Entering Indonesia in 2026: The Arrival Card, Bali's Levy and the New Park Fees

Indonesia has spent the last two years consolidating a mess of separate arrival forms into a single digital system, and simultaneously tightening how it collects money from visitors. The result is genuinely simpler at the airport and considerably more work before you leave home. If you last visited in 2023, roughly half of what you did on arrival no longer exists in the same form.

This is a practical summary of what applies in mid-2026: what to complete online, what to pay, when to do each, and where the process still breaks.

What Changed, in One Paragraph

Since 1 September 2025, Indonesia has merged the paper arrival card, the standalone electronic customs declaration and the SATUSEHAT health declaration into a single unified digital arrival card, submitted through one portal and producing one QR code. Separately, Bali's IDR 150,000 tourist levy has moved from a poorly enforced request to something checked at site entrances and collectable by hotels. And the major national parks have shifted from paying at the gate to prepaying online, with Komodo requiring advance booking from April 2026. Three distinct changes, all pointing the same way: more online, earlier, and traceable.

The All Indonesia Arrival Card

Every international traveller entering Indonesia by air, sea or land must submit the digital arrival card. It is not optional and it is not a visa.

The submission covers three formalities at once: immigration details, the customs declaration that previously required a separate e-CD, and the health and quarantine declaration formerly handled through SATUSEHAT. At the major entry points — Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Batam — this single form serves all three. At some smaller ports, legacy customs processes may still apply alongside it, so check with your airline if you are arriving somewhere unusual.

Practical points:

• Complete it within roughly three days of arrival. Submitting weeks ahead is generally not accepted.
• You receive an Arrival QR Code on submission. Screenshot it. Airport wifi is unreliable and the code is scanned on entry.
• One submission per traveller, including children. Families do not file jointly.
• The form asks for your first night's accommodation address. Have it ready.

The system works well when it works. It also goes down periodically, and airport staff are accustomed to travellers arriving without it — you will be sent to a kiosk to complete it on the spot, which costs you thirty minutes in a queue rather than entry.

Visas: e-VOA and Who Still Needs What

The arrival card does not replace a visa. Nationals of around ninety countries remain eligible for a Visa on Arrival, valid for thirty days and extendable once for a further thirty.

There are two routes. The e-VOA is applied for online in advance, paid by card, and delivered as a document that lets you use the automated gates at major airports — a meaningful time saving in Bali during peak arrival banks. The VOA on arrival is bought at a counter after landing. Both cost the same. Since the arrival card system went live, the e-VOA application is accessible directly after submitting your arrival card through the same portal.

Two things travellers get wrong. First, the thirty days are calendar days including your arrival day, and overstay fines are charged per day with no grace period. Second, extension must be done inside Indonesia before expiry, either at an immigration office or online, and it takes several working days — do not leave it to the final week. For the detail on eligibility and the extension mechanics, see our earlier piece on what changed with Indonesia's visa on arrival.

Travellers planning longer stays should look at the remote-worker and second-home routes rather than chaining VOA extensions, which immigration increasingly scrutinises.

Bali's Tourist Levy

Every foreign visitor to Bali owes a levy of IDR 150,000 — roughly USD 10 — once per visit, regardless of age. Infants and children pay the same as adults. Indonesian citizens travelling domestically are exempt.

Payment is made through the official Love Bali platform, before arrival or during your stay, and produces a voucher with a QR code. Hotels, tour operators and travel agents are now formally authorised to collect it on your behalf, retaining a small administrative share of around three percent.

Exemptions exist for KITAS and KITAP holders, diplomats and student visa holders, but they must be applied for through the Love Bali system well in advance — the guidance is at least a month before arrival, so it is not something to arrange on landing.

The enforcement picture is the part worth understanding. Compliance has historically been low, with official reporting suggesting only around a third of eligible visitors paid. The response has been checks at popular temple and beach sites, where staff ask for the voucher before admission. Pay it. The amount is trivial, the fine for arguing about it at a gate is your afternoon, and there is a live proposal at government level to raise it to IDR 300,000.

Park and Regional Fees Are Now Separate Prepayments

The most consequential change for anyone going beyond Bali is that the major protected areas now expect payment and registration before you show up.

Komodo National Park. From April 2026, visitors must pre-book through the park's official booking application or a licensed operator. Consolidated tickets covering entry, ranger services and conservation contributions run approximately IDR 650,000 per person for the Komodo Island route and IDR 900,000 for Rinca. Arranging a boat on the harbourfront the morning you want to sail is no longer viable.

