Bali visa from NZ: why it trips people up
Travel advice · Bali
Getting a Bali visa from NZ: why it trips people up, and how we can help
By the team at YOU Travel Napier
Updated 4 November 2026 · 6 min read
Checked against the official Indonesian immigration and Bali government sites in October 2026.
The short answer
If you're a Kiwi with a Bali trip booked, or nearly booked, the short answer is yes: a New Zealand passport needs a visa for Bali, even for a two-week holiday. It's a visa on arrival, and you can also buy it online before you go. The visa itself isn't hard. The process around it catches people out in a handful of predictable ways.
The rules
Do New Zealanders need a visa for Bali?
Yes. New Zealand is on Indonesia's official list of countries whose passport holders can get a visa on arrival, but that still means they need a visa.
The Bali visa for New Zealanders covers a stay of up to 30 days. You can extend it once, for another 30 days, which takes you to 60 in total. You can't turn it into a different visa or stay permit once you're there.
For most short holidays, that's all you need: one visa, and you are comfortably inside the limit.
Online or on arrival
Can you get a Bali visa online or on arrival?
The e-VOA and the visa on arrival are the same visa, with the same fee and the same 30 days. You can buy it online before you fly or at the airport when you land.
Where it goes wrong
Why the Bali visa goes wrong for New Zealanders
Our team has done Sri Lankan and Indian visas too, and the Indonesian one is the simplest of the three, but we see people come unstuck in five places.
In our team's experience, half the time someone is struggling, they're applying for the wrong visa.
A lookalike website instead of the official one
If you search for a Bali visa, the government site isn't the only thing that comes up. Commercial websites that look official sit right beside it, and travellers have paid well over the government's fee through them. Indonesian immigration says plainly that these websites are not endorsed by or associated with the Indonesian government. The official portal is evisa.imigrasi.go.id, so we'd recommend checking the address before you pay anything.
Applying for the wrong visa, which then asks for bank statements
In our team's experience, half the time someone is struggling, they're applying for the wrong visa. The site offers several types, and only one of them is the short-stay visa a holiday needs. It asks for your passport page and a photo, with no bank statement.
If you pick one of the longer tourist visas by mistake, the questions change. Those are for stays of up to 60 days, and they want a personal bank statement covering the last three months, showing at least USD 2,000 or the equivalent. For a lot of people this is where it gets daunting, because nobody expects a short holiday to need a bank statement.
The photo and passport upload
The photo and the passport page both have a file-size limit. This is where a lot of applications get stuck. Photos uploaded from a computer are often rejected because the file is too big. Tip: use your phone or tablet to complete the application, as it makes this photo stage a lot easier.
A website that is fiddly and sometimes crashes
The official site can also crash for no obvious reason. Even our team, who do these for our clients, have at times needed two attempts at a single visa, with each attempt taking a good hour.
Booking one day longer than the visa allows
We saw this recently with a 31-day Bali trip on a visa that only covers 30 days. Even one day over counts as overstaying, and Indonesia can fine or deport people who overstay.
If your trip runs past 30 days, sort it before you book, either by planning to extend the visa once you're there or by getting a longer visa from the start, which takes a lot more effort.
Costs
What a Bali visa costs, and what else you pay
The visa costs IDR 500,000, roughly NZ$50 at September 2026 exchange rates, whether you buy it online or at the airport. If you pay online by debit or credit card there's an additional card fee on top, and your own bank may charge to convert the rupiah as well.
Bali also charges every foreign visitor a tourist levy of IDR 150,000 per person, roughly NZ$15. You pay it once per visit, and it can't be paid in cash.
Visa fee
IDR 500,000 (about NZ$50)
Stay
30 days
Extension
Once, 30 more days
Tourist levy
IDR 150,000 (about NZ$15)
Before you fly
What else needs sorting before you fly to Bali
Do it yourself
When you can sort the visa yourself
Plenty of travellers sort their own Bali visa, especially for a trip of 30 days or less. If you'd rather not, it's one of the things we can look after or guide you through when you book your trip with us.
The rules do change, though, so check the official Indonesian immigration site before you travel, even if you've been to Bali before.
If you're weighing up doing the whole trip yourself against handing it over, our piece on what booking through a travel agent gets you covers the trade-offs.
Questions
Bali visa questions from New Zealanders
Is a Bali visa the same as an Indonesian visa?
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Yes. Bali is part of Indonesia, so a Bali visa is an Indonesian visa, issued by Indonesian immigration. The tourist levy is separate, and it's charged by the Bali provincial government.
Can I extend my Bali visa while I am there?
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Yes, once, for another 30 days. For a longer stay, a different visa needs to be sorted before you go.
What happens if I overstay my Bali visa?
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Indonesian immigration says overstaying can mean fines, deportation or other legal charges.
I live in New Zealand but hold another passport. Does that count?
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Living in New Zealand doesn't decide which visa you get. Eligibility follows the passport you travel on, so check Indonesia's rules for that passport rather than relying on what applies to New Zealanders.
Book with us
Booking Bali with YOU Travel Napier
When you book your Bali trip with us, our team can sort the visa as part of our service, along with the flights, the accommodation and the rest of the plan. When we plan your dates, we'll make sure the length of your trip fits the visa. Your first conversation with us is free, with no obligation.
If Bali's on your list, get in touch or call us on 06 835 3917, and we'll start with a trip planned around you.
Get in touchor call 06 835 3917
Image credit: Jatiluwih rice terraces, Bali, by Jorge Franganillo (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.