Immigration Rejects Proposal for Visa-Free Entry for 8+1 States
Immigration says the scheme has not been shown to lift foreign-exchange earnings and could raise security and sovereignty risks.
The Directorate General of Immigration has rejected a proposal from the Ministry of Tourism to grant visa-free visits to tourists from the 8+1 formula of potential countries and territories. Director General of Immigration Hendarsam Marantoko said Indonesia had opened similar access under Presidential Regulation No. 21 Tahun 2016 for 169 countries, but the policy was seen as not significantly increasing foreign-exchange earnings. He also said any visa relaxation must be weighed against national security and sovereignty. According to Hendarsam, improving tourism quality would be more effective through better infrastructure and air access. Earlier, Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana proposed visa-free entry for Jepang, Korea Selatan, India, Australia, Selandia Baru, Belarusia, Kazakhstan, and Makau to maintain visitor flows amid global flight connectivity disruptions in the Middle East region.
Sources
- CNN IndonesiaTier 180% reliableRead →10 hours ago