Nobody warns you that Bali's arrival process changed almost completely between 2024 and 2026. The paper customs form you screenshotted from an old blog no longer exists. There is now a tourist levy that gets checked at the gate. Immigration runs on biometric autogates. And there are three separate QR codes you are supposed to have on your phone before the wheels touch down.
Get those three sorted at home and you can be in a car within forty minutes of landing. Turn up without them and the same arrival takes two to three hours, most of it spent in queues you could have skipped entirely.
This is what actually happens, in order, from the moment the seatbelt sign goes off.
Do these three things before you board
This is the whole guide compressed into one section. Everything else below is detail.
| What | Where | Cost | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| e-VOA | evisa.imigrasi.go.id | Rp 500,000 | Up to 14 days ahead, allow 3 working days |
| Arrival card | allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id | Free | Within 72 hours of arrival |
| Tourist levy | lovebali.baliprov.go.id | Rp 150,000 | Any time before you land |
Add a fourth if you want to skip the SIM counter too: install your eSIM at home while you are on Wi-Fi. It costs nothing extra to do it early, because validity starts when you first connect in Indonesia, not when you buy.
Scam warning. The All Indonesia arrival card is completely free. Several lookalike sites rank in search results and ask for payment before submitting. The only official address is allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id. If a site asks for money to file it, close the tab.
Minutes 0 to 20: the walk to immigration
Ngurah Rai is a single terminal and the walk from most international gates to immigration takes five to ten minutes. Follow the signs. Health declarations no longer exist as a separate step, because they were folded into the arrival card in 2025.
What happens next depends entirely on whether you sorted the visa in advance.
| Route | What you do | Realistic time |
|---|---|---|
| e-VOA in hand | Straight to the autogate, scan passport, face capture, walk through | 5 to 15 minutes |
| VOA on arrival | Queue at the VOA payment counter first, then queue again at immigration | 45 to 120 minutes |
| Visa-exempt | Autogate, but you must pre-register through the immigration portal first | 5 to 15 minutes |
That gap is the single biggest time saving available to you, and it costs nothing. The e-VOA is the same price as paying at the counter. You are not buying speed, you are just moving the paperwork to your sofa instead of a queue at 6am.
What the visa on arrival actually gets you
Rp 500,000, roughly US$35, for 30 days. It can be extended once for another 30 days for a second Rp 500,000, giving you 60 days total. It cannot be converted into any other permit, and it cannot be extended a second time.
Over 90 nationalities are eligible, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, all EU and Schengen states, Japan, South Korea, China, India, Brazil and South Africa. A smaller group of ASEAN countries enters visa-free for 30 days, and that exemption cannot be extended at all.
Two things immigration will genuinely check. Your passport must have at least six months of validity from the day you arrive. And you need proof of onward travel, which airlines now verify at check-in before they will issue a boarding pass. One-way tickets get refused at the departure airport, not in Bali.
Bring cash for the VOA counter. The card readers work, but they go offline during peak arrival waves, which is exactly when the overnight flights from Australia, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur land together. Rupiah or US dollars in cash always works. Overstaying costs Rp 1,000,000 per day.
The tourist levy nearly everyone forgets
Since February 2024, every foreign visitor pays a Bali tourism levy of Rp 150,000, about US$10, per person per entry. It applies to infants too. It is completely separate from your visa and it goes toward maintaining temples, culture and the environment.
Through 2026 it is being properly enforced. Officers ask for the voucher at the airport, and tourism police run spot checks at Uluwatu, Tanah Lot and other major sites. If you cannot show the QR code, you pay on the spot.
Pay it through the official Love Bali portal or the Love Bali app before you fly. It takes two minutes. Holders of a KITAS or KITAP residence permit are exempt, but the residency data has to be correct in the Love Bali system or the gate will still charge you.
Minutes 20 to 35: bags and customs
Baggage claim is straightforward and usually the shortest part of the process. Customs is where your arrival card QR code gets scanned.
The All Indonesia card merged three systems that used to be separate: the SATUSEHAT health pass, the electronic customs declaration and the immigration data. One form, one QR code, filed within 72 hours of arrival. It is free and it takes about five minutes.
