Indonesia Jakarta Visa on Arrival: Easy Entry for International Travelers
Preparations before Departure from Shanghai
1. Passport: Ensure that the passport is valid for at least 6 months.
2. Air Ticket: When purchasing a flight ticket from Shanghai to Jakarta, you can choose a connecting flight, which is relatively cheaper. For convenience, I bought a connecting ticket with direct luggage transfer, and the transit was at Hong Kong International Airport, with about 1 hour reserved for the connection.
3. Hotel Reservation: Book a hotel in Jakarta in advance, print out the confirmation or save it on your phone.
4. Cash: Instead of exchanging currency at the Bank of China, after landing, I found an ATM of BCA Bank and withdrew cash using my Bank of China card. The ATM is the one on the far right in the picture.
The maximum withdrawal amount per transaction is 2,500,000 Indonesian Rupiah (about 1250 RMB), and there will be a handling fee. I withdrew cash three times, each time with a 23 RMB fee. It is recommended to find an ATM in the city for better exchange rates. You can withdraw some money from the ATM before applying for the visa to pay the visa fee.
5. Travel Insurance: To ensure travel safety, it is recommended to purchase travel insurance covering medical, accidents, etc., choosing an appropriate coverage and service.
Jakarta Visa on Arrival Process
1. Visa Fee: Prepare 35 US dollars or 500,000 Indonesian Rupiah.
2. Visa Window: After getting off the plane, follow the crowd, and there will also be signs for Visa on Arrival. First, go to the visa window to submit your passport and visa fee, and the staff will give you a purple payment receipt.
If you continue walking towards the visa fee payment window, you will find several ATMs. If you don’t have cash, you can withdraw money there and then return to make the payment.
3. Visa Processing: After paying, follow the crowd a short distance, and hand over your itinerary, passport, and the small purple slip to the staff for visa processing.
They may ask why you are visiting.
4. Luggage Claim: After passing through, proceed to the baggage claim area to collect your luggage.
✈ Transportation and Communication
1. Ride-hailing: Grab and Gojek are very popular in Jakarta; download the app for convenient and quick reservations.
2. Hotel Car Rental: Most hotels offer airport pickup services.
You can book this service in advance via email, although it is generally more expensive but more convenient.
3. SIM Card: You can buy a Telkomsel SIM card on Taobao, which is cheaper. The SIM cards sold outside the airport are more expensive, but since some guides say that the ones bought on Taobao might not work, I still bought the card at the airport.
If your stay is not long, you can directly use mobile data roaming.
