DISCLAIMER: As of March 2014, the Kuala Lumpur Embassy reportedly no longer gives out 60 day Visas. Other options are a 30 day visa or a VOA (Visa on Arrival). Some have reported 60 day visas can be obtained in Penang (confirmed June 2014), Kota Kinabalu or Tawau, but I can’t give anymore information on this. Please read the most recent comments for updates. Good luck everyone!
This sort of gives it away, so I’ll just say it. My next stop is the many islands of Indonesia. What many people don’t realize is just how huge this country is. For one, its the fourth most populous country in the world. That alone is crazy, but then you hear that its made up of over 17 thousand islands (WHAT?!) and your head really starts spinning.
Most travelers get a Visa on Arrival when traveling to Indonesia, which is offered at numerous air and sea ports. Problem is, these only give you 30 days, which, according to my calculation puts me at a rate of 566 islands per day to see them all. Needless to say, that’s not happening, but even still, I like to linger in places for around a week at a time and 30 days just doesn’t cut it. There is also the option of getting a one-time 30-day extenstion, but I don’t know where I’ll be when the need for that comes up. Fortunately, 60 day visas are available at many embassies and even more lucky for myself, I happened to be in Kuala Lumpur a few weeks before I decided to head Indo direction. The process was surprisingly hiccup free. Here’s how I did it and what you’ll need if you also decide to go for 60.
Location of Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur
The Indonesian Embassy isn’t located near any LRT stop, the nearest being the Bukit Bintang Monorail Station. That being said, taxis in Kuala Lumpur are relatively cheap. A cab from the popular backpacker area of Chinatown should only run you 6-10 RM. If you’re brave, you can walk from the Bukit Bintang district, but you’ll most likely arrive drenched in sweat especially considering the clothing requirements…
Preparation
Before you go, be sure to:
- Wear shoes and pants – shorts and sandals are supposedly not allowed, although I did see a few not adhering to this.
Bring:
- Passport – Surprising, I know
- 2 passport photos – These can also be obtained just outside and to the right of the entrance, but it’s probably cheaper to bring your own
- A photo copy of (1) your passport and (2) the page with your Malaysian entry stamp – These are 50 cents at the same spot as above
- Flight Itinerary (optional) – I only had a flight into Indonesia as my plan was to leave via ferry and I didn’t bring a print out of the ticket. They told me to bring it upon pickup, but ended up not asking for it the next day
Process
The embassy opens at 9am and only the first 120 people are able to submit their applications. Grab a number for the queue and fill in your visa application. It’s also possible to print out the application (found here) and have it filled in already. Once you submit your papers and pay for the visa (170 RM), they give you a receipt and a time to return on the following day for pickup. In all, the process took under and hour. Pickup time is usually between 2 and 4 pm and shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes.
That’s it. Hopefully you didn’t run into any trouble and now have twice the number of days to explore Indonesia as you would have had with a VOA.
That is EXACTLY the information I’ve been looking for!!
Many thanks for the detailed info 🙂
Enjoy your travels……
Awesome, glad I could help. I knew someone else out there would find it useful
Hi Phil
Great information for me as well. Two quick questions
– Did you actually buy your outbound ferry ticket out of the country (and if so which route was it for)?
– I’m planning on heading into East Timor and then likely making my way back into Indonesia afterwards. Was the 6-month visa multi-entry? If not I’d be tempted just to get down to East Timor in 30 days, then get a new 30-day visa for the trip back…but ideally I’d like to keep my options open in case I decide to spend >30 days on the first leg of the trip.
Thanks again!
Abs
Hey Abs,
At the time, I hadn’t bought an outbound ferry ticket and I actually ended up flying out of the country in the end.
Also, the 60 visa is a single entry, so if you’re definitely going to East Timor than you’ll probably need another visa. I can’t confirm this, but I heard that a visa run through East Timor ends up being much more expensive.
Hi Phil
Apologies for the late reply. I ended up being in a country that didn’t allow me to access your blog (it was probably China), but just wanted to say thanks for the reply, it was very much appreciated.
All the best
Abs
Hi Phil,
Why did youn have to arrange a vise before entering? I have the information that the 30 day visa on arival is extendable with another 30 days. That applies since 2010
Or didn’t that account for your nationality?
regards
You’re correct. You can get a 30 day visa on arrival and then extend it another 30 days. I chose this route because I didn’t know which part of the country I was going to be in when my first 30 days was up and I didn’t want to deal with having to get to a city where I could extend it.
