# Do you need a visa for a Jakarta layover?

Indonesia lets you change planes in the international transit area without a visa. To leave the airport, nearly every passport this guide covers needs a visa on arrival, which you can buy online before you fly as an e-VOA.

- Web page: https://jakartalayover.com/visa-and-transit/
- Guide: [Jakarta Layover](https://jakartalayover.com/), an independent layover guide to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), part of City Layover
- Updated 10 November 2026; facts checked 8 November 2026

## Short answer

No visa is needed to change planes in Jakarta airport's international transit area, on one ticket with your bags checked through. To leave the airport, US, UK, EU, Canadian, Australian and Indian passports need a visa on arrival: IDR 500,000 for up to 30 days, paid at a counter when you land or bought online beforehand as an e-VOA. Everyone entering Indonesia also fills in the All Indonesia arrival card.

## At a glance

- **Visa on arrival or e-VOA**: IDR 500,000, up to 30 days
- **Apply for the e-VOA**: At least 48 hours before you fly
- **Airside transit**: No visa, on one ticket
- **Passport validity**: 6 months from arrival
- **Arrival card**: All Indonesia, from 3 days before landing
- **No visa needed**: South-East Asian and a few other passports, 30 days

## If you stay airside

You can change planes at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) without a visa, as long as you stay in the international transit area. Indonesia's immigration directorate says so plainly: no visa is needed if you don't leave it.

- **On one ticket, with your bags checked through,** follow the transfer signs instead of the ones for immigration. Terminal 3, where Garuda Indonesia and many foreign airlines fly from, has a transfer desk and its own security check for connecting passengers.
- **Changing terminals.** International flights use Terminal 3 or Terminal 2, depending on the airline. If your two flights leave from different terminals, ask your airline before you fly whether you'll pass immigration to get between them. If you will, you need the visa on arrival or e-VOA below.
- **The arrival card.** It isn't stated whether passengers who stay airside need the All Indonesia arrival card. It takes a few minutes and needs only your passport and flight details, so if you're not sure, fill it in.
- **Connecting to a domestic flight** means entering Indonesia at Jakarta, so the rules for leaving the airport apply.

## If you want to leave the airport

Leaving the airport, even for a few hours, means entering Indonesia, so you need the right visa for your passport.

| Passport | What you need to leave Jakarta airport |
| --- | --- |
| US, UK, Canada, Australia | Visa on arrival or e-VOA, IDR 500,000, up to 30 days |
| EU and other Schengen countries | Visa on arrival or e-VOA, IDR 500,000, up to 30 days |
| India | Visa on arrival or e-VOA, IDR 500,000, up to 30 days |
| Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and the rest of South-East Asia; Hong Kong, Macau, Türkiye, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Suriname, Kazakhstan and Belarus | No visa, up to 30 days |

Whatever your passport, everyone entering fills in the All Indonesia arrival card.

### The e-VOA and the visa on arrival

They're the same visa, bought two ways: a single-entry visitor visa for up to 30 days, at IDR 500,000.

- **Online, before you fly (the e-VOA).** Register on Indonesia's official e-Visa site, evisa.imigrasi.go.id, upload your passport's photo page and a recent photo, and pay by Visa, Mastercard or JCB card. It's emailed to you within 24 hours, so apply at least 48 hours before you fly, and use it within 90 days. This is the one to get: you go straight to immigration instead of queuing to pay first.
- **At the airport (the visa on arrival).** Pay at the bank counter in the immigration area, then show the receipt at the visa-on-arrival desk, where the immigration officer puts the visa in your passport.
- **Either way**, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the day you arrive, and you need a return or onward ticket. Everyone needs their own visa, children included.

### The All Indonesia arrival card

Since 1 October 2025, every passenger arriving from abroad completes an arrival declaration on the All Indonesia website (allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id) or app, from 3 days before landing. It covers immigration, customs and health in one form and gives you a QR code to show on arrival. Without it, you're processed by hand, which takes longer.

### Visiting without a visa

Citizens of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam, and of Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Macau, Peru, Suriname and Türkiye, can visit for up to 30 days without a visa. That stay can't be extended, which makes no difference on a layover.

