Visa Requirements for Bali (UPDATED 2023)
8 Minute Read | Written by Erin Roche
Navigating the tricky world of post-2020 travel restrictions and entry requirements can be confusing for lots of travellers, so in this blog, we’re going to breakdown exactly what you need to enter Bali, Indonesia in 2023.
The information is current in 2023, please check with visa agencies for specific information for your country and double check any new regulations.
Let’s get right into it…
Entering Bali & Visa Requirements for Bali
Bali is now open for domestic and international travel, so you are able to fly directly into Ngurah Rai Airport (Denpasar) from international or domestic airports. The specific travel requirements vary depending on your nationality so read on to find out more!
Visa on Arrival (VOA)
For entry to Indonesia, 86 countries can obtain a 30 day Visa On Arrival (VOA) in Ngurah Rai airport as well as other airports in Indonesia. The VOA is available for countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, UK, USA + more. You can find the full list of nationalities here. The VOA grants travellers a 30 day stay in Indonesia and can be extended for 30 days through visa agencies once you have arrived in Bali. This means you can stay for a total of 60 days in Bali, before you must depart otherwise you are at risk of being charged for over staying. You are not able to change to another visa from the VOA and must depart the country at its expiration.
There are specific VOA requirements that must be met to successfully enter Bali. These are:
Passport validity for a minimum of 6 months
A proof of flight ticket leaving Indonesia
Proof of Covid-19 vaccinations (at least two shots) or a certified medical exemption. One shot of the J&J vaccination is accepted also.
Have the PeduliLindungi App downloaded on your smart phone with a user profile created.
You no longer need to show proof of travel insurance that covers Covid-19 to enter Bali, however we always recommend that you choose the best travel insurance for your circumstance, and take into consideration whether Covid-19 may affect your travel home, and if insurance covering it would be a good option. For more information on travel insurance, check out 10 Tips to Plan the Perfect Trip.
Upon arrival in Bali, you will need to purchase the VOA at the relevant counter. The visa costs 500,000 IDR ($50AUD) and can be paid on Eftpos, or in cash with IDR.
As mentioned above, a requirement to visit Indonesia is having proof of onward travel. Keep this in mind while you plan your travels if you like to keep things spontaneous like us!
Some countries can now apply for an electronic, online VOA, or e-VOA. Check with any Bali visa agent via Instagram to check if you can apply for this and save yourself time in the arrivals terminal.
You can check out our Bali 2 highlight on Instagram (@thewaytowherever) to see the full VOA process when we arrived in Ngurah Rai Airport in August 2022.
Other Visas
All remaining nationalities not eligible for VOA must enter via one of the other available visas, such as the B211A Visit Visa. The best way to acquire this visa is by contacting a visa agency in Bali as they have the up to date information available for each nationality and based on your reasons for travel. The B211A Visit Visa is valid for 60 days and has four 30 day extensions available.
Your visa agency will advise as to the specific documents you must present upon arrival at the airport, so we won’t go into detail here.
There are other visas available to travel and live in Bali, depending on your individual circumstance and profession, and for situations such as retirement or investments. As we aren’t experts on the nitty gritty of Indonesian visas, we’d recommend you directly contact an agency to find out your options for travelling to Bali on visas other than the VOA.
Money in Bali
Coming from Australia, it seems odd to have wads of cash in your wallets, but here in Bali it’s something you’ll need to get used to. Many places in Bali only accept cash, except for the more western restaurants and hotels. If you’re looking at eating street food, filling up a scooter, buying snacks at corner stores, or cracking a Bintang at the beach bar, there’s a good chance you’ll need cash.
Many of the ATM’s in Bali are reputable and affiliated with one of the major Indonesian banks, so we felt pretty confident using them. The ATMs we would recommend using are CIMB Niaga, BNI, BCA, Mandiri, & BRI as most will have branches in Denpasar in case anything goes wrong (like it did for us… more on that soon). Take the usual caution that you would in your home country, such as checking for skimmers, being cautious of people around you and protecting your pin.
The cash from ATMs will be disbursed in 50,000 or 100,000 notes which is equivalent to A$5 or A$10, so it’s likely that you’ll be carrying around a fair bit at any given time. We like to bring a purse style wallet to fit this in a bit easier!
When using the ATMs, keep in mind that they function a little differently from ATMs we’re used to in other parts of the world. You will put in the card, your pin and request the funds you’d like to withdraw, all the usual stuff, but then it gets weird. The ATM will dispense your money first, and will not eject your card automatically, instead it will ask if you are done with the transaction and you will have to manually press yes to withdraw your card.
After joking between ourselves about how foolish you’d have to be to forget to withdraw your card, it happened to us! We walked away without withdrawing the card, and only realised when we went to pay for dinner that it was missing. Luckily we got some advice from one of our followers to contact the local branch, as most ATMs store withheld cards in a bucket before they’re collected and destroyed weekly. So here’s what to do if you’re card gets stuck in an ATM in Bali. Visit one of the ATMs branches, likely in Denpasar, and advise them of your situation. Remember to take a few forms of ID (passport, international drivers license) and have as much information as you can about the card such as the number, the name, and the colour. Also, be sure to take note of exactly which ATM it was left in. All ATMs should have some type of ID number on them to help the branch relocate your card, but we were able to just provide the street address of the ATM and the branch located it! The branch retrieved the card and Whatsapp’ed us so we could collect it from the brand a few days later. We recommend doing this ASAP after it gets stuck in the machine, so that you can alert them before it’s destroyed. But the moral of this story is, do not forget to eject your card when using the ATMs in Bali.
For places that do take card, most require a pin to be entered, so make sure you know what your pin is prior to arriving in Bali, as you don’t want to be making crazy long distance calls to banks to change your pin if you’ve forgotten it.
Check out 5 Travel Planning Essentials for 2022 for more information about banking overseas, plus other useful tips for SIM cards & a discount code for shipping luggage overseas!
Travel requirements & health
Despite being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, Bali is not immune to a range of nasty diseases and illnesses. Before we travel internationally, we always consult our local doctor or vaccination clinic to find out any vaccinations we should have or medications to take specifically for the destination. Getting your vaccinations up to date can take up to 8 weeks so it’s a good idea to get this ball rolling 2 to 3 months before you jet off.
In Bali, you will be susceptible to mosquito-borne illnesses, Rabies, and Traveller’s Diarrhoea, to name a few of the main risks. Good hygiene practices and a well stocked medical purse (as advised by your doctor) can help keep the nasties away, so definitely check in with a medical professional to see how you can stay healthy in Bali before you travel. Bali has plenty of insect repellant available in case you forget to bring yours, just head to any pharmacy, called an Apotek, or a grocer, such as Pepito or Circle K, to stock up.
We unfortunately had to visit the doctors a few times while in Bali and we actually had a really great experience. The doctors and nurses were super attentive, provided good medical attention and were well stocked with the necessary medications. A short visit & one weeks worth of medication set us back about $70 per so most doctor’s visits for simple illnesses shouldn’t break the bank.
That’s It!
If you’ve made it down here, thank you so much for reading!
That pretty much covers all the travel requirements for entering Bali so your planning can be more seamless knowing you’ve got everything covered. As we’ve spent over 6 months in Bali in 2022 alone, we’ve gotten to know the island pretty well, so check out our blogs What does it cost to visit Bali in 2022 and How to get around Bali to make your journey as seamless as possible!
