1

A lot of things to consider in your post.

First off, the reason why your “agent” has not asked you for a sponsorship letter is because they will be acting as your sponsor for each of your 30 day extensions, 180 day total max (initial 60 day visa plus four 30 day extensions) before being required to leave Indonesia. That should have been explained to you right up front.

Since you haven’t mentioned the agent’s name (company) I have no way of telling you if they are good, bad, or average.

The majority of expats on Bali use PT Bali Ide because of their reputation and ability to get the job done quickly, and at a fair price. You can Google PT Bali Ide and find their web site easy enough.

Sure, you can do these extensions on your own, but without an agent you’ll need a local sponsor to renew your 60 day visa EACH time you go for another 30 day extension. Good luck with that since most Balinese are well aware of the personal responsibility they take when sponsoring a tamu (guest). Also, these days immigration will often pull in the local (non agent) sponsor for an interview. Even Balinese girl friends or boy friends don't like that idea.

The chances are (and I’d take the bet in a New York second) that you’ll end up spending far more trying to do these extensions on your own than you will through a good agent.

Just think about it. If the majority of foreign expats on Bali (who go through this process all the time), use an agent like PT Bali Ide, why should a tourist think they can do it cheaper on their own?

2

There have been a fair number of reports here on TT of tourists being able to extend their visas in Bali without a sponsor at the immigration office directly, but it has taken several days, in one case almost 2 weeks (with holidays included).
Don't know if that has changed.

If it has, use a sponsor or - if you do visit other islands - try elsewhere.
I know that many immigration offices will extend a visa without a sponsor in a day.

3

The OP is currently in Bali, and in Bali you will NOT be able to extend your 60 day visa at either of the three immigration offices these days without a sponsor...period. That is especially true of a first timer going for an extension.

I think some who have used visa agents to handle their extensions have NO idea that in fact, their agent is acting as their sponsor, so it's understandable that they might say that they extended their visa without a sponsor.

No visa agent, and no local Balinese sponsor...forget about any extensions...not these days with the current crack down on illegal foreigners working here without the proper visa and work permit. ;-)

Old posts=old information.

4

tai66, since you wrote you already have local friends who want to be your sponsor, nothing should prevent you from doing your own extension, at 250.000 rp a pop...just start a week before ur current visa expires, and have all your paperwork ready, they will be no need to bribe anyone...over the years i have done many extensions by myself, it is no big deal, but it does involve several trips to the immigration office (to apply, to pay, to pick up)...having said that, an agent can be useful, as madeindra suggests, as they will do it quick and painless...for a fee of course!

5

Every time I’m asked by a Balinese about being a sponsor for a tamu, I ask them the same two questions:

-How well do you really know this foreigner?

-Are you aware that you can legally be held complicit or even worse, equally responsible for any illegal activity of the person you are sponsoring? That illegal activity can include something as “simple” as acting beyond the scope of their visa.

All too often local Indonesians are sucked into this request to be a sponsor for a newly arrived foreigner. Open, willing to help, and often way too vulnerable, far too many Indonesians take on this role without fully understanding the potential consequences.

6

Its a bit like someone asking an acquaintance to go guarantor for them when arranging something like hire purchase. These sorts of things always come back and bite you on the bum.

7

I'm assuming you're on a tourist visa, so I can't comment on all the details, as I'm staying on a social/cultural visa.

But I renew my via at the Kantor Imigrasi in Mataram myself. The Imigrasi officers are most helpful with anything I get stuck on, and my sponsor is required to accompany me. If you can fill out a form, then you can do it yourself.

8

MoyaLombok - A 60-day "tourist visa" is in effect the same thing as a sos-bud visa. Both are 211 "visit" visas. The only difference is that a "tourist" visa is applied for without an initial sponsor. When it comes to extensions both visas are handled in the same way (notice when you do your next extension - the forms you fill in and the window you go to at imigrasi will refer to "visa kunjungan").
Someone extending a "tourist" visa in Mataram will have the same experience as you, but the process is not always the same in other places around the country.

In many places outside Bali it is very straightforward to extend a "visit" visa; in fact, you would be wise not to use an agent, as you will obviously pay far more than neccessary, and as the agent may not be fully aquainted with the process, they may end up making a mess of it (I'd be dubious, for example, of the travel agents in Yogyakarta who have recently thrown up hand-painted "extend visa" signs in the last year - especially given that the Yogyakarta immigration office is said to be helpful and efficient)...