Thanks Phil,
I will be in the exact same situation as you were in a couple of months I won’t be able to extend the 30 days VOA and was looking for information on how to get a 60 days visa from the embassy in KL.
I went to their website visa’s section but it was not clear at all so thanks for sharing your experience.
Cheers, Loïc.
Great, glad I could help. Good luck on your trip. Indo is beautiful
Great information, thanks very helpful!
I used the photo booth and photocopy facilities next to the embassy, and it cost RM15.00 to get 8 pics (with red background) and both photocopies. It took about one minute..! I got there at about 8.45, so it was all done and I was in waiting inside, before 9am…
Awesome, sounds like a relatively painless trip!
Thanks Phil,
today I was searching the net for some information about Malaysia and Indonesia and I found exactly what i was looking for for the second time on your site. Thanks for sharing your experience!
That’s awesome to hear! Good luck in Indo
Thanks for this I have been sailing and my husband passed away while out at sea – so I am going volunteer for a while at an orphange in Indonesia.
I’m very sorry for your loss. Volunteering at an orphanage sounds like a great idea
Hi, Phil
Due date for leaving Indonesia is July 27 under my 30 days VOA condition. I need to come back to Surabaya in East Timor. Before I leave I need to know the below:
1. Can I extend my VOA for one more 30 days in East Timor area?
2. Can I apply and receive 60 days visa in one day in KL Indonesia Embassy?
3. Can I extend 60 days visa for one more 60 days in somewhere in Indonesia?
I appreciate your replying very much.
Blessings,
Hey Paul,
I’m not positive about any of your questions but I’ll do my best to answer
1. I believe you can do a visa run if you enter East Timor and return to Indonesia
2. I’m pretty sure you cannot get a visa the same day. You must return the following day to pick it up
3. I’ve read you need a sponsor in order to extend a 60 day visa. Some travel agents will act as your sponsor
Hope that helps!
Hi Phil,
just found your blog while searching for indonesian visa applying in KL! 🙂 Great infos and Blog!! In about 2 weeks we will be in the same situation and want apply for a 60days visa in KL. As we also travelling without an “all around a world ticket” we have to buy an one way flight ticket to Indonesia. I heard (and read) very often that mainly the airline will not taking you on board without a flight OUT of the country! How did you manage this? Did they even ask you and which airline did you take? Thanks a lot and happy travel!
Nadine&Manu at the moment in Penang 🙂
Hey guys! I told them I was taking a ferry out of the country on a certain date and that was sufficient for them. Same thing when applying for the Visa. Good luck and happy travels!
I am a Yemeni nationality I would like to ask if I can have an entry visa as tourist for one week from Indonisian Embasy in malaysia
Hey Mohammed, I wish I could help you with that one, but I’m only knowledgeable on how the process works for American citizens. Good luck in your search
Excellent info which really helped me so I just wanted to add my findings following my visit in August this year.
We are from the UK with British pasports and both over 50, just to give you some background detail.
1. I wore a long sleeve shirt just to be ‘safe’ but as long as you have long trousers you should be ok
2. We arrived at 8.45am and there were already people inside! So maybe get there at 8.30 just In case it’s busy
3. They didn’t ask me or my wife (she was seen separately although as a couple we could have gone up at the same time) about our exit route and we didn’t have any air or land ticket details
4. Once you are called up to the second counter and your ‘interview’ if they are going to offer you an extended visa you will be asked to pay there and then so make shire you have the money with you at that time.
They did ask me where I was going in Indonesia and what my plans were after that but it seemed more a general question.
Cheers
Awesome, thanks so much for the updated information. Enjoy Indo!
Also, should have said, we stayed for two months in Bali, Nusa Lembongan and Yogyakarta in Java. What lovely people and a great experience, I recommend the country to all. cheers
hi phil….
im desy, im indonesian… just found ur blog accidentally…sounds like u really enjoy ur days in indo,i mean…ready or not u just say…..indonesia here i cme!!lol 😀
wish i can doin the same thing like urs….but my parents will not allow me even if they give permission maybe they will follow n join me on my journey…
lol 😀
hope u can share more abt ur trip n ask me if u need some info abt indonesia, i would love to let u knw…. 🙂
nite nite phil….