Fill it in honestly. The 2026 version has specific sections for high-value electronics and luxury goods, and if you are bringing professional camera gear or a laptop for work, declare it rather than risk import duty questions on the way out.
Staying more than 90 days? Indonesia requires foreign phones to have their IMEI registered with customs after 90 days of use on a local network. Short-trip travellers can ignore this entirely. Long-stayers should handle it at the customs desk on arrival, when it is free, rather than later.
Minutes 35 to 120: the SIM counter trap
Walk out of customs into the arrivals hall and you will see brightly lit counters for Telkomsel, XL, Indosat and a handful of multi-brand resellers. This is the point where a well-organised arrival most often falls apart.
The problem is not the price, though the price is bad. It is the registration. Indonesian law has required passport registration for every SIM since 2018, and in practice the counter process means handing over your passport, giving your phone's IMEI number, and being photographed holding the SIM package. It is manual, it is slow, and during peak season the wait has been reported at up to two hours.
You have just cleared immigration in twenty minutes and you are about to give the time back.
What the counters charge
Airport packages in mid-2026 run roughly US$15 to US$20 for 25 GB over 30 days, and US$25 to US$30 for 35 to 40 GB. Physical SIM prices range from Rp 250,000 up to Rp 1,250,000 depending on the bundle.
The same operator's package bought at a GraPARI store or a mini-market in Kuta or Canggu costs the equivalent of US$5 to US$8 for 10 to 15 GB, or US$8 to US$12 for 20 to 25 GB. You are paying a real premium for the convenience, and the convenience includes a queue.
Ask the price before you agree. Package rates should match what is displayed, but tourist pricing at unofficial desks is a known problem, and the official GraPARI counter is more transparent than the resellers around it.
The version where you skip the counter
An eSIM installed at home removes this entire section of your arrival. No passport handover, no IMEI form, no photograph, no queue. You land, switch it on, and you are online walking to baggage claim.
The ETravelSim Indonesia eSIM runs on Telkomsel and XL, the two networks that actually matter in Bali. Validity starts on your first connection in Indonesia, not at purchase, so buying a week early costs you nothing.
| Data | Validity | Price | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 30 days | $4.50 | Arrival day only, then a local SIM in town |
| 5 GB | 30 days | $8.99 | A week of maps, Grab and messaging |
| 10 GB | 30 days | $13.50 | Ten days including social and photos |
| 20 GB | 30 days | $19.99 | Two to three weeks, regular use |
| 25 GB | 30 days | $24.99 | Hotspot sharing with a travel partner |
| 50 GB | 30 days | $39.99 | Remote work, laptop tethering |
Unlimited plans
Unlimited gives 4 GB per day at full 5G and LTE speed, then unlimited data at 1 Mbps for the rest of that day. The high-speed allowance resets every 24 hours, so there is no wall and no overage charge. Hotspot is not enabled on Unlimited, which is built for single-device use.
| Plan | Validity | Price | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited | 7 days | $19.00 | A standard Bali week with no data thinking |
| Unlimited | 10 days | $30.00 | Bali plus Nusa Penida or the Gilis |
| Unlimited | 15 days | $39.00 | Two weeks across several islands |
| Unlimited | 30 days | $59.00 | A month-long stay |
Want hotspot on an unlimited plan? The separate Truly Unlimited Indonesia eSIM has no daily cap and no throttling, and hotspot is allowed. It runs on Three and Indosat for multi-network coverage across Jakarta, Bali, Ubud, Yogyakarta and Bandung.
One thing an eSIM will not do
Data-only eSIMs do not give you an Indonesian phone number. For most travellers that does not matter, because Grab, Gojek and WhatsApp all work fine on your existing number over data. It matters if a villa host insists on a local contact, or if you are booking services that send a verification SMS to a +62 number. If that describes your trip, run the eSIM for arrival-day data and pick up a cheap local SIM in town on day two, at town prices, with no queue.
Getting out of the airport
You are through customs with a working phone. Now the arrivals hall, which is where the touts are.
Ignore anyone who approaches you saying "taxi?". Those are solicitors, not drivers, and they charge two to three times the going rate. Every legitimate option requires you to walk to a specific place rather than accept an offer.
