Indonesia suspends visa policy for 159 countries

According to a VNA reporter in Jakarta, on June 21, Indonesian President Joko Widodo affirmed that the decision to temporarily suspend the visa exemption policy for 159 countries was made based on the results of benefit assessments.

Speaking to reporters, President Joko Widodo stated that Indonesia previously allowed free entry, but now the government sees the need to reassess the benefits that the policy brings to the country and the necessity of an open-door policy for other countries. He said that not only Indonesia, but other countries are also reassessing their visa exemption policies, and each country has the right to continue or cancel the visa exemption policy.

The above decision of the Indonesian Government was made based on the decision on June 7 of the Minister of Law and Human Rights , which stated that visa exemption has affected people's lives, leading to violations of immigration regulations, disturbing public order and spreading disease.

After suspending the visa exemption policy for 159 countries, Indonesia only applies the visa exemption policy for citizens of 9 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor Leste. Citizens of the above 10 countries are allowed to stay in Indonesia for a maximum of 30 days without extension, and must present a valid passport with at least 6 months validity, a return ticket or onward journey at the point of entry.

Previously, on June 19, Indonesian media reported that the decision to suspend the visa exemption policy for 159 countries was made to address concerns related to disruption of public order and the possibility of disease transmission from countries not certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as safe from the epidemic.

VNA/Tin Tuc Newspaper

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