Indonesia has opened several of its borders to foreigners after the Ministry of Law and Human Rights issued a ministerial regulation that reopens applications for tourist and limited stay visas for fully-vaccinated travelers.
"Previously, only foreigners with diplomatic and service visas are allowed to enter the country. With today's issuance of Ministerial Regulation…, those with existing valid tourist and limited stay visas are also allowed to enter Indonesia," the Directorate General of Immigration's spokesman Arya Pradhana Anggakara said in a statement on Thursday.
According to Xinhua news agency, the government has also decided to open international borders at six transportation hubs, which are the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang city, Banten province, Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado city, North Sulawesi province, seaports in Batam city, Riau Islands province, and Nunukan, North Kalimantan province, as well as land cross-border posts in the areas of Aruk and Entikong in West Kalimantan province.
The seaports and land borders have been reopened for international tourists as of Thursday, and the two airports since Friday, the Transportation Ministry's spokesperson Adita Irawati said in a recent press release.
On Friday, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan also said that the government is likely to reopen its resort island of Bali for international tourists starting October due to the recent decline in the number of daily COVID-19 cases in Indonesia.
"If the number of cases continues to drop, we are confident to reopen Bali in October," Panjaitan said at a virtual press conference, adding that Indonesia will prioritize foreign tourists from countries with controlled COVID-19 cases.
