Indonesia will trial a more streamlined and simplified process to issue sports visas and music and arts visas intended for foreigners for sports activities, as well as music and arts performances, according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Immigration.
“We are simplifying the visa requirements for sports and music and arts visas so that Indonesia becomes a destination country that is taken into account for international sports and music events,” said Silmy, adding that “soon many international events will be held; in October we have MotoGP, in November we have the Coldplay Concert, and the U-17 World Cup.”
With new regulations official athlete teams, event organizers or international artist promoters will no longer need to attach labor permits, Police Record Certificates (SKCK) or certificates of at least five years of work experience.
Removing irrelevant requirements, Silmy explained, was based on the consideration that foreign athletes and artists only have activities in Indonesia for a short time. Moreover, the context of work carried out by foreign athletes and artists does not have a competitive effect on local workers.
Silmy is optimistic that by simplifying these requirements, Indonesia can hold more sporting events or music performances on an international scale. Reflecting on the success of the 2018 ASIAN Games event, he hopes that Indonesia will become a magnet for foreign tourists to come to watch international sports matches and music concerts in Indonesia.
“What has happened so far is that Indonesian citizens have flocked to watch concerts in Singapore, Thailand, Australia and even Japan, so we are simplifying the requirements so that event organizers are increasingly interested in holding concerts in Indonesia,” the Director General said.
Antara News are reporting that permits will be granted 14 – 21 days prior to an event, according to Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, who acknowledged that Indonesia’s event licensing process was more difficult than that of neighboring countries, such as Singapore and Thailand and emphasized the need for digitization of the permit system, as many event organizers had complained of receiving permits only a few hours prior to their events.
Last February, President Joko Widodo urged police and local governments to accelerate sports, cultural events, and concerts permits to encourage public spending and boost national economic growth, while also pressing for the implementation of an electronic-based one-stop licensing service for arts and sports events.
The permit digitization pilot project will be trialed in September and evaluated periodically, making it easier for organizers to secure permits for their events, and with easier and faster licensing procedures, the government is optimistic about expanding around 3,000-events this year with an estimated economic value of IDR 197-trillion (approximately USD 9.9-billion) report Antara News.
Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, announced in Jakarta on Thursday (14/09/2023) that applications for sport visas and music and art visas can be made online via the evisa.imigration.go.id page.
Source: Antara News, The Directorate General of Immigration
Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash
