This weekend we managed to cross overland from Indonesia to Papua New Guinea and back, by the Jayapura-Vanimo border. Here is some useful information for anyone planning on doing this same trip.
VISAS TO GET TO PNG
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We obtained our PNG visa in Kuala Lumpur. You can read the following thread for more details: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2355902&messageID=21070648#21070648 Later, just out of curiosity, I asked the immigration officer if it was possible to obtain a visa for PNG on arrival and he said that they don’t provide visas at the border.
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We tried to get a double-entry tourist visa for Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur as well, but the staff at the Embassy told us this was not possible (the double-entry visa is only for business travelers). After seeing our flight itinerary, they said we had to take a visa on arrival (at Makassar Airport) and then apply for a tourist visa in Vanimo, PNG. We insisted on applying for a regular tourist visa as we would exit by land, and they said that we could cross the land border with the VOA with no problem. Therefore, we didn’t apply for a visa.
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One day before we crossed to PNG, we went to the Immigration Office (kantor imigrasi) in Jayapura to ask for an exit permit, because we read on this forum that it was a way to avoid extra charges at the border. Apparently you need an exit permit if you enter Indonesia with a VOA. The Immigration Office in Jayapura is almost in front of the Aston Hotel. So we went to the office and the people there were very friendly to us. They didn’t give us an exit permit, they just pasted a post-it (literally a post-it) on our passport with something written in Indonesian and said that the officer at the border would give us the exit stamp. According to google translate, the post it said “Please stamp passport, thanks” and the name of the officer. At first I was very skeptical to believe that a post-it would help at all and I was sure that the personnel at the border would make us return to Jayapura for the exit stamp.
CROSSING THE BORDER
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On Saturday morning we took a taxi from the Matos Hotel in Abepura to the border. It was a long drive and they charged us 500,000 RP. We arrived at the border at 7:50 hrs. The border is open from 08:00 to 16:00 hrs on the Indonesian side and from 09:00 to 17:00 hrs on PNG’s side. They are perfectly synchronized by the different time zones. PNG time is +1 hour.
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When crossing the border, our passports were first inspected by a military post located a few meters before the immigration office. We then continued to the immigration office and had to wait a few minutes for it to open (it was still before 08:00 hrs). After a while an officer arrived on a motorbike and we followed him to his office. He checked our passports, asked for our departure cards, read the post it and gave us the exit stamps. We were so surprised that he didn’t ask for a “penalty charge”, tax or bribe, whatever they want to call it, for leaving by land on a VOA. We read on the internet that some people have been charged 50 USD and even more. The officer was quite friendly and told us that if we needed to come back to Indonesia, there was a consulate in Vanimo for our visa. We were so happy to have saved several thousands of rupiahs!
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After leaving the Immigration Office on the Indonesian side, we walked a few minutes and came to PNG’s side. On this side of the border the officer was very friendly. He asked us to fill out an arrival card, checked our visas and gave us tips on how to take public transportation to Vanimo. Entering PNG was smooth and quick.
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Right beside the office there are several minivans that charge 10 kina per person to Vanimo. These minivans are called “buses” by the locales. We approached several vans and asked for Vanimo, but they would not accept payment in Indonesian rupiah or US dollars. We even offered like 4 USD extra, but they told us that they did not know the conversion rate. Others offered a private van and told us they would take us to Vanimo for 150 kina and there find an ATM. It was too much money and we wanted public transportation. We asked a couple of locales where we could get kina and they said that it was possible to change Indonesian rupiah into kina at a small market located a couple of meters before the border on the Indonesian side. What a mess, I didn’t know if it was possible to go back since I already had my visa cancelled. I asked a PNG immigration officer where we could get kina and he also recommended the market. He then asked a local to take us on his motorbike to the other side of the border. We crossed the border, went to the market, changed our rupiah into kina for a good rate and came back to the PNG side. Nobody said a word about it. I guess it is usual for people to do this.
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The same local that took us to the market helped us find a bus to Vanimo. He said that the van would charge us the fixed price, 10 kina each. We hopped onto the van and it left the border without waiting for other locals. He later picked up a family that was going to a small church before Vanimo. When we finally arrived in Vanimo he wanted to charge us 150 kina. We refused to pay and told him that we had not asked for a private van and that we had agreed 10 kina each. After a couple of minutes arguing he accepted 50 kina, all the cash we had.
INDONESIAN CONSULATE IN VANIMO
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Getting a visa at the Indonesian Consulate in Vanimo was relatively easy. On Monday morning at 09:00 hrs we showed up with all that was needed. They asked for the following:
*Form of visa provided at the consulate.
*Two color photos 3x4 cm.
*Passport with validity for at least 6 months.
*Visa fee (payable only in kina, not IDR or USD). 70 kina for 30 days and 135 kina for 60 days. -
Once we had provided all the requirements, the officer told us to come back at 15:00 hrs or the next day. Since we wanted to leave that very same day, I asked him if it was possible to have it earlier. He told us to come back at 14:00 hrs to check if it was ready.
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We did come back at 14:00 hrs and were surprised when the Indonesian officer told us that we needed to speak to his “boss”, I guess the consul. He asked us inside and we waited for the consul. He then showed up, introduced himself and asked us several things about our trip. We spoke about Vanimo, Jayapura, our trip and several other things. We also showed him our flight itinerary but he didn’t look at it. He was kind but everything was very weird. After about 10 minutes he wished us a good trip back to Indonesia and gave us our passports with a visa valid for 14 days, strange! In our form of visa we wrote that we were to stay in Indonesia for 13 days, maybe that’s why they gave us a 14-day visa. I had never heard of this happening. If you need a visa for more days, I think you should ask for them and be sure to check your dates. The officer never asked for our flight itineraries. Luckily we do only need 13 days in Indonesia.
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After getting our visas, we hurried to the market in Vanimo to find a bus to the border. We had our luggage with us and we were ready to say goodbye to PNG. If you are going to leave the same day you get your visa, make sure you have enough time to get to the border because it closes at 17:00 hrs. To get to the border, we took a shared bus going to “Batas”. The locals told us that those buses usually wait in front of the market in Vanimo, right beside a certain tree. Sure enough we found the bus for Batas right there. They charged us 10 kina each. The other option is to take a private minivan that costs 150 kina. The drive to the border from the market takes about 1 hour.
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The officer that checked us out from PNG was also very friendly. This was the same officer I asked if there was such thing as a VOA for PNG at the border post. His answer was no.
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Once we were on the Indonesian side again, the immigration officer checked our passports and gave us the entry stamps. He helped us by calling a taxi which charged us 400,000 IDR to Abepura. The taxi driver helped us change our kina back into IDR at the small market on Indonesia’s side.
