I will start clearly and in a structured manner, as befits an article with this title. I live in Bali on a long-term visa and in this text I will analyze the current rules of entry to Bali for Russians in 2024, as well as tell you all about the registration and types of visas.
Is it possible for Russians to go to Bali now?
Is it possible to fly to Bali now? Yes. The Indonesian authorities opened the island to all tourists back in 2023.
- Quarantine in Bali, PCR test, vaccination certificate — you can forget about all this and leave it in the past.
- However, visa-free entry to Indonesia (Bali) for the Russian Federation and other countries, which was in effect before the pandemic, has not been restored. Do I need a visa to Bali? Yes. It is possible to get a visa at Denpasar airport upon arrival.
- Rumors that flooded the Internet in early 2023 about the cancellation of a visa on arrival in Bali for tourists from several countries, including Russia, have not been confirmed. In 2024, you need to buy a visa on arrival.
Rules of entry for Russians to Bali in 2024
Before we move on to the basic rules of entry, I want to clarify an important point. If you are planning an independent trip to Bali for a long period — from 2 months or longer — then I recommend making a long-term visa in advance. It will allow you to stay on the island for up to six months. I write below about how to do this.
If you are flying to Bali for the first time and do not plan to stay there for more than 2 months, then it will be enough for you to get a visa upon arrival.
Rules of entry to Bali for Russians in 2024 — what are the main documents to prepare:
- International passport. And check the expiration date! A trifle on which many “burn”. For a standard short-term travel for tourism, the passport must be valid for at least another 6 months at the time of your entry into Indonesia.
- Medical insurance with coverage of at least $25,000. You can apply on the Chehara website or, if you have a Tinkoff credit card, use its policy. You do this more for yourself* than for entry, since there are practically no cases that ask for insurance. But medicine in Bali is very expensive.
- Return flight ticket. And he doesn’t have to be in Russia — you can continue your vacation further in Singapore, Thailand, anywhere. The main thing is to have a flight ticket from Indonesia on hand. For example, tickets from Jakarta or Bali to Singapore are very cheap, even if you buy them for rubles on Air Sales. It’s not a pity to lose them if you decide to stay on the island. If you arrive on a tourist visa to Bali, which is set for 30 days, then the date of the return ticket must be no later than 30 days. Important: not a month (April 15-May 15), but exactly 30 days (April 15-May 14). If you arrive on a business visa, which is issued for 60 days, then the departure date for the return ticket must be no later than this period. Please note that a ticket from Indonesia may also be asked at the check-in desk in the country of departure and, in its absence, denied boarding.
- Tourist tax. But this innovation — from February 14, 2024, the collection of the so-called tourist tax will begin: you will need to pay not only a visa, but also an additional 150,000 rupees ($ 10) per person. The conditions are still strange: cashless (!) payment in advance on the website or in a special terminal at the airport.
How to get from Russia to Bali?
We are waiting for direct flights from Aeroflot like manna from heaven. But October is already passing, and there are still no Moscow–Bali planes in the winter schedule of 2023-2024. It seems that you need to take matters into your own hands and look for the least tedious stops.
So far, all routes to Bali for Russian tourists involve transfers — mainly in Dubai, Istanbul, Doha, Manila. Sometimes there can be three or four connections, and the total flight time reaches 50 hours! But it’s inexpensive 🙂
Unfortunately, there are not so many options on how to get from Russia to Bali. There are several basic combinations where transfer points can change, but the logic remains as follows:
*All prices are one way per person
- Without looking at the cost (from 60,000 rubles), buy a Moscow–Bali ticket from the “big comfortable four” — Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Etihad. Sometimes they arrange sales, and the emotions from such a ticket are comparable to a gift from Santa Claus under the Christmas tree for the New Year.
- To get a ticket from the pioneers of relatively inexpensive flights from Russia to Asia with a transfer in China — China Southern, Sichuan Airlines (from 35,000 rubles).
- Fly a direct Aeroflot flight to Bangkok (from 50,000 rubles) or with a transfer to any major Asian hub (from 30,000 rubles) — Singapore, Manila, Kuala Lumpur – and then with glorious low—cost airlines to Bali (from 10,000 rubles).
In general, Air Sales will tell you the best way for the dates you need:
But still, no matter how you look at it, the average cost of a ticket to Bali and back per person is around 70,000-100,000 rubles. It may be possible to find cheaper options. But remember that in December-January-February, despite the fact that the island is in low season, prices will be more expensive.
How do I get a tourist visa to Bali in 2024 upon arrival?
To stay in Bali, you need a visa. The easiest and cheapest way to get it is to apply for a visa on arrival or, as it is also called, Visa on Arrival for Tourism (VOA). Here are the main nuances:
The visa fee is about $35 or 500,000 Indonesian rupees.
