Jun 7
When travelling to Bali 2 weeks ago, I was stopped by the immigration official because I had no space left in my passport. The Indonesian visa on arrival takes an entire page in the passport and cannot be placed on an “endorsement”. After the immigration official looked through my passport a couple of times, I was whisked off into a room to see the supervisor.
The supervisor was extremely polite, and explained to me that we had a problem. He first established that technically speaking, he couldn’t allow me to enter because there was nowhere to put the visa. He would get in trouble if he put it over another country’s stamp. He then said that maybe he would be willing to put his butt on the line for me. He then said that maybe I could make a small contribution to be used for food for the immigration department. This contribution, he would tell his supervisor was unsolicited by him and volunteered by me. He was willing to scratch my back if I scratched his.
Well, I didn’t have much money with me and that was my concern. I had about US $10 and another $5 equivalent in indonesian currency. I asked if this was enough and he told me that the amount was at my discretion. He gave me my visa and I was on my way.
So, what are the lessons from the story?
- It’s not that expensive if you have to make a donation to get into Indonesia
- In a non-corrupt country, I would have had a real problem trying to get in.
- Always make sure your passport has empty pages.
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