## If you're on separate tickets

On separate tickets, Jakarta isn't a connection: you collect your bags, leave the arrivals hall and check in again for your next flight. That means passing immigration and entering Indonesia even if you never leave the airport, so you need the visa on arrival or e-VOA if your passport requires one, and the arrival card. Allow for the queue, and for checking in again before the counters close.

## At the border

The airport publishes no queue times. With an e-VOA and the arrival card done, you go straight to the immigration desk; without the e-VOA, you pay at the bank counter first. After immigration and baggage reclaim, the arrival card's QR code also covers customs. Allow about an hour and a quarter from landing to sitting on the airport train, including the Skytrain to the station; see [getting into the city](https://jakartalayover.com/getting-to-the-city/).

## Before you go landside

- Check that your bags are checked through to your final destination; if not, you'll collect them after immigration.
- Keep your onward boarding pass on your phone or on paper.
- Be at BNI City station 3 hours 10 minutes before your flight, which gets you back to the airport 90 minutes before departure. See [getting into the city](https://jakartalayover.com/getting-to-the-city/).

## Questions people ask

### Do I need a visa to change planes at Jakarta airport?

No, if you stay in the international transit area: Indonesia's immigration directorate says no visa is needed if you don't leave it. That works on one ticket with your bags checked through. If your next flight leaves from a different terminal, ask your airline whether you'll pass immigration on the way.

### Do Indian passport holders need a visa for a Jakarta layover?

Yes, to leave the airport. India is on Indonesia's visa-on-arrival list, so you can get the visa on arrival or the e-VOA, IDR 500,000 for up to 30 days, with a passport valid for 6 months and an onward ticket. Staying in the transit area needs no visa.

### Do US citizens need a visa to leave Jakarta airport on a layover?

Yes: a visa on arrival or an e-VOA, IDR 500,000 for up to 30 days. Buy the e-VOA online before you fly and you skip the payment counter at the airport. Staying airside needs no visa.

### Can I change planes at Jakarta airport on separate tickets?

Yes, but you'll pass immigration. On separate tickets you collect your bags and check in again, which means entering Indonesia, so you need the visa on arrival or e-VOA if your passport requires one, and the All Indonesia arrival card.

### How much is the e-VOA for Indonesia and how long does it take?

IDR 500,000, the same as the visa on arrival. Apply on Indonesia's official e-Visa site with a photo of your passport page and a recent photo, and pay by Visa, Mastercard or JCB card. It's emailed to you within 24 hours, but apply at least 48 hours before you fly. Use it within 90 days of issue.

## Sources (checked 8 November 2026)

- [Directorate General of Immigration: e-Visa on arrival and the transit area (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://evisa.imigrasi.go.id/front/info/evoa)
- [Directorate General of Immigration: visa on arrival FAQ (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://evisa.imigrasi.go.id/front/faq/59e5c2c3-525d-485b-928b-ed25079d0fd1)
- [Directorate General of Immigration: visitor visa B1 (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-visa-indonesia/B1?lang=en-US)
- [Soekarno-Hatta Immigration Office: B1 visa on arrival, paying at the airport and the e-VOA (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://soekarnohatta.imigrasi.go.id/layanan-publik/warga-negara-asing/visa-indonesia/b1-visa-saat-kedatangan-wisata)
- [Directorate General of Immigration: A1 visa exemption, 30 days (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-visa-indonesia/A1?lang=en-US)
- [Directorate General of Immigration: countries eligible for a visa on arrival (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-negara-voa-bvk-calling-visa/daftar-negara-subjek-visa-on-arrival)
- [Directorate General of Immigration: visa-free short-visit countries (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-negara-voa-bvk-calling-visa/daftar-negara-bebas-visa-kunjungan)
- [Directorate General of Immigration: All Indonesia arrival declaration (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.imigrasi.go.id/siaran_pers/mulai-1-oktober-deklarasi-kedatangan-penumpang-wajib-dilakukan-di-aplikasi-all-indonesia)
- [Garuda Indonesia: Terminal 3 international map, Transfer Desk (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.garuda-indonesia.com/static/content/dam/garuda/jp/experience/on-ground/check-in/terminal3/Airport%20Map%20New%20T3%20CGK_International.pdf)
- [Japan Airlines: Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta transit guide, terminals and Skytrain (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/airport/cgk/transit/)