Hey Desy, hopefully you will be able to travel at some point in the future!
hi phil..
ya…i did,but just around asia n with family…hehehe…..im talking abt travelling alone like u….and dont forget to visit pulau komodo,komodo is rare giant lizard its only living in indo…good luck phil 🙂
Yes, traveling alone is a lot of fun. You never know what you’ll get yourself into. I did actually visit Komodo. It’s an awesome place!
Hi Phil
Unfortunately we have bad news! :-(( They refused to give us 60-days visa!! We are so surprised (and shocked!) as it sounded very easy and many traveller got their visa in KL. We have no clue what went wrong!
We were very well prepared, printed out the form and had already filled in. Wore proper clothes etc. We even had a travel-itineray for our indonesian stay with us.
They ask me (Nadine) if I have a flight out ticket. I said we’re taking the ferry from the Riau-Islands back to Singapore. When my boyfriend was on the counter a different clerk asked him if his aware about the Visa on arrival. He said yes but he wants to apply for the 60-days visa. He didn’t ask him about a exit-ticket. Then this afternoon we wanted pick up the visas and they explained we cannot have a 60-day visa! We tried to ask why they didn’t give us a 60-day visa but the clerk only said because we get a visa on arrival and we can extend it easily in Indonesia…
We’re just wondering what would they do if we already would have a flight out ticket within the 60days?!
Now we have to deal with an extension in indo already after two weeks. Too bad 🙁 But thanks anyway for your useful information and the time you spent!
all the best
Nadine&Manu
Wow, that’s very unfortunate. I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll have to update the post accordingly and let people know that it may not be as easy as it was previously. Too bad they didn’t give you a more definitive answer as to why you weren’t give the 60 visa
Hi Phil,
We just checked some posts with this topic in a german travel forum and obviously we’re not the only one who didn’t get a 60 day visa in KL! This is embassy in KL is apparently famous for not approving many 60 day visas… 🙂 We have read from other travellers that Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Tawau are much more easier to apply. But I think we just had bad luck. 🙁
Anyway tomorrow we’re flying to yogyakarta with a VOA! 😀
All the best
Hi Phil,
Thank you for sharing the information above and keeping it up to date.
At the moment I am doing my internship in Indonesia (Bali), which is great so far!
At the moment I have a 211 visa, which allows me to do my internship. First time it was valid for 60 days, then I had to extent it every month. It is only possible to do this for a total of 6 months.
Any chance you know how it works to apply for a visa in KL for just another month in Indonesia for a 211 visa (after having it for 6 months) and how quick this process will be?
You already could pick up the visa the day after you applied?
Sander
Hey Sander,
I’m real sorry but I don’t know how the process you’re describing works. It sounds like a fairly unique situation. Good luck!
Great info! I am going to Bali for studying and it seems like my acceptance letter does not arrive on time so this gives me a back up plan for eight days in Kuala Lumpur so that I can apply for social visa for Indonesia. Thank you very much
Awesome, no problem and good luck in Bali. It’s pretty much great
Hi Phil,
Thank you for these tips! We are from Finland and unfortunately we didnt get 60 day visa from KL?? 🙁 they said that we can either get 30 days visa from there (it would also cost 170RM) or get the VOA from the border… Well we decided to take that VOA.
This is very strange! We also had all document what they wanted, also the return ticket. We asked what was the reason and counter guy just said that he is not the person who makes the decisions….
Well now we will try to make the visa extension in Jaava. Thank anyway for the tips and all the best! 🙂
Aylin & Kalle
So sorry to hear this. Other travelers have reported the same or similar experience and I’ve added a disclaimer at the top to warn future travelers. Thanks for the heads up. Good luck and happy travels.
The bad news of today, DEC 18th 13: After getting a 60 day visa in many Embassies the years before (Hamburg, Bangkok, Singapore, Saigon ), and at some many times already, in the Kuala Lumpur Embassy of Indonesia they “offered” me today to have one for 30 days !!! Because I can get 30 days cheaper with a visa on arrival I took my payed money back. But I came to KUL only for the one reason, to get a new 60 day permit. So that means in the end, 6 days travelexpenses and time spend for nothing. It´s arbitrariness in a high end, what they do. So anybody should stay away from the Indo Embassy in KUL for Visa requests. Sorry to have no better news from Kuala Lumpur. Juergen
Sorry to hear that Juergen. I’ve updated the page to warn future travelers of this ambiguity.
