Thread: VOAs can now be extended can now be extended

I just had an email from someone who applied for the renewal and they said they needed a sponsor. It was a hassle to get the extension and even a hassle for the sponsor to complete the paperwork.

If you know you want to stay in Indonesia for 2 months, it seems like it will be much less hassle to apply for it in advance through your embassy.

Originally Posted by wepro

The question is: Do you still get a 60-day visa from the consulate/embassy ?? Because they can ask you to use the VOA and make the extension after 30 days in Bali, without disturbing the consulate :-)..........

There was no news that the 60 visa had been cancelled, so I suspect that if an embassy doesn't want to give it to you, it is because they are just trying to lessen their work load.

Sorry, because this sound like "gossips" but it is real!! (I mean the way people get different information from diferent places, sounds gossip..........)
I was laugthing yesterday some friends told me that they went to ask about to renew the 30 days visa inside of indonesia and they told me that an agency from Ubud told them they have to pay 2.000.000 Rp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"of course" my first thinking and quite pretty sure they didn´t understand my friends questions...........and they are wrong...............but this is the point.....how they cannot have the right and clear information in such an important issue for a tourist person coming to Indonesia?
I guess the answer is what Spycy post by the experience of somebody and I post before as well, you need a sponsor and go to the inmigration office, so you have to get some balinese/indonesian person go with you, willing to be the sponsor and spend probably half of day at the inmigration office.
If is possible to enter from Denpasar ad renew it in another place diferent from the pace you enter the country is a good question that not yet answered.
My friends has three months and finally they go now to Singapore and they will try to get the two months visa from there.
Have a good day

Sorry, because this sound like "gossips" but it is real!! (I mean the way people get different information from diferent places, sounds gossip..........)

It is quite amazing how it seems like there was no procedure or guidelines created for immigration to issue the visa. It was created to boost tourism, but if people start writing on blogs and forums how much of a hassle it is, people could well just skip the hassle and travel to a neighboring country.

Here is the final update from the person who contacted me by email:

Just to conclude the story, today we got the extension. The interview of the sponsor was not necessary anymore(??) but we had to leave all our fingerprints, they took a picture of each and told us to leave an electronic signature. But than it went very fast. The paperwork was done by 10am and at 3pm
we had our stamped passport with the extended visa in our hands.

So now we are going to enjoy sulawesi for another month :-).

so, but finally is necesary to go there with the sponsor isn´t it?
do you have any idea how much they paid in total? is like people is saying? just 25$?
we still don´t know if is possible to do it in another island diferent thay the one the person arrive!

Yes, it seems like you need a sponsor. Which seems a bit crazy to me. If you are traveling here, it might not be so easy to find someone to sponsor you (at least without paying them some kind of fee). The person said, the fee was US$25.

Originally Posted by spicyayam

Yes, it seems like you need a sponsor. Which seems a bit crazy to me. If you are traveling here, it might not be so easy to find someone to sponsor you (at least without paying them some kind of fee). The person said, the fee was US$25.

Yap, I agree with you spicy, not everybody get that close to somebody in a month time, to ask them to be the sponsor and go with them to the inmigration office and waste half day!!!!
Hehehe always people can ask the driver to take them to the inmigration office to be their sponsor!!!

I just called my visa agent (for extensions at the kantor in Pemaron) today to get some information about extending the VOA.
I was told that the requirements are exactly the same as for the sosbud extension.
You have to have a SPONSOR LETTER...
I think either the rule is really ridiculous or they are just misinformed (or didn't get any information on how to handle VOA extensions at all... - wouldn't surprise me much).

I couldn't think of any reason to have tourists who want to stay a little longer find a sponsor... I understand that they are interested in the additional 25 dollars but the sponsor and fingerprints and all that stuff... !?!
Sometimes I really ask myself: what the .... is going on in the offices of Bali, or in the 'authorities'' heads?