Your four options
| Option | How it works | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid counter | Fixed price on a board, pay inside, walk to the assigned car | You want zero decisions and no app |
| Grab or Gojek | Book in the app, meet the driver at the assigned pickup bay | You already have data and want the lowest fare |
| Pre-booked transfer | Driver waits in arrivals with your name, fixed price per car | Late arrival, family, lots of luggage, or Ubud |
| Hotel pickup | Arranged by your accommodation, billed to the room | Remote villas and steep village lanes |
What it should cost
Prices vary with traffic, rain, time of day and how far up a lane your villa sits. Treat these as a sanity check on what you are quoted, not a fixed tariff.
| Destination | Drive time | Typical fare |
|---|---|---|
| Kuta | 15 to 25 min | Rp 80,000 to 150,000 |
| Seminyak | 25 to 40 min | Rp 100,000 to 160,000 |
| Nusa Dua | 25 to 40 min | Rp 150,000 to 250,000 |
| Canggu | 40 to 70 min | Rp 150,000 to 300,000 |
| Uluwatu | 45 to 70 min | Rp 200,000 to 270,000 |
| Ubud | 60 to 90 min | Rp 300,000 to 550,000 |
Ride-hailing fares include a small airport levy of around Rp 10,000 to 12,000, normally already shown in the app before you confirm. Pre-booked transfer prices are per car, not per person, which usually makes them cheaper for two or more people.
Verify the app situation when you land. Grab and Gojek pickups at Ngurah Rai were prohibited for years to protect the licensed taxi cooperatives. Reporting from mid-2026 indicates Grab now operates an official lounge in the arrivals pickup zone, with drivers meeting passengers at assigned bays. This has flipped before. Open the app while you are still at baggage claim and see what it offers rather than planning around either version.
Ride-hailing away from the airport
Grab and Gojek work across Kuta, Seminyak, Canggu, Sanur, Nusa Dua, Uluwatu and Ubud, and they are usually 30 to 50 percent cheaper than street taxis. Uber has not operated in Indonesia since 2018.
Drop-offs are almost always fine. Pickups are the sensitive part. Central Ubud near the Monkey Forest and the palace, some Canggu beach clubs, and the temple areas of Uluwatu are served by local cooperatives that restrict app pickups. Your driver may message asking you to walk five minutes to a main road. Do it, and be pleasant about it. They are managing a genuine local arrangement, not being difficult.
For metered street taxis, Blue Bird is the one to trust: light blue, bird logo on the door, uniformed driver, digital meter. Book through the MyBlueBird app, because unmetered lookalike blue cabs are common.
The first hour, minute by minute
Assuming you did the three QR codes at home.
- 0 to 10 minutesOff the plane, walk to immigration. No health form, no paper anything.
- 10 to 20 minutesAutogate. Passport scan, face capture, through. Officers may check onward travel.
- 20 to 30 minutesBaggage claim, then the customs scanner for your arrival card QR.
- 30 to 35 minutesTourist levy voucher checked at the exit.
- 35 minutesInto the arrivals hall. Your eSIM is already connected, so you walk past the SIM counters.
- 35 to 45 minutesPrepaid counter, app pickup bay, or your pre-booked driver. In a car.
Without the three codes, add roughly 45 to 90 minutes at the VOA counter, 15 minutes filling in the arrival card at a help desk, and up to two hours at a SIM counter in peak season.
Before you fly
- Passport. Valid at least 6 months from your arrival date.
- Onward ticket. Booked and confirmed. Airlines check this at check-in and refuse one-way boarding.
- e-VOA. Applied at evisa.imigrasi.go.id, allow 3 working days, screenshot the approval.
- Arrival card. Filed free at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id within 72 hours of arrival.
- Tourist levy. Paid at lovebali.baliprov.go.id, screenshot the voucher.
- eSIM. Installed at home on Wi-Fi. Validity starts when you land, not when you buy.
- Cash. Some rupiah or US dollars, in case a card reader is down.
- Accommodation pin. Saved offline. Villa addresses in Canggu and Ubud confuse drivers constantly.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get through Bali airport?
Around 30 to 45 minutes from landing to kerbside if you have your e-VOA, arrival card and tourist levy sorted in advance. Two to three hours if you arrive with none of them during a peak arrival wave.