I've never had to tackle immigration in Bali, so can't comment on the situation there, but I imagine that the well established "visa industry" with very many agents handling extensions and such-like may well have made things harder for people trying to deal with things themselves...

9

timdog, i always thought that too, that because of the cozy relationship between agents and immigration, it would be harder for people doing their own visa extensions...but when last year me and some friends showed up in the singaraja office, the extension was so easy and straightforward...we all just paid the regular fee of 250.000 rp...so why give a visa agent three times that amount, for the same thing?

10

Absolutely right, Belgian.

I've had agents knocking on my door, but why would I pay them IDR400,000 for something I can do myself. And I don't see them getting any preferential treatment over me in the Kantor Imigrasi.

I'm still scratching my head, though, over the Imigrasi officer who handed my passport back to me last month with his private phone number tucked neatly inside. Whatever he's thinking, he's on the wrong bus. :-/

The system I find archaic and slow. Four days for my first renewal. I even had to take the time to travel back to Mataram on day three just to pay my fee and get a receipt, and return again on day four for photos and fingerprints. It's down to two days now. Still, patience is a virtue, and this is Indonesia .........

11

archaic is the right word...in the 20+years i have been coming to indonesia, procedure for extensions is still the same, slow and bureaucratic...i have filled in the same forms over and over...got fingerprinted over and over...patience is definitely a good virtue in indonesia!

12

That's good to know, belgianguy.
Things are a bit more low-key up north Bali way, and the the resorts and expat populations are less high-profile up there, so the Singaraja office probably deals with far fewer foreigners.

I've always found the imigration office in Surabaya to be pretty good - of course, there's no real reason why the process has to take three working days, but at the same time, the fact that they play things by the book there means you know exactly what you need to do, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.

Also, as they now take your finger prints and photo digitally, in theory once you've submitted them you should never need to do so again for future extensions, even if you make them in different places, and on a fresh visa after a long absence from Indonesia...

13

No question Moya that the way an expat might handle 30 extensions in Lombok could be considerably different than in Bali.

Most expats in Bali that are using the 60 day, four extension visas use an agent because the agent handles all four extensions without the visa applicant needing to show up at the immigration office. If the expat handles the extension, then they need to personally appear at the immigration office (as well as their sponsor) each time they renew for 30 days. All during the time the agent is handling these 30 day extensions, they will hold your passport (unless you need it for a flight out of Bali). A photo copy of your passport plus the receipt for your passport from the licensed agent is plenty enough ID to have with you on those occasions where you might be asked to present ID credentials.

At the immigration office in Denpasar, the visa agents do indeed get preferential treatment. You can see them with multiple files in hand freely coming and going from one office to the next handling the necessary paper work.

It’s all a matter of how you value your time and energy going back and forth to the immigration office. Here in Ubud I don’t know anyone who does these 30 day extensions on their own, but no doubt there are some.

The same thing goes when these same expats need to make a visa run outside of Indonesia, especially Singapore, where when using an agent to process the visa, it only takes one day and one night maximum.

14

Now I'm a bit stuck with my visa. Can people here please advise?

I renewed my s/c visa last month - a tedious four-day process, and was assured at the time that this month's renewal process would be much simpler and quicker, I've been to Kantor Imigrasi on two days, and have to return on Monday again. Anyway, that's not the issue.

I've been told by a number of people that the lengthy process is to prevent korupsi, but my Western logic says that creating a slow and tedious process gives Imigrasi officers the opportunity to streamline the process 'for a fee'. I did see today some whispered conversations between immigration agents and officers, and bundles changing hands. It appears to me that the system is designed to line the pockets of immigration agents and whoever else they enlist from within. I was also approached by a few strangers whilst sitting outside Imigrasi, asking if I needed them to sponsor me. End venting.

My issue is now that I am taking two weeks in Thailand from 1st of August, so will be required to renew my visa again before I leave. Blah! The alternative as I see it is to allow my s/c visa to expire while I'm away and re-enter on a tourist visa, then just keep renewing that with my sponsor. Can anyone see any pitfalls in this idea? Is my previous s/c visa status likely to influence any Imigrasi decision to allow me to re-enter Indonesia and issue me with a tourist visa?