Raja Ampat. Two charges apply, both purchased online in advance: a Marine Park Entry Permit of IDR 700,000, valid twelve months, and a Visitor Entry Ticket of IDR 300,000, valid for one entry only. Children under twelve are exempt from the marine park permit.

Other parks. Bromo Tengger Semeru, Ujung Kulon and several others operate their own online booking or quota systems, generally at much lower cost but with the same requirement to register in advance. Rules differ park by park and change without much notice.

Two cautions. First, these amounts have been revised repeatedly and should be reconfirmed close to departure. Second, the shift toward prepayment is a structural policy direction, not a temporary measure — our analysis of Indonesia's marine tourism reckoning explains where it is heading and why.

Timing: When to Do Each Step

Sequence matters more than most people expect.

• Two months out: book flights, and check whether any park you plan to visit requires advance booking with limited daily capacity.
• Four weeks out: apply for any Bali levy exemption if eligible. This deadline is real.
• Two weeks out: purchase Raja Ampat permits or Komodo bookings if your dates are fixed. Payment gateways for these can be temperamental with foreign cards, so leave room to retry.
• Three days out: submit the All Indonesia arrival card. Not earlier.
• Any time before arrival: pay the Bali levy through Love Bali, or confirm your hotel will collect it.
• On arrival: have the Arrival QR Code, the levy voucher and your e-VOA saved offline on your phone and, ideally, printed.

Because several of these steps depend on card payments that intermittently fail from abroad, a working travel agency is genuinely useful here — this is one of the things we assess in our directory of vetted Indonesian agencies.

What to Do Next

1. Check your passport validity. Six months beyond your intended departure date, with blank pages. This still catches people out.
2. Confirm your visa route. Check your nationality's eligibility for Visa on Arrival, and decide between e-VOA and the arrival counter.
3. List every fee your itinerary triggers. Bali levy, plus any park permits. Write them into your budget as a separate line rather than absorbing them into daily spend.
4. Set a calendar reminder for the arrival card. Three days before departure, not before.
5. Save everything offline. Arrival QR, levy voucher, visa document, first night's address. Assume no connectivity on landing.
6. Build slack into your first day. Immigration queues in Bali during peak arrival windows can run over an hour; our notes on island-hopping Indonesia slowly explain why same-day onward domestic connections are a bad idea.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need the All Indonesia arrival card if I have a visa?

Yes. They are entirely separate. The arrival card handles immigration, customs and health declarations; the visa handles your right to enter. Every traveller needs the arrival card regardless of visa type, nationality or age.

When exactly should I submit the arrival card?

Within about three days of your arrival date. Submitting significantly earlier is generally rejected, and submitting on arrival means completing it at an airport kiosk, which is slow at peak times. Set a reminder for three days before you fly.

How much is the Bali tourist levy and how do I pay it?

IDR 150,000 per foreign visitor per visit, roughly USD 10, payable through the official Love Bali platform before or during your stay. Hotels and tour operators can also collect it on your behalf. Children pay the full amount. Keep the QR voucher accessible, as it is checked at major tourist sites.

Is the Bali levy charged again if I leave Bali and return?

The levy is structured as a per-visit charge, so a genuine departure from and return to Bali can trigger it again. If you are doing a Bali–Flores–Bali loop, keep your original voucher and be prepared to explain, or budget for paying twice. Practice at checkpoints varies.

Can I still pay Komodo park fees at the gate?

No, not reliably. From April 2026 advance booking through the official system or a licensed operator is required. Some operators will handle this within a package price, which is the simplest route for most visitors, but confirm in writing that park fees are included.

What happens if I overstay my visa?

Indonesia charges a fixed fine per day of overstay, payable at the airport before departure, with no grace period. Extended overstays can result in deportation and re-entry bans. Extend inside the country before expiry rather than risking it — extensions take several working days to process.

Are there any exemptions from the entry fees?

Indonesian citizens are exempt from the Bali levy. KITAS and KITAP holders, diplomats and student visa holders may apply for exemption through Love Bali at least a month before arrival. For park fees, children under twelve are exempt from the Raja Ampat marine park permit. There are no general tourist exemptions.

Where should I check for updates before travelling?

Use the official Indonesian immigration portal and the Love Bali site for the levy, plus the individual park authorities for permits, rather than aggregator blogs. Rules here have changed several times in two years, and our Indonesia planning resources note where requirements differ by region.