Bali considers axing $50 visa fee for Aussies

Bali, Indonesia- 16 Oct, 2019: Locals and tourists on crowded Kuta Beach in Bali a popular travel destination.

By James Harrison

Aussie holiday-goers to Bali are set to have fuller pockets because the Indonesian Government is considering axing its $50 visa fee.

Originally introduced in wake of the COVID pandemic, the fee was put in place to discourage ‘cheap tourists’ and boost revenue for the island, according to the Daily Mail.

But the popular holiday spot may be ditching it’s visa, which operated more so as a tax than an actual visa, to encourage further spending once in Bali.

Indonesia’s minister for tourism, Sandiaga Uno, said his government was considering re-introducing visa-free travel for its most frequent international visitors.

“Earlier it was decided to propose which countries would be proposed for visa-free visits. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy proposed 20 countries with the highest number of foreign tourists outside of countries that have visa-free visits,” Uno said.

“At the top are Australia, China, India, South Korea, the United States, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, and five other additional countries are countries related to investment contributions and the economic impact on Indonesia, Middle Eastern countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and several other countries.”

Uno said that the exemption list will be finalised and put before Indonesian president Joko Widodo next month. Following this, the tourism department will receive direction from the president and the policy will be followed up with immigration.

Despite this change, another tax is expected to be introduced in 14 February 2024.

The tax will be paid electronically and take 23 seconds to process, the head of Bali Tourism Department Tjok Bagus Pemayun said.

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