Indonesia and South Africa announce mutual visa-free travel

November 23, 2025|Joshua

Indonesia and South Africa have announced plans for reciprocal visa-free travel to enhance tourism, business, and economic ties, with the arrangement to take effect once both countries complete legal and administrative procedures.

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Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has announced that Indonesia and South Africa plan to introduce a reciprocal visa-free entry arrangement for their citizens. The statement was delivered on 21 November 2025 at the Indonesia-Africa CEO Forum in Johannesburg and framed as a concrete follow up to the October meeting in Jakarta between President Prabowo Subianto and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

According to the Vice President, the two presidents agreed in principle that Indonesian and South African nationals should be able to travel between the countries without having to apply for a visa, a move aimed at easing mobility for business people and tourists and deepening economic ties.

While the political commitment has been announced, the visa-free regime will only take effect once both governments complete the necessary legal and administrative steps, including updating immigration regulations and official visa exemption lists.

What the reciprocal visa-free policy is expected to cover

Details such as maximum stay, eligible passport types and implementation date have not yet been published in formal regulations. However, based on how Indonesia and South Africa structure similar visa waivers, several features are likely:

Short stays for tourism, business meetings and family visits, rather than work or long term residence.
A fixed maximum stay per visit, most likely 30 or 90 days depending on how the final agreement is drafted.
Applicability to ordinary passport holders of both countries, not only diplomatic and official passports.
Retention of standard entry checks such as return or onward tickets, proof of accommodation and sufficient funds.

Until new rules are officially issued, travelers should not assume that visa requirements have already changed.

Current rules for South Africans visiting Indonesia

As of November 2025, South African passport holders are listed by Indonesia’s Directorate General of Immigration as eligible for a Visa on Arrival (VoA) rather than visa-free entry.

Key points of the current Indonesian VoA scheme that apply to South Africans include:

Purpose: tourism, certain business visits and other short stays.
Duration: 30 days, normally extendable once for an additional 30 days at a local immigration office.
Fee: 500 000 Indonesian rupiah, payable on arrival at designated airports or seaports.
Entry points: only specific ports of entry are authorised to issue VoA.
Documentation: a passport that meets Indonesia’s validity rules, a confirmed onward or return ticket and, in practice, evidence of accommodation and sufficient funds.

In addition, from 1 October 2025 all international passengers entering Indonesia must complete a digital arrival declaration through the All Indonesia platform before or upon arrival.

Under the announced policy, South Africans would eventually move from VoA to full visa-free entry, which would remove the need to apply or pay at the border for eligible short visits. The timing of this shift will depend on when Indonesia amends its regulations to add South Africa to the list of countries benefiting from a visa-free visit facility.

Current rules for Indonesians visiting South Africa

South Africa maintains a visa exemption list that specifies which nationalities may enter the country without a visitor visa for limited periods. Official documents and compiled summaries based on Department of Home Affairs publications indicate that Indonesian passport holders are included among the visa-exempt countries for short stays, typically up to 30 days, while diplomatic and official passports may benefit from separate arrangements.

For Indonesians, the present position therefore already resembles a short stay visa waiver, although conditions such as:

the permitted length of stay,
purpose of visit,
and requirements to hold a return or onward ticket

are determined by South African immigration law and can change with limited notice.

Travelers should consult the latest information from the South African Department of Home Affairs or a South African embassy or consulate before departure, because only those official channels can confirm whether Indonesia remains on the visa-exempt list at the time of travel.

How the new arrangement fits into Indonesia’s visa policy

Indonesia has been gradually expanding its network of visa-free visit arrangements and other facilitation measures in recent years, usually through Presidential regulations and ministerial decrees that specify the countries eligible for a facility known as Bebas Visa Kunjungan (BVK) or visa-free visit.

Examples include:

The decision in July 2025 to grant BVK to citizens of Brazil and Turkey, implemented by a dedicated ministerial regulation and justified partly on the basis that those countries already grant Indonesians visa-free entry.
Targeted BVK for certain categories of travellers, such as holders of Singapore permanent residence cards visiting Batam, Bintan and Karimun, used as a tool to attract short break tourism to specific regions.

At the same time, Indonesia continues to rely heavily on the paid VoA scheme for many markets, including South Africa at present. The announcement of a forthcoming visa-free regime suggests that South Africa may be added to the BVK list in a future update, aligning policy with the political commitment made by the presidents.

South Africa’s evolving list of visa-exempt partners

South Africa has also been actively revising and expanding its list of countries whose citizens can enter without a visitor visa. Over recent years, exemptions have been extended or clarified for several partners, most recently including European Union member Bulgaria for stays of up to 90 days, according to announcements by foreign ministries and Home Affairs.

The planned reciprocal arrangement with Indonesia fits this broader pattern of using visa exemptions to:

encourage tourism and business travel,
deepen bilateral economic ties,
and align with growing trade and investment relationships.

A formal visa waiver agreement or exchange of diplomatic notes is typically followed by an update to South Africa’s official visa exemption schedule, after which airlines and border officials apply the new rules in practice.

What travelers should do now

Until both governments update their respective regulations and official lists, travelers need to follow the current rules:

South African citizens planning to visit Indonesia

Continue to plan on obtaining a Visa on Arrival unless you already hold a different valid Indonesian visa.
Check that your passport meets Indonesia’s minimum validity requirements, often at least six months beyond the date of entry.
Complete any required online arrival declarations, including the All Indonesia form, before or during travel.
Bring printed or digital copies of your return ticket, hotel bookings and evidence of sufficient funds in case they are requested at the border.

Indonesian citizens planning to visit South Africa

Verify through the South African Department of Home Affairs or an official South African mission whether you qualify for visa-exempt entry at the time of your trip.
If a visa is required for your specific circumstances, follow the standard visitor visa application process or any available eVisa channel before departure.
Ensure your passport has sufficient validity and blank pages and carry proof of accommodation and onward or return travel.

Travelers from both countries should avoid making non-refundable bookings on the assumption that the new visa-free regime is already active. Airline check in agents and border officers must apply the law and published regulations in force on the day of travel, regardless of political announcements.

Likely next steps and timeline

No implementation date has yet been officially confirmed for when mutual visa-free travel will begin. Based on previous changes in both countries:

Indonesia is expected to issue a new regulation or decision adding South Africa to its visa-free visit list, followed by updates on the Directorate General of Immigration website and social media channels.
South Africa is expected to update its visa exemption schedule to explicitly reflect reciprocal treatment for Indonesian passport holders, with notice published by the Department of Home Affairs.

Once those instruments are issued and published, airlines, travel agents and online booking platforms will begin to reflect the new rules in practice. Until that point, any timelines mentioned in public statements should be treated as political intentions rather than binding immigration law.

Outlook for tourism and business travel

When implemented, a genuine reciprocal visa-free regime between Indonesia and South Africa would:

reduce costs and paperwork for tourists from both sides,
facilitate short notice business trips and participation in trade missions,
and support the broader agenda of strengthening Indonesia-Africa economic links highlighted at the Indonesia-Africa CEO Forum.

For South African travelers, visa-free entry would make it easier to access Indonesian destinations such as Bali, Jakarta, Java and the outer islands without advance paperwork or the need to arrange VoA cash at the airport. For Indonesians, straightforward entry to South Africa would improve connectivity to African business hubs, tourism sites and regional conferences.

However, even under a visa-free regime, all travelers remain subject to standard immigration controls, including the possibility of being refused entry if they do not meet health, security or documentation requirements.