Quick Answer
The Indonesia arrival card is a free online health and travel declaration that almost every foreign visitor now completes before reaching immigration, including everyone flying into Bali. You fill it out on Indonesia's official portal (to confirm) within roughly (to confirm), enter your passport and flight details, and receive a QR code. You show that QR code at the airport. It is separate from your visa and separate from the customs declaration, and there is no fee to complete it.
The Arrival Card at a Glance
- What it is: Indonesia's mandatory digital arrival declaration for foreign travelers, replacing the old paper health card
- Official name: (to confirm)
- Where you fill it: (to confirm)
- Cost: Free. There is no government fee to submit the arrival card
- When to fill it: (to confirm)
- What you need: Passport, flight or vessel details, accommodation address in Bali, contact details
- What you receive: A QR code (saved to your phone or printed)
- Where you show it: At immigration / health screening on arrival at the airport
- Who needs it: All foreign visitors arriving in Indonesia by air or sea (to confirm)
- Different from: Your visa or e-VOA, and the Indonesia customs declaration (a separate form)
What the Indonesia Arrival Card Actually Is
The arrival card is a short online form Indonesia asks foreign travelers to complete before they land. It collects your identity, your travel details, where you are staying, and a basic health declaration. When you submit it, the system issues a QR code that confirms you have registered.
This grew out of the health-pass systems Indonesia ran during and after the pandemic. Those evolved into a single digital arrival declaration tied to the national health platform (to confirm), which is why some airlines and signage still call it a "health pass" while others call it the arrival card or e-arrival card. They refer to the same step.
If you have arrived in Bali in past years and remember filling in a paper card on the plane, this is the modern replacement. The card is now digital, you complete it yourself in advance, and the QR code is what immigration and health staff scan.
For most travelers the whole thing takes five to ten minutes once you have your passport and flight number in front of you.
Who Needs the Indonesia Arrival Card
The short version: if you are a foreign national flying into Bali, plan on completing it.
The arrival card applies to foreign visitors entering Indonesia by air or by sea (to confirm). That covers tourists on a visa on arrival, travelers on an e-VOA, business visitors, and most other entry categories.
A few situations to check against the current rules before you assume you are exempt:
- Children and infants. Each traveler typically needs their own submission, including minors (to confirm).
- Transit-only passengers. If you never clear Indonesian immigration, the requirement may differ (to confirm).
- Diplomatic and official travel. Separate procedures may apply (to confirm).
Indonesian citizens returning home are handled under their own process and are outside the scope of this guide.
When in doubt, fill it out. There is no cost and no downside to having a valid QR code ready, and arriving without one is what creates delay.
How to Complete the Arrival Card Online: Step by Step
You complete the card on Indonesia's official portal (to confirm). Have your passport and flight details ready before you start, because the session can time out.
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Open the official portal. Go to (to confirm). Confirm you are on the genuine government site before entering passport data. Several copycat sites charge a "service fee" for a form that is free.
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Start a new arrival declaration. Select the option for foreign travelers arriving in Indonesia.
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Enter your personal details. Full name exactly as printed in your passport, nationality, passport number, and passport expiry date. Match the passport spelling precisely.
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Enter your travel details. Your arrival date, the airport (Bali's airport is Ngurah Rai International, code DPS), your flight number, and the airline. For sea arrivals, the vessel and port instead.
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Enter your stay in Bali. Your accommodation name and address, or the address where you will be staying. A hotel or villa booking confirmation covers this. If you are touring the north, use your first night's address.
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Complete the health declaration. Answer the health questions honestly. For most travelers these are routine.
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Review everything. Check the passport number and flight number twice. These are the fields that cause problems at the airport if they are wrong.
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Submit and save the QR code. Screenshot it, save it offline, and ideally email it to yourself. A printed copy is a sensible backup, because airport wifi is unreliable and your phone may not connect the moment you land.
That is the whole process. Once you hold the QR code, you are ready for immigration.
The QR Code: What It Is and How You Use It
The QR code is the proof you completed the arrival card. When you land in Bali, staff at the health or immigration checkpoint scan it (to confirm).
Save it somewhere you can open without signal. The arrivals hall at Ngurah Rai is busy, connectivity is patchy, and the last thing you want is to be standing in line trying to reload a website. A screenshot in your photo gallery, a copy in your email, and a printout in your bag is belt-and-braces, and it costs nothing.
If you are travelling as a family or group, keep each person's QR code accessible. Each traveler generally has their own (to confirm).
Is the Indonesia Arrival Card Free?
Yes. The official arrival card costs nothing to submit.
This matters because a layer of third-party websites has appeared around it, the same way it did with Indonesia's visa on arrival. These sites copy the look of the official portal, fill in the form on your behalf, and charge a "processing" or "service" fee of anywhere from a few dollars to far more (to confirm). They provide nothing you cannot do yourself in ten minutes.
Use only the official government portal (to confirm). If a site asks for payment to submit your arrival card, it is not the official one.
How the Arrival Card Differs from Your Visa
These are two separate things, and confusing them is the most common mistake.