How much is the Bali visa on arrival in 2026?
Rp 500,000, roughly US$35, for a 30-day stay. It extends once for another 30 days for a further Rp 500,000, giving 60 days total. The e-VOA costs the same, plus a small online processing fee.
Is the e-VOA worth it if the price is the same?
Yes, and it is the single biggest time saving of your arrival. The e-VOA lets you use the biometric autogates and skip the visa payment queue entirely, which is normally 45 to 120 minutes during busy periods.
What is the All Indonesia arrival card?
A single free digital form that replaced the old SATUSEHAT health pass, the electronic customs declaration and the separate immigration data. File it at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id within 72 hours of arrival and present the QR code at customs.
Do I really have to pay the Bali tourist levy?
Yes. It is Rp 150,000 per person per entry, including infants, and it is enforced at the airport and by spot checks at major attractions. Pay it through the official Love Bali portal before you fly.
Do I need proof of onward travel?
Yes, and airlines check it at check-in rather than immigration checking it in Bali. Travellers on one-way tickets are routinely denied boarding at the departure airport.
Should I buy a SIM card at Bali airport?
You can, but you will pay a premium and the registration process is slow. It requires your passport, your phone's IMEI and a photo of you holding the package, and peak-season waits have been reported at up to two hours. An eSIM installed at home skips all of it.
Which network is best in Bali?
Telkomsel has the widest coverage, including rural Bali, Nusa Penida, the Gilis and the volcano roads. XL is a strong second in the tourist south. The ETravelSim Indonesia eSIM runs on both.
Will my eSIM give me an Indonesian phone number?
No, the data plans are data-only. Grab, Gojek and WhatsApp all work over data on your existing number. If you specifically need a +62 number for a villa host or a local booking, buy a cheap local SIM in town on day two at town prices.
How much data do I need for Bali?
Most travellers use 0.5 to 1 GB a day on maps, Grab, WhatsApp and social media. That is roughly 5 to 10 GB for a week. Video calling, hotspotting a laptop or working remotely calls for 25 GB, 50 GB or Unlimited.
Can I use Grab or Gojek from Bali airport?
This has changed more than once. App pickups were prohibited at Ngurah Rai for years to protect the licensed taxi cooperatives, and mid-2026 reporting indicates Grab now runs an official lounge in the arrivals pickup zone. Open the app at baggage claim and see what it actually offers.
Why does my driver ask me to walk to a pickup point?
Because you are in an area where local transport cooperatives restrict app pickups, most commonly central Ubud, parts of Canggu near the beach clubs, and Uluwatu near the temples. The driver meets you just outside the zone. Walk the short distance and be friendly about it.
Do I need to register my phone's IMEI in Indonesia?
Only if you are staying more than 90 days and using a local network. Short-trip travellers can ignore it. Long-stayers should register at the customs desk on arrival, when it is free.
Can I keep my home number active in Bali?
Yes. Any dual-SIM phone runs your home SIM and the eSIM together. Keep calls, SMS and banking OTPs on your home number and let the eSIM handle all data, with roaming switched off on the home line.
Walk past the SIM queue
Install at home on Wi-Fi, land connected. Telkomsel and XL coverage, from $4.50, no passport, no registration desk.
Get your Indonesia eSIM →Explore more travel guides
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eSIMs for the rest of your Southeast Asia trip
- Indonesia eSIM on Telkomsel and XL, covering Bali, Java, Lombok and beyond
- Truly Unlimited Indonesia eSIM with no daily cap and hotspot allowed
- Asia eSIM for multi-country trips on one plan
- Malaysia eSIM for Kuala Lumpur layovers
- Thailand eSIM
- Vietnam eSIM
- Australia eSIM, the biggest single source of Bali arrivals
For all ETravelSim destinations, visit etravelsim.com/collections/travelesim.
Last updated: September 2026. Indonesian entry requirements, fees and airport transport rules change frequently and have changed several times since 2024. Sources include the Indonesian Directorate General of Immigration, the official Love Bali portal, Ngurah Rai Airport operations reporting and current traveller price data. Verify current requirements on official government sites before you fly.