Customs on a SocioBudaya Visa

[pyragelos]

Hi all,
This forum is a life saver!!
I tried searching for info about my question on here and I didn't find anything--however if there already is a thread about this feel free to point me in the right direction and delete the post.
So, I am going to enter Indonesia in Bali with a Socio-cultural visa. I will be studying media and theatre in Bali so I need a lot of electronic equipment (camcorder, laptop etc). I was wondering if anyone has more information on whether I will have to declare and pay for it (and if so, a rough guess would be great). I read somewhere that for other-than-tourist visas they need to register the equipment on your passport...or something.
Thanks so much!

 

[ronb]

I would ask at the Indonesian Consulate/Embassy where you are getting the Social visa. Take with you any correspondence relating to your proposed studies. They need to be re-assured that you are not a journalist already, as social visas are not appropriate for working journalists.

 

[spicyayam]

You say you are traveling with a laptop and a camcorder. I can't see this being a problem, unless of course your video camera looks like it would be used for professional use.

If you start telling the embassy about your studies, maybe they will then require you to get a student visa.

 

[pyragelos]

Thanks for the replies, ppl.
I am still not clear about whether I'll have to declare everything or pay, but I guess we'll see what happens and I'll let everyone know! The people at the embassy never sounded too sure about the things I asked them.
As for the student visa--yes, I do need one, but the Embassy doesn't issue those. The SocioBudaya is their way of giving you 2 months to get one once you're in Indonesia.

Thanks again!

 

[Layby2k]

I started a similar thread a little while ago and posted my experiences afterwards. You can read for your reference.

Import Duty for foreign travellers

I have heard that customs officials at Bali airport are charging people import duty for their personal electronic devices. I have been living in Bangkok for six months and have bought a few things such as a 42" lcd tv, dvd, laptop and gaming console. I am going to Bali for 2 months on a 60...

balipod.com

With that being said, if you carry large bulky boxes that look expensive then be prepared to pay up. From the experiences I had, what I have read and heard. Regardless of the law customs officials rate 10/10 on the dodgy scale. If you can fit them into your normal suit case then you might be able to get through without declaring it. I'm sure 1000s of tourists take their iphones, laptops etc and don't declare them, all of which are worth more than $250.

I, on the other hand, had to declare because it was so blatantly obvious what I had with me.

 

[pyragelos]

Hey, thanks for that.
So for the record, I came to Bali and I didn't really have the opportunity to ever declare my items. I presented everything at security in KL when getting on my connecting flight to Bali. The customs declaration form did not mention any of the items I was carrying, and the $250 rule did not apply because none of the stuff will stay in Indonesia (and research equipment is exempt from import tax). My bags went through the machine in Denpasar with no problem. And the fact that I was on a socio-Budaya did not really matter because when I got to customs nobody checked my passport again.

 

[alphonso]

My wife and I recently arrived into Bali on a VOA with a bunch of used personal electronics to the value of about US$3000 - 2 laptops, camera, 2 ipods, 2 smartphones and a whole bag of cords and chargers etc.- and we had no problems. No one asked anything nor was there any provision for declaring it on the arrival card. I wasn't expecting any issues either as it will all be coming with us when we leave again.

Actually, none of the airports (CNS, SIN, HKG, AMS) that we've have been through over the last couple of months caused any issues. The only hassle was taking it all out to go through the airport scanners and repacking it each time.