Extending your visa on arrival in Bali

We planned our trip to Indonesia to be 39 days, nine days over the amount that the visa on arrival (VOA) permits. Before we left I had read that you could get a 30 day extension and that it was pretty easy. Some even said you could just get it on arrival by asking the immigration officers as you entered the country. That turned out to be untrue.

Once we got settled I asked our hosts and other travelers what they knew about extending. Everyone had a different answer or had no experience. Online travel forums also had a variety of information and tales of different experiences. I couldn't find a source that seemed authoritative or current enough so I started to lean towards the hiring an agent to do it for me.

I researched agents and I couldn't find any that had good reputations or that gave me confidence in them. The agents also supposedly charged IDR 750,000 which included the 250,000 extension fee.

So I decided to just try it myself. I skipped the crowded Denpasar immigration office (Kantor Imigrasi) and try the one in Singaraja since I was staying in Lovina. The office is quite convenient to get to and you cannot miss it's huge white "immigration" banner on the road side.

My research said that you would need two copies of the photo page of your passport and the VoA stamp page. You should also have a print out of your proof of onward travel. I found a photo printing place and had the copies made. One set of copies would go into your red application folder and the other set would be your copy since the Kantor Imigrasi would be keeping your passport during this process. The copies only cost me IDR 1,000.

The Singaraja office is only open Monday to Friday. I am not sure what the hours are but I arrived around 9:30 and there was only one foreigner ahead of me. It is a very modern office and feels much like an American DMV. They have a touch screen for picking your number and a clean air conditioned waiting area.

The woman working the foreign desk spoke English and reviewed our documents. She then handed us a red folder and told us to fill out a long form. Upon returning the completed form we waited for about 30 minutes. I am guessing they entered the information into a computer and checked it over. Once that was complete I confirmed that all the information was correct and we wouldn't need to redo it in a few days. She assured us it was good.

The next confusing step is that you need to return to the office two times. About one or two days after the initial time to pay the fee of IDR 250,000 per extension and then a few days after that to actually pickup your passport.

When I returned to pay the fee it only took ten minutes. I then reconfirmed the date I needed to pick up our passports. She gave me the same date but this time added that I need to come after 3:00 pm.

Hopefully everything is in order for a successful pickup Monday.