I am an Americna citizen I am wondering if I cna obtain a Visit visa in KL even as an Americna without any Malaysian apers.Thanks PS my wife is Indonesian and I need this visa in order to be able to stay with her for up to a year.Thanks
Hey Mirza, that seems like a unique request. They take your passport to give you the visa stamp, but I’m honestly not sure if they check for your valid Malaysia stamp. You’d think as the Indonesian embassy they wouldn’t care about your legal status in Malaysia. Who knows
Same story here 🙁 Applied for a 60 day visa yesterday, as I’m off to do a yoga teacher training and volunteer at the Bali Spirit Festival. When I went back, I was not granted the visa; I could buy a 30 day visa, which did not make sense to me….and that was it.
If anybody has some advice on how to extend a visa on Bali (Ubud), I’d love to hear it. I will be in my training, so it’ll be hard to move around. Cheers!
I’m sorry to hear that. I haven’t heard any definite alternatives, but if you figure something out, please share and I can update the page.
Hi,
We are travelling to indo end of february. We were thinking of getting the 60 day visa from KL but after the above stories i think we should not. So, i guess the visa on arrival is going to be the plan, and then try to extend in somewhere. The question i have is regarding the ticket out of the country: we can buy one, but then we would buy a ticket (to australia) with a date somewhere after 30-60 days. But i guess that will get us possibly into trouble when showing it at the immigration when applying for the VoA, because then we have a ticket for when our initial (not yet extended) visa is already expired. How would you handle this?
Thanks
I’m not positive whether you need a ticket out of the country for a VOA arrival, but if you do, just buy a refundable ticket. Once you’re in, cancel that ticket or change the dates to when you want. Should work fine.
Hi Phil…
Recently I came to Indonesia with an emergency passport to return from Kuala Lumpur…(no 60-day visa was available btw). At Jakarta immigration, the officers there are increasingly going by the book concerning their regulations about producing a paper print-out of the ticket out…Fortunately I was allowed in because I showed him my email from the airline company, which showed the ticket number, which has a flexible departure date within six months. But to all future travelers, they may ask you to produce the printed email of the ticket or deny the visa, (the officer’s direct quote).
Hello.
Just wanted to share my info about the 60day visa. We were there 20min ago and it is totally stopped. I was there with my family (wife and 1year baby). We tried even though we read here its hard to get. Now when we got to the visa application booth they told us right away that they did not do the 60 day visa anymore and send us away directly. It was the same for a girl from US. So the only way is VOA and then extend it in indonesia. (If you are in KL that is). Save time and dont go to the embassy in KL
Take care and happy traveling
Thanks Peter. I’m going to go ahead and update the disclaimer accordingly
I was also there the beginning of March 2014 and they do not process 60 day visas anymore at the KL Indonesian Embassy. Go somewhere else.
Thanks Tiffany, I’m updating the disclaimer at the top of the post
Dear Phil,
Just to clarify, the above rules apply to all nationalities ?
My passport does not allow me a VOA, I am Lebanese. I am in KL for few days and then I want to go to Jakarta for a week. I should be able to apply for a visa in KL, right?
Thanks,
Hey Hassan,
Sorry, but I can’t really speak to other nationalities.
Hey Phil and another readers,
Do you happen to know what is the policy with this same 60days Indonesia visa in Singapore now??
Anyway, thanks spreading this unwished information about the 60 day visa in KL. I think I’ll have to get my new visa from Penang or Singapore instead.
No problem, glad to put the info out there. Unfortunately, I’m not sure about the Visa policies in Singapore.
@ Tom – how did you get on? I also got knocked back at KL and am just debating whether it is worth the schlep to Penang. Did you go there? And with what result? Thanks
By the way, apparently the reason that KL suddenly got stingy about issuing 60 days is that there is a new boss in town. He is enforcing the rules stringently. About 3 years ago there were no 60 dayers from KL, but then they loosened up a little. Now they tightened up a little. It happens.
By the way 2: In the case of visas for Thailand – there is an excellent thread where people update each other on the attitudes of various embassies. If someone knows of an equivalent for Indonesia, do share 🙂
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/189375-latest-reports-of-getting-a-visa-in-the-region/
I got a 60 day tourist visa no problem in Penang (June 2014).
