Aussies still need visas for Bintangs, plus a new one for the Pyramids
Australia has been excluded from a list of 45 countries that will be offered visa-free travel to Indonesia, with officials claiming the snub is due to reciprocal entry requirements and not recent tensions between the two countries.
Tourism Minister, Arif Yahya was reported by Reuters as saying the exclusion of Australia from the list has nothing to do with mounting calls to boycott travel to Bali and political pressures between the two governments over the pending execution of two Australian drug smugglers, instead claiming it was a matter of reciprocity.
“If we give visa-free travel to Australia, we have to be given the same thing. It cannot be that we give it to them first,” Yahya said, the paper reports.
Despite the comments, the Indonesian government will start the visa-free entry for citizens of USA, several Asian and European countries next month, but only after will it seek reciprocal visa conditions for its citizens, however the same conditions will not be applied to Australia.
“I can guarantee that if the Australian government wants (to agree to visa-free travel), that the foreign minister and president will almost definitely want it too,” Yahya said.
Australian leisure travellers marks as the third largest market for Indonesia in 2014, behind neighbouring countries Singapore and Malaysia. Australian travellers must continue to apply for the US$35 Visa on Arrival when travelling to Indonesia.
Meanwhile, international tourists to Egypt from May 15 will have to visit their local Egyptian consulate to obtain a visa, with the country removing its visa-on-arrival scheme for a number of countries, including Australia.
While previously Australian tourists to Egypt could apply for a visa on arrival for US$15, they will now have to apply for and receive a visa to enter Egypt before arriving in the country. The move is expected to deflate Egypt’s hopes of attracting 20 million visitors by 2020 and generating US$20 billion for the country.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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According to the US Embassy, Indonesian’s wanting a tourist visa must pay US$160…is the Embassy web site out-of-date or is the policy flawed?
Hi Adrian, Not sure what the policies are for Indonesians to the US or to Australia, but for Australians visiting Indonesia they must pay US$35 for a visa-on-arrival at the airport. Hope that clarifies.
Perhaps I wasn’t clear. One of the reasons the Indonesian minister gave for not giving visa-free access to Australians was because Indonesians have to pay for visa to visit Australia. While the Indonesian Govt will give visa-free access to US citizens…even though the US still charges Indonesians US$160 for a visa.
Different strokes for different folks!