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THE VISA-FREE Visit or Kebijakan Bebas Visa Kunjungan (BVK) Policy issued by the Indonesian Immigration Department provides easy access for Singapore permanent resident (PR) holders to visit the Riau Islands region, which is expected to help achieve the target of 14.3 foreign tourist visits to Indonesia in 2024.
According to Nia Niscaya, Senior Expert Staff of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, in The Final Episode of the Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno at the Sapta Pesona Building in Central Jakarta on Monday (10/14), 2024, said I appreciate the relaxation of policies issued by the Immigration Department, which shows support for the tourism and creative economy sector.
“Because Singapore is our closest neighbor. And in terms of destination, access is one of the main components. The potential for foreign tourists needs to be maximized with supportive policies. The policy refers to Presidential Decree No. 95 of 2024 on visa-free visits for citizens of Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Timor Leste, Suriname, Colombia, Hong Kong and holders of certain residence permits from Singapore,” she said.
Nia Niscaya explained that for permanent resident (PR) holders from Singapore, the Riau Islands region that can be visited includes Batam, Bintan and Karimun with a visa-free stay permit for a maximum of four days from the date of arrival, which cannot be extended.
This has been regulated in the Regulation of the Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights Number M.HH-1.GR.01.07 on the List of Certain Immigration Checkpoints, Checkpoints for Entry into Indonesian Territory for Subjects with Visa-Free Visits.
The entry for tourists is through various ports such as Nongsa Terminal Bahari, Marina Teluk Senimba, Batam Center, Citra Tri Tunas, Sekupang, Sri Bintan Pura, Bandar Bentan Telani Lagoi and Tanjung Balai Karimun.
Meanwhile, Directorate of Immigration Traffic, Anggit Suhandono, explained that the Singapore Specific Residence Permit holders were given because they had basically received accreditation from the Singapore government so they did not require further checks.
“So, they can come to Indonesia easily and of course it is very beneficial for the tourism sector and the creative economy,” Anggit said.
Anggit also shared the terms and conditions of the special residence permit in Kepri, such as having permanent resident (PR) status in Singapore, then being a holder of a blue Singapore National Registration Identity Card (NRIC), and not being a citizen of a calling visa country.
This policy only applies in the Kepri area, so for tourists wishing to travel domestically, they must first return to Singapore. After that, they can apply for a visit visa according to their national passport.
“To control the entry and exit of tourists, we provide the latest crossing system. So when the person is first in, when he will leave Kepri, what will be detected is his PR (Permanent Residence), not his passport,” concluded Anggit. [traveltext.id]
