Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

Hiya:
I've booked my flight into Bali for September, and booked a flight out from Bali in March. My plan is to spend 1-2 months in Bali, then travel out for 4 months, then come back for a short visit, basically to catch my flight home. I can apply for a visa in Canada that's good for 2 months, which is how long I'd like to visit. Then just get a visa upon re-entry to fly out. I really don't want to make hard plans, like book a flight to Bangkok to show I don't intend to stay longer than the visa, I want to meander overland etc. and get visas as I go.
My question is should I make some sort of concrete plan, visas to Thailand or India, a train ticket, or will they understand my intention and accept the flight plan I've booked as sufficient evidence I will leave the country after 6 months. I can't seem to find a definition of "forward ticket" that defines my situation.
I will be calling the Consulate tomorrow, should I get a definitive reply, I'll be sure to post it.
In the meantime, I welcome any relevant comments.
thanks, first time poster here!!!
Hugh

Ubasic wrote:Hiya:
I will be calling the Consulate tomorrow, should I get a definitive reply, I'll be sure to post it.
Hugh

Hi Hugh, welcome to the forum. Sounds like a nice trip you are planning. The thing is, you will probably get a different answer to your question depending on which consulate you contact, and what your originating country is, or even depending on who you speak to on the day. Definitive answers for visas are hard to come by. As far as I can ascertain, under the new 211 rules, if the purpose of the visa is for tourism, you have to have an onward ticket.

That being said, I've seen a number of posts on Thorn Tree from people travelling through SE Asia and trying to understand what they can do around visas in Indonesia - particularly where they are planning on leaving the country via a ferry - in which case you would not have an outward ticket beforehand. Might be worth searching that site too, if you haven't already.

When you call the consultate, perhaps ask what you do if you are planning on travelling by ferry out of Indonesia to Malaysia (for example) just to see what they say. Otherwise book a ticket with flexible rules out of Indonesia within your 60 days - perhaps one you can refund and definately one you can change the dates.