Many people end up never leaving this paradise island and we understand why! When we first came to Bali, we didn’t want to leave Indonesia, even to renew our 30 days visas. After some research, we found out it was unnecessary to fly out every 2 months for a visa run! So here is a step by step process on how to stay in Bali for up to 6 months.
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What you need is called a social visa or more precisely a social-cultural visa (form B-211). With this social visa, you can enter Indonesia and stay for 60 days.
It can be extended every 30 days up to a maximum stay of 6 months without having to leave Bali! It is also called a single-entry Visa. As soon as you leave the country, the visa expires and you will have to start the process again.
Where to apply for a Social Visa
The social visas are issued by the Indonesian consulates in your home country, so before coming to Bali. If you are already in Asia, there is also a way to get this visa in one day in Singapore! You are not able to get this visa if you are already in Indonesia.
What you need to provide
While it has become more simple to do in the past years, it can still be a hard process. There is a lot of paperwork needed such as an application form, bank statements, your flight ticket, a passport picture as well as a money order (in Canada it is 70$).
The most important part of your application is the sponsor letter. You need to have an ‘invitation’ from a resident of Indonesia. Now you don’t actually need to have a Balinese friend!
There are many companies from which you can purchase this letter, and the prices range from $20 to $75 USD. You will need to send them a photocopy of your passport as well as the address of the Indonesian embassy you will go to. It is important for your passport to be valid for at least 12 months from the moment you enter Indonesia.
Social Visa Extension
Once you receive the recommendation letter you can submit an application to the Indonesian Consulate of your country. They will add the social visa to your passport and you can stay in Bali for 60 days. You will then need to renew it every 30 days at the immigration office.
If you retain the services of a company, they will come to pick up your passport and bring it back to you within a week. This way you only need to go to the immigration office once. But if you choose to do it by yourself, you will have to go twice: once to bring your passport, and once for fingerprints.
All in all, it’s a pretty easy process and it’s much cheaper than flying out every two month!
Contact us if you would like to know more about the company we used, and enjoy your worry-free stay in Bali!
You could use your extra time on the island to go visit East Java which is only a 45 minutes ferry ride from Bali, and stop to visit Menjangan Island on the way!
You can click here to see a list of all the locations of Indonesian consulates around the world, where you can apply for a social visa.
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