Indonesia adds 30 countries to visa-free list, visit Bali for less!

Good news for all travelers! Indonesian government today announced that 30 new countries will be added to the visa-free list.

Travelers coming from these 30 countries will no longer have to pay $35 for 30 day visa to enter Indonesia.

The new visa-free policy, which was initially set for China, Japan, South Korea and Russia only, has been extended to 30 countries including Canada, Mexico and the US.

Also included on the list are European countries such as Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, in addition to South Africa and Middle Eastern countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

New Zealand is also on the list. However it’s close neighbour Australia is still missing, most likely because relationship of the country with Indonesia has recently deteriorated amid the imminent execution of two Australian drug convicts on Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java.

Australian tourists reach highest numbers of all visitors coming to Indonesia (10% of all visitors), especially to popular island Bali which is very close from Australia.

The new rule will apply already from April 2015.

The number of foreign tourist arrivals  to Indonesia last year rose by 7.19 percent to 9.44 million.

The main aim of extended visa-free list is attempt to attract more than 10 million foreign visitors this year.