Flights from Australia are short, and you can sort the visa online before you leave. The paperwork has grown, though. There are now three separate things to do before you fly, and officials check them at the airport and at the big tourist spots. They're covered in order below, followed by flights, packing and what happens when you land.
For other passports, extensions and the longer-stay C1 visa, see the main Bali visa and entry requirements guide.
The Bali visa for Australians
Australia is on the official list of countries that can get Indonesia's Visa on Arrival, now called index B1 (the list of 87 countries at evisa.imigrasi.go.id, checked on 6 October 2026). Australians don't get visa-free entry. The visa facts on this page match our Bali visa guide, which we re-checked against the official portals on the same day.
| Bali visa for Australians (2026) | |
|---|---|
| Visa | Visa on Arrival (e-VOA online or VOA at the airport) |
| Cost | IDR 500,000 (about AUD 40 or US$28 at September 2026 rates), same online or at the airport |
| Stay | 30 days from arrival |
| Validity | Use it within 90 days of issue. Single entry |
| Extension | Once, for 30 more days (60 days total) |
| Overstay fine | IDR 1,000,000 per day, plus possible deportation |
The VOA is for holidays, meetings, family visits and transit, and it doesn't allow work of any kind. According to the FCDO, that includes paid content creation, teaching yoga or surfing, and remote work for Indonesian clients, and doing it can lead to prosecution and detention. Bali's Governor has separately banned working or running a business without the right documents.
Staying longer than 60 days? Then you need a C1 visa, applied for before you leave. The main visa guide explains how.
How to apply for the e-VOA
You can pay at the airport, but I'd buy it online. The price is the same, you skip the VOA payment queue, and you can use the automated immigration gates at Bali airport. Indonesian Immigration opens the autogates to any foreign visitor with an e-VOA (or another e-visa) and an electronic passport, so check for the chip symbol on your passport cover. Airport VOA holders go to the desks.
The only official site is evisa.imigrasi.go.id. There are lookalikes, and the FCDO says visa scams are on the rise, so check the address before you enter anything.
- Go to https://evisa.imigrasi.go.id and create an account. Verify your email within one hour.
- Upload a scan of your passport photo page and a passport-style photo. Each file must be JPG, JPEG or PNG and under 200 KB, so shrink your phone photos first.
- Choose the Visitor Visa / e-VOA and enter your arrival date, port (DPS for Bali) and flight number.
- Pay IDR 500,000 by Visa, Mastercard or JCB within 120 minutes. The card doesn't have to be yours. Your bank may charge a foreign transaction fee.
- Download the visa PDF. Save it offline and print a copy.
Apply no earlier than 14 days before you fly and at least 48 hours before departure. Approval is often quick, but the official figure for visitor visas is 3-5 working days, and the FCDO suggests allowing a week for e-visas, so I'd do the same.
The fee is IDR 500,000 on the official portal. On 12 August 2026 Immigration announced IDR 750,000 for an e-VOA and IDR 1,000,000 for a VOA bought on arrival, with no start date given (see the visa guide for sources). Check the portal on the day you apply.
Check every detail against your passport before you submit. You can't edit the application afterwards, a mismatch makes the visa invalid, and there are no refunds. Each traveller needs their own e-VOA, kids included.
Your pre-departure checklist
- Passport valid for at least 6 months from arrival, with 2 blank pages and no damage
- e-VOA approved, PDF saved offline and printed
- Return or onward ticket (you need proof for the VOA, and airlines may check at check-in)
- All Indonesia arrival card submitted within 72 hours before landing at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id or in the official app. It's free, so don't pay any site that charges. Save the QR code
- Bali tourist levy of IDR 150,000 paid at lovebali.baliprov.go.id or in the Love Bali app. Save the voucher QR code
- Travel insurance that covers scooters (with a licence), diving and volcano treks if you plan any of them
- Medicines in original packaging with a prescription copy and doctor's letter
A lot of people mix up the arrival card and the levy. They're on different websites and do different jobs: the arrival card is for immigration, customs and health, and the levy is Bali's own tourist tax. You need both.
People do get asked for the levy. Officials run spot checks at Uluwatu, Tanah Lot, Besakih, Tegallalang, the airport and the Nusa Penida crossings, and if you can't show the QR code you pay there and then.
