Free Visa, Visa on Arrival and Visa Extension in Bali
The Visa on Arrival for Bali Indonesia, also referred to as VoA, has been the main visa, most tourists have used in the last decades to enter Indonesia. It has nothing to do with the the newly introduced Free Visa Facility where citizens from more than 140 countries can enter Indonesia for free for tourist purposes, if they do not stay longer than 30 days. See the list of 140 countries below!.

In the last couple of years, the government has changed the rules drastically in favor of the tourists, waiving the visa fee totaling tens of millions of dollars every year. Which is good news for the individual tourist, because they won't need to pay the USD 35 anymore. However, Bali and the infrastructure department, could do well with this money in the eyes of many observers. The government hoped, that the waiving of the visa fee, would motivate more visitors to come. We shall see if this will work out.

Currently: Only citizens from Libya will have to get a VoA if they stay 30 days or less.

Costs: USD35

All other Citizens from countries that are not mentioned on the "free visa list", will have to apply for a tourist Visa BEFORE coming to Bali or other cities to Indonesia. They need to apply for a visa in one of the consulates or embassies in their home country.

So why would you have to get a Visa on Arrival and pay 35USD for a Visa that also allows you only to stay 30 days?
Because the Free Visa van not be extended or changed in any form. You will need to leave before 30 days. The Visa on Arrival however can be extended.

Countries eligible for Visa on Arrival
Not everyone who is eligible for a 30day-FREE VISA can actually get a Visa on Arrival, even if they wanted to. Because this is a visa that can be extended once for 30 days here in Bali, without needing to leave the country, this visa type is still somewhat popular. Particularly if you need to stay something between 30 and 60 days, then a visa on arrival extension is in most cases the easiest option.

This is list at the airport and indicates which citizens can obtain a visa on arrival.

Algeria, Arab. Emirates (UAE), Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Span, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Timor Leste, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom (UK), United States (USA).