REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly of Indonesian Republic, Zulkifli Hasan, asked for evaluation of the visa-free policy for 169 countries. He argued that the policy does not guarantee the increase of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia.
"I think the increase of the quantity of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia did not happened because of the visa-free policy. It was because the sense of security and comfort," said Zulkifli, in Purworejo, Central Java, on Monday.
According to Zulkifli, if the foreign tourists feel safe and comfort and they get good facilities, the amount of tourists visiting Indonesia will surely increased.
The Vice Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly, Hidayat Nur Wahid, also encouraged and supported the idea. He emphasized that the visa-free policy should consider the principle of reciprocity on mutual benefit and should promote equality and fairness. "If it is not reciprocal, the policy will generate on more loses than the benefits, so it will be better to be evaluated," he said.
Also read: DPR calls for review of visa waiver policy
As published in imigrasi.go.id, President Joko Widodo has signed Presidential Regulation Number 21 of 2016 regarding Visit Visa Exemption on March 2, 2016. The visa exemption valid only for 30 days, non-extendable or convertible into another kind of stay permit. It could only be used for tourism, family visit, social visit, art and cultural, government duty, to deliver a speech or attend a seminar, international exhibition, meetings with head office or representative office in Indonesia or transit.
The 169 countries, special administrative regions of a country, and entities are: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba and Cyprus.
Passport holders of Denmark, Commonwealth of Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See (Vatican City), Honduras, Hong Kong (SAR of China), Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (SAR of China), Macedonia, Madagascar, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique and Myanmar are also exempt for having a visa to enter Indonesia.
This policy also applies to Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden and Switzerland passport holders.
Beside that, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe nationals also listed in the 169 countries that received visa exemption.
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