Your visa is your legal permission to enter Indonesia. For most Bali tourists that is a visa on arrival or an e-VOA, which carries a government fee (to confirm) and is paid separately. The visa is about whether you may enter the country.
The arrival card is a free declaration about who you are, where you are going, and your health. It does not grant entry on its own and it does not replace the visa.
You typically need both. Sort your visa or e-VOA first, then complete the free arrival card before you fly. One is permission, the other is registration, and immigration expects to see evidence of each.
How the Arrival Card Differs from the Customs Declaration
There is a third form, and it is also separate: the Indonesia customs declaration, often called the e-CD or electronic customs declaration.
The arrival card is the health and travel registration described above.
The customs declaration is about what you are bringing into the country, completed on Indonesia's customs portal (to confirm). It also produces its own QR code, which you show at the customs exit after you collect your luggage.
So a typical Bali arrival can involve up to three digital steps: your visa or e-VOA, the arrival card, and the customs declaration. Travelers sometimes do one and assume they are finished. Check which ones currently apply to you before you fly, and save each QR code separately, because they are scanned at different points in the airport.
Once you are through all of it, the north of the island is roughly two to three hours up the road. The getting to north Bali guide covers the drive from the airport, and the north Bali travel guide covers what waits at the other end.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Leaving it until you land. Fill the card in advance, within the current window (to confirm). Doing it in the arrivals queue on poor wifi is slow and stressful.
- Using a fake or paid site. If you are charged to submit the arrival card, you are on the wrong site. The official one is free.
- Mistyping your passport or flight number. These are the fields staff cross-check. A typo here is what causes a hold-up at the desk.
- No offline copy of the QR code. Screenshot it. Email it to yourself. Print it. Airport connectivity is unreliable.
- Confusing it with your visa. The arrival card is not your visa and does not replace it. Arrange both.
- Forgetting the customs declaration. It is a separate form with a separate QR code, scanned after baggage claim.
- Filling it too early. If you complete it outside the allowed window (to confirm), you may have to redo it. Check the current timing.
When to Fill the Indonesia Arrival Card
Complete it shortly before you travel, inside the official submission window (to confirm). Filling it too far ahead can put you outside the window and force a resubmission, and leaving it to the last moment risks doing it on airport wifi.
The practical sweet spot is the day or two before your flight, once your bags are nearly packed and your accommodation is confirmed. You will have your flight number, your passport, and your Bali address all in one place, which is everything the form asks for.
Set a phone reminder for two days before departure. Five minutes then saves a queue later.
FAQ
What is the Indonesia arrival card? It is Indonesia's free digital arrival declaration for foreign travelers, covering your identity, travel details, accommodation, and a basic health declaration. You complete it online before you fly and receive a QR code that immigration or health staff scan when you land. It replaced the old paper card filled in on the plane.
Is the Bali arrival card the same as the Indonesia arrival card? Yes. Bali is part of Indonesia, so travelers flying into Bali complete the same national arrival card as anyone entering the country. There is no separate Bali-only version.
Is the Indonesia arrival card free? Yes. The official arrival card has no fee. If a website charges you to submit it, that is a third-party service copying the official portal, and you can do the same form yourself for free on the government site (to confirm).
When do I need to fill out the arrival card? Within the official submission window before you arrive (to confirm). The practical advice is to do it a day or two before your flight, once your accommodation and flight details are confirmed, and avoid leaving it until you land.
Where do I fill out the Indonesia arrival card? On Indonesia's official government portal (to confirm). Confirm you are on the genuine government site before entering your passport details, and avoid lookalike sites that charge a fee.
Do I still need a visa if I have the arrival card? Yes. The arrival card and the visa are separate. Your visa or e-VOA is your permission to enter and carries its own fee (to confirm). The arrival card is a free registration and does not grant entry. Most tourists need both.
Is the arrival card the same as the customs declaration? No. The customs declaration (e-CD) is a separate form about goods you are bringing in, completed on the customs portal (to confirm). It produces its own QR code, scanned after baggage claim. The arrival card is the health and travel registration scanned at or before immigration.
Do children need their own arrival card? Generally each traveler needs their own submission, including children (to confirm). Check the current portal rules when you fill it in.
What information do I need to complete the arrival card? Your passport (number and expiry), your flight number and arrival date, the airline, your accommodation name and address in Bali, and your contact details. Have these in front of you before you start, because the session can time out.
What happens if I do not fill out the arrival card? Arriving without it usually means completing the form at the airport on slow wifi, which adds delay to an already busy arrivals hall (to confirm). It is free and quick to do in advance, so there is no reason to skip it.
Can I fill the arrival card out at the airport when I land? It is possible but not advised. Connectivity at Ngurah Rai arrivals is unreliable and the hall is crowded, so completing it on your phone in the queue is slow. Submit it in advance within the allowed window and save the QR code offline.
Heading north after you land? Getting to north Bali covers the airport-to-coast drive, and Northbound can arrange a driver waiting for you. Message Northbound on WhatsApp.