VOA gives the right to rest on the island for 30 days. You can add 30 days to it, but only ONCE for 800,000 rupees — you need to go to the immigration office.
You cannot extend your visa for more than 60 days or apply for another tourist visa to Bali without leaving the island.
In general, this visa can be issued electronically in advance. This type is called e-VOA. The big advantage of e-VOA is that it can also be extended online for 30 days. But once you open the reviews of tourists in 2023, you will immediately learn about the many lags of an electronic visa — either the letter does not arrive in the mail, or difficulties with paying with a foreign card.
What should I do if two months of travel visa was not enough? Make a visa! Or a one-day trip to the nearest country in order to “reset” your stay in Bali and get permission again for 30 + 30 days. For this, they usually choose the countries where it is cheapest to fly — and traditionally it is Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) or Singapore. But be careful with the latter: a visa—free stay of 3 days is possible only upon arrival and departure from different countries (Bali–Singapore–Bali is not allowed, Bali-Singapore–Bangkok is possible).
Business visa to Bali (Indonesia)
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What is a business visa or a B211A visa?
This is a visa that does not give you the right to work in the country))) Yes, despite the big name. But it rewards the right to stay on the island for a long time — more than the standard 30 + 30 days.
According to the documents, the main purpose of a business visa is business meetings. For example, to search for housing for further purchase. But many people use it simply as a long-term visa, which allows you to stay on the island for six months (60 days + 2 more extensions, each for 60 days).
- She also has a hidden advantage: if you fly immediately on a long-term visa, then after it ends, that is, after 6 months, you can apply for another visa without leaving the island. Like I did it now. It is unclear how many times it will be possible to turn such a trick, as long as there is, we do it.
You will not be able to get such a visa yourself, only through an agent. We used the services of Legalindonesia. The registration process is very simple: contact the agent, fill out the form electronically, pay with a foreign bank card and attach the documents:
- passport photo with a validity period of at least 6 months;
- photo (we just took a picture of ourselves against a white wall on our phone).
The coveted permission will arrive in 7-14 business days. You can order expedited registration 5 days in advance for an additional fee. When ready, you will have a visa attached to your personal account, as well as a letter of guarantee and sponsorship. You need to print out all these documents and attach them to the main package, which I described above in the section “Entry rules”.
Upon receipt, you will have a 90-day “corridor” for entry. What does it mean? The visa is activated only at the moment of arrival in Indonesia, and only then the 60-day countdown begins.
The price of a Bali visa in 2024 starts from $250 (the price is indicated for 60 days, excluding extensions). The cost of one 2—month extension is 2,600,000 rupees or $165.
Important! If suddenly someone offers you their help in obtaining a visa, it is most likely a fraudster. Neither Legalindonesia nor other agencies write first. Unfortunately, I fell for such crooks once and gave them $500 for visas… They wrote to me when they saw that I was asking questions in the chat rooms, and offered a good price, and then also help with buying a ticket. Therefore, be vigilant. I am giving you the contacts verified by me and my friends personally.
How to get a residence permit in Bali?
What is a residence permit in Bali and how to get it?
All you need to do is open an investor visa or an investor’s visa – and live on the island for two years and at the same time quietly leave and visit an unlimited number of times.
By the way, yes, if you have a VOA visa or a business visa, they burn out the first time you leave the country!
To obtain a residence permit, a company is opened, for which the kitas (visa) itself is already issued. The cost of obtaining such a visa is 16,000,000 rupees ($1,000) + opening the company itself for 20,000,000 rupees ($1,250). This option is suitable if you want to open a real business on the island: a bar, cafe, shop and so on.
What should I do if I don’t plan to open a company? There are agents who offer to issue only kitas, without opening a company for you. How it happens: they sort of hire you to a new company. After 2 years, the company is closed, since it is, in fact, a dummy and no operations are taking place on it. The cost of such a visa will cost you $1,750 per person for 2 years. In general, it turns out pretty well for the price.
Both of these options make Bali a very attractive place for Russians to live a long-term life. We plan to follow the second path: to buy kitas without opening a company.
Tourist reviews of Bali — 2024
Bali is like a magnet for Russians now. Why is that? I’ve been living in Bali for 7 months now and I’ve found the answer.
The island is multifaceted, and it has everything: incredible nature and such green colors that it seems like it’s Photoshop! The ocean, fantastic sunsets that I have not seen on Koh Samui (may he forgive me), many waterfalls, rice terraces, volcanoes. Read any tourist reviews about Bali in 2024, or better yet, watch a video from the island to get inspired and recharge before your trip.
In addition to nature, I like that there is a civilization here: there are many shopping malls (even Ikea!), all kinds of brands that I missed on Koh Samui. By comparison, there was only one shopping mall. The output is a kind of balance of beauty and infrastructure for life.
