonesia would reach, and even exceed, the government’s target of 1.6–1.8 million tourist arrivals for 2022.
Here is the full list of countries whose citizens can now apply for a visa on arrival in Bali:
| Region | Country |
| Asia-Pacific | Australia |
| Brunei | |
| Cambodia | |
| China [new] | |
| India [new] | |
| Japan | |
| Laos | |
| Malaysia | |
| Myanmar | |
| New Zealand | |
| Philippines | |
| Singapore | |
| South Korea | |
| Taiwan [new] | |
| Thailand | |
| Vietnam | |
| Middle East and North Africa | Saudi Arabia [new] |
| Tunisia [new] | |
| Turkey | |
| Qatar | |
| UAE | |
| Europe | Belgium [new] |
| Denmark [new] | |
| Finland [new] | |
| Hungary [new] | |
| Germany | |
| France | |
| Italy | |
| Netherlands | |
| Norway [new] | |
| Poland [new] | |
| Spain [new] | |
| Sweden [new] | |
| Switzerland [new] | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Seychelles [new] |
| South Africa [new] | |
| The Americas | Argentina [new] |
| Brazil [new] | |
| Canada | |
| Mexico [new] | |
| United States |