Details (directions, maps etc.) here: http://pleasenotanothertravelblog.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/indonesian-visa-in-penang/
I hope this helps
Thanks for the info, super helpful. I’ll add a note at the top of the post
Hi
In May 2014 we rang the Indonesian Embassy in KL. They told us they were still issuing 60 day Social Visas. But on 12 June 2014: I on a New Zealand passport and my partner on an Australian passport arrived at KL Embassy. We were told by the man issuing ticket numbers that KL only issued 30 day Social Visas now, and that we had to have a sponsor letter before they would even do that. We have been flying to Indo for 4 months every year for 10 years from KL and this is the first time we had to have a sponsor letter. So we rang the company that do the visa extensions for us each year. They emailed through a sponsor letter and ID while we waited 2 hours. We paid our RM170 each for 30 day visas (the same price as a 60 day visa) and were told to collect our visas next day at 2pm. We arrived the next day and found the Embassy doesn’t open till 2.30pm on Fridays. So waited. Finally we received our passports back with the visa page. My partner asked about extending the visa and was told 1 x 30 day extension if no sponsor 4-5 extensions with sponsor. I couldn’t see anything on our visas to say that we had a sponsor so my husband got back in line to check. And they had forgotten to put an annotation of our sponsors name on our visas. If I hadn’t noticed our 6 days in KL to ensure we obtained a visa, our 2 trips to the embassy and the cost of obtaining the sponsor letter would all have been in vain. We would have simply paid twice as much as necessary for a VOA. DO NOT APPLY FOR A VISA IN KL. The rules change all the time, they do not update their website. It is hopeless.
Sorry you so much trouble getting the Visas. I’m hoping the disclaimer at the top of the post keeps most people away from the KL embassy.
I’m very very glad i read all this, thxs for the info and all the comments.
I’m in KL and i just get up early now to go to the embassy and apply for the 60 days, but now i think is no worth… i’m going to do the VOA and try to extend in UBUD. the only thing i don’t if i need to buy a out ticket before the VOA expires!!! And i hope to extend the visa already in bali is easy… will see
Good luck!
Hi Phil,
Really appreciate your blog. I just made a bad mistake – I didn’t follow your advice about the 30 day visa policy for social/cultural visas. Also I only read comments near the top and didn’t scroll down to more recent comments. I hoped the 60 day thing wasn’t right and because I have a sponsor that I’d get the 60 day visa. So here I am in KL having only got the 30 days for Indo.
I wonder if its worth updating your top comment about 30days only and advise there are others who’ve confirmed this as at Oct 2014. (Btw, this isn’t a complaint, because I know it was my own fault. But just thought it might be good to have the further confirmation at the top of your blog).
Thanks again,
Cameron
Hey Cameron,
Really sorry to hear that. I’ve made the disclaimer at the top all caps and also mentioned that readers should read the most recent comments for updates. Hopefully this helps some travelers!
I am so glad I read your update in time of the maximum of 30 days visum. I had already booked my flights. Well I will take a VOA now and extend it. In Indonesia everybody interprets rules as they like
and seem suitable for themselves. I doubt sometimes if I want to live here any more and not go to Thailand or Malaysia. So I will take a KITAS again hereafter so at least I am not bothered by them for a year.
Glad you were able to get the info you needed. Good luck!
Hi there, I am in KL right now hoping to fly into Medan in a few days. I was going to get a VOA but my hostel recommended getting it before hand at the embassay since we weren’t flying into jakarta or Bali. Has anyone recently flown into Medan and obtained a VOA that could attest to whether or not it was difficult? We had an issue already with visas flying into Vietnam and got scammed $160 USD, so I am skeptical of VOAs now. Also, could anyone give me any info on what is necessary to bring with you for a VOA to the airport (pictures, forms, etc?) and cost for a 30 day. We are only staying for about 10 days in indo before flying back to thailand for our flight home. Thanks in advance!
hello and thanks for all this info about 60 day visa in KL office !!;;;I was planning to go there to get my visa as usual,,,,but after reading all the latest reports on the subject,,,,think I will go straight to Penang,,,where there in normally no problem
You’re welcome and good luck
Hello Zina,
I am wondering did u ended managed to obtain your 60 days visa from Penang office after all?? My bf have to leave Jakarta to get himself an extension by MAR, but he always had his done in Singapore so he is a little skeptical about doing it in Penang office especially I couldn’t find any information about it on their website.
Would be grateful if you could let us know your experience=)
Thank you.
Hi Phil,
I heard that Indonesia is offering visa free entry to many Countries including Pakistan. I want to confirm this news. Please help me to confirm this news so that I can make plan of my Holidays on Chinese New Year.
Thanks.
Hello sir
I intend to apply for a visa from Indonesian embassy in Kua lalumpur
with my family
is it necessary to bring them all to the embassy or just to bring their passports with me