Indonesia has officially scrapped visa-free travel for Australians, declaring that Aussie tourists will need to fork out to visit Bali for the foreseeable future.
The country’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights issued an edict dated June 7, stating that visa-free entry had been officially suspended for 159 countries.
Indonesia suspended visa-free travel for Australians during the COVID pandemic.
Before that, Australia was one of 169 countries that could enter the country visa-free for 30 days.
The recent ministerial decree has made the shift from the old visa rules to new rules official.
Immigration Director-General Silmy Karim said visa-free travel might be reinstated at a later time.
However, Australia would have to scrap the $140 application fee and tourist visa for Indonesians for this to happen.
Currently, Australians can pay Rp500,000 on arrival for a 30-day visa or apply online for an eVisa via Indonesian Immigration. This includes a small processing fee.
The online option has to be completed 48 hours before arrival.
However, Australians have encountered issues applying for eVisas online. Posts on the popular Bali Bogans Facebook page reveal that some have been scammed applying for eVisas using sites that are not legitimate.
More than one million Australians travel to Indonesia each year and Aussies account for more than a quarter of tourists in Bali.
Recently, the island has cracked down on bad behaviour by tourists.
In response, Bali introduced new “how to behave” guidelines for tourists that are issued on arrival.
The card includes a list of dos and don’ts which warn against climbing sacred trees, littering, behaving aggressively and taking indecent photos.
Balinese Governor Wayan Koster said the new measures were launched following a number of incidents among travellers.
“There has been an increase in the number of foreign tourists in Bali who are behaving inappropriately, or taking actions that don’t adhere to their visa,” he said early this June.
“For example, some visitors don’t wear modest, reasonable and proper attire when visiting holy places and tourist attractions in Bali.”
Recently a video of a naked German tourist made headlines after she wandered through a Hindu dance ceremony.
On June 4, Perth man Drew Donal Ireland, 28, was involved in a violent dispute with a local woman over 1,500,000 rupiah.
Australian Bodhi Risby-Jones was released from an Indonesian prison on June 6 after a drunken, naked rampage in the conservative Aceh province.
In 2023 alone more than 130 people have been kicked off the island, at least six of them were Australians.