How-To: Extend a 30-day Visa in Indonesia

Disclaimer : This is just one option for extending your visa. Always do your own research as rules change. 

We never really have a plan when we go to a new country. We just go with a flow. If we like a place we stay. Every  country has different visa and depends on what nationality you are. For example in Mexico,  Americans can get a 6 month visa upon entry. No extra paper work, no fees just 6 moths out the gate! Wow! This is why Mexico was our first choice when leaving America. 

However, Indonesia isn't as generous. You get only 30 days upon arrival. If you want to stay longer it will cost about $35 to purchase a Visa on Arrival. You must purchase this at the airport. The normal visa cannot be Then you must get it extended at the immigration office. We used an agent and this cost 600k rupiah ( $45 USD) I am not sure how much you have to pay without an agent but for us it was worth hiring one for the following reasons. 

1. We did not have to go to immigration 3 times. 

2. We only went to immigration once.

3. Immigration was closed for over 2 weeks and the agent worked it out so that we would not have to pay an over-stay fee. ( Our appointment was not scheduled until after our first 30 days were up. Even though we gave them our passport before our visa expired. )

3. The line was around the corner but we did not have to wait long, we were in and out in less than 30 minutes. 

Regardless of whether you do this yourself or hire an agent, you have to leave your passport with them, so plan accordinly.