On the island, you can pay with a card almost everywhere, again comparing with Koh Samui, where they accept mostly only cash. It is important to understand that Russian cards do not work here, with the exception of Unionpay cards, and then not everywhere. You should not count on exchanging cash rubles for rupees on the island — only dollars, only euros. Many people use the scheme of cashing out money through USDT.
How much does it cost to live in Bali 2024? + About housing
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Housing takes over the biggest expenses. There is an incredible influx of people on the island right now. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Bali was opened to Russian and not only tourists, so it became difficult to find a roof over your head for a long time, and prices almost doubled.
- On average, prices for a room by the ocean will be from 7-8 million rupees ($450–$500) per month.
- If the budget allows, then for 12-15 million rupees ($750–$ 950) it will be possible to choose among a larger number of options.
- It is more difficult to find villas entirely with a pool with 1-2 rooms, prices for such a housing plan now range from 20-40 million rupees ($1,250–$2,500) and to infinity.
- In Ubud, the center of the island far from the ocean, a villa can be rented for 10-15 million rupees per month ($630–$950). In general, in my experience and according to tourist reviews, accommodation in Ubud is much cheaper than on the beaches.
You can read more about prices, areas and the whole set of tourist life on the island in this article about prices in Bali.
Where to look for long-term housing? The most ideal option is to book a hotel for a week (on an Island or Trip.com, if you have a Russian bank card at hand) and start searching on the spot. Why do I recommend this? It is very important to watch live, as photos often differ from reality. The photos show a beautiful fresh villa, but in reality there is dampness, mold, old furniture.
The main ways to look for a villa or apartment for six months or a year:
- Facebook groups and marketplace. All “long-livers” are looking for it that way.
- Google maps. Another working way is to look at the Google map of houses and apartments, write directly to contacts and check availability. Even if some specific housing is occupied, the owner may have other options for renting.
- Airbnb. You can find options, write to the owner and negotiate a price, referring to the long term.
An interesting point that I noticed here is that a lot of housing is rented for a period of 1 year or more. Therefore, if you plan to live for a long time, and even make out a kitas, then it is better to look for such options right away. The only drawback is that most often they ask for money immediately for the entire period. Try to bargain and break it down into parts, it is possible to come to an agreement with some owners.
Of the remaining expenses in Bali:
— Bike rental — $90–$150 per month, depends on the type of bike, its year of manufacture.
— Food — it all depends on whether you cook at home or eat in a cafe. The average bill in a cafe for two is 200-300 thousand rupees ($12–$18). Buy groceries for a week — 600-700 thousand ($38–$45). These are fruits, eggs, potatoes, pasta, various vegetables, fish. I don’t eat meat at all, but I love tuna: for 250 grams, an average of 40,000 rupees comes out — it’s only $2.5 or 250 rubles. Fire! Moreover, the fish is fresh.
Personally, I combine: sometimes I go to a cafe, I especially like breakfast, sometimes I cook at home. If you are flying alone, then your budget may be $1,000 — in general, this is the minimum to live on the island for a month. Ideally, you should have $1300–$1500. Then you will feel more free here. Although I have friends who live well and on $1,000 for two, but this does not include visa extensions. This expense item also needs to be taken into account — every two months you will have to pay 2,600,000 rupees ($165) per person.
To be honest, I really want to spend money in Bali, because there is a place to go. There are so many beautiful boutiques and designer items, a million beach cafes and restaurants where delicious food is served. And also trips to volcanoes, yoga practices, surfing, handmade jewelry made of silver. The more money, the better.
Bali Season
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The holiday season in Bali starts in March and ends in October. This is the perfect time for a beach holiday: when it is not so hot, the sea is warm, the weather is sunny. In November, tropical downpours arrive and the rainy season begins.
But from experience, I can say that you can relax all year round. During the rainy season, it rains for a couple of hours a day, and then the heat comes again. It is a special pleasure to celebrate the New Year in the tropics. If you haven’t tried it yet, then be sure to try it! Read more about when it’s worth flying to Bali for a vacation in this article.
Import of pets to Bali
If only the import of pets would be as simple as entry to Bali for Russians now!.. Unfortunately, it is impossible to legally bring an animal to the island, it is prohibited here. But there are special agents who help reunite with a pet for a lot of money. It cost my friends $3,000 to bring their little York dog. This is the average cost of services provided by such companies. If you are flying to Bali for a couple of months, then the best solution is to leave your pet with friends or in special pet hotels where they are cared for.
To sum up: Bali is fully open for Russians in 2024, any visa options are available, both on arrival and the opportunity to stay on the island for 6 months or longer, thanks to long-term visas.
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