Flights from Australia to Bali
You can fly nonstop from most Australian state capitals and several regional airports. The table below follows the destination list for Bali's airport (6 October 2026), checked against airline and trade reports where we found them. Airlines add and drop routes each season, so confirm on the airline's own site before you plan around one.
| Airline | Nonstop from |
|---|---|
| Jetstar | Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Melbourne Avalon, Newcastle, Perth, Sunshine Coast, Sydney |
| Virgin Australia | Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Canberra (seasonal, from 22 June 2026) |
| Qantas | Sydney, Melbourne |
| Garuda Indonesia | Sydney, Melbourne |
| Batik Air Malaysia | Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney (on a Kuala Lumpur to Sydney service via Bali) |
| Batik Air | Perth |
| TransNusa | Perth, and Melbourne from 19 October 2026 |
| Indonesia AirAsia | Perth |
Virgin Australia's Canberra service runs three return flights a week from April to January, the airline said on 27 January 2026. TransNusa's Melbourne route is planned daily, according to AeroRoutes on 18 September 2026.
Some routes that older guides still list have ended. Indonesia AirAsia stopped flying Darwin to Bali from 28 April 2026 (ch-aviation, 10 March 2026), and its Adelaide and Melbourne flights to Bali ended after 17 June 2026 (AeroRoutes, 15 May 2026). Jetstar is now the only airline on the list that flies from Darwin.
We don't quote fares, flight times or booking-window tips here, because they change by route and by day. Bali's wet season runs roughly November to March, and July and August are busy. Check the date of Nyepi too, the Balinese Day of Silence, which closes Bali airport for 24 hours once a year in March (Nyepi dates). Our best time to visit Bali guide covers the weather month by month.
The Middle East airspace closures of early 2026 disrupted Gulf-airline routes to Bali from Europe and elsewhere. The nonstop flights above don't route through the Gulf.
What to bring from Australia
Bali uses Type C and Type F plugs (two round pins) at 230 V. Australian plugs don't fit, so bring an adaptor.
Bali runs on rupiah, and the Governor's 2025 circular says to pay in rupiah (cash or QRIS), not Australian dollars. Only change money at licensed changers with the green "PVA Berizin" sticker; the unlicensed ones are known for counting tricks. ATMs are easy to find in Bali's towns but scarce on Nusa Penida and the Gili islands, so get cash before you head over. Use ATMs inside banks or malls, cover the keypad, and when the machine asks, choose to be charged in IDR rather than AUD.
Check Smartraveller's current Indonesia advice before you book, and subscribe to its updates. The FCDO says medical evacuation can cost tens of thousands of pounds, and insurers often won't pay out if you crash a scooter without a valid licence. Read what your policy says about scooters, diving and volcano treks.
Bali hasn't banned tourists from renting scooters, but you do need a valid licence to ride. To ride legally you need your home licence plus an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle (A) category, and the FCDO says a licence from home isn't valid on its own. Get the permit before you leave. Police checks focus on foreigners.
Bring prescription medicine in its original packaging with your name on it, plus a copy of the prescription and a doctor's letter. Ordinary medicines are fine up to about a 3-month supply. ADHD stimulants, benzodiazepines and strong painkillers are tightly controlled, and Adderall is effectively banned, so if you take any of these, contact the Indonesian embassy before you travel. Cannabis in any form, CBD included, is illegal.
Vapes are legal in Indonesia, but customs limits each adult to 30 ml of open-system e-liquid or 12 ml of closed-system pods, and anything over the limit is destroyed. THC or CBD liquid counts as drugs.
Drone rules are unclear. Some 2026 guides say every drone entering Bali needs pre-registration, while others say hobby drones under 2 kg don't, and we couldn't confirm either from an official source. Check with Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (hubud.dephub.go.id) before you pack one. Either way, never fly near the airport zone (roughly Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur, Jimbaran and Nusa Dua), over temples or over crowds.
On health, see a travel doctor 4 to 8 weeks before you go. On 7 August 2026 the US CDC issued a Level 2 travel health notice for Zika in Indonesia after cases in travellers returning from Bali, and it advises pregnant travellers to avoid Bali. Bali's provincial health agency said on 23 August 2026 that it had no reported cases. Ask your doctor what this means for you.
Also pack reef-safe sunscreen (it's expensive in Bali), insect repellent for dengue, rehydration salts, a refillable bottle, a dry bag for boat trips and a sarong for temples.
The full list is in our Southeast Asia packing list.
Arrival day at Bali airport
Bali's airport is I Gusti Ngurah Rai International (DPS), just south of Kuta.
- Immigration. With an e-VOA, use the automated gates if they're open for your passport, or go to the immigration desks. Without one, you queue to pay for the VOA first (cash or card), then queue again for immigration. Have your All Indonesia QR code and your return ticket ready.
- Baggage and customs. Show your All Indonesia QR code at customs. If you're carrying medicines, have the prescription and letter handy.
- Tourist levy. If you haven't paid, or your online payment failed, the official Love Bali FAQ says you can pay at the payment counter at the airport.
- SIM card. Telkomsel, XL and Indosat sell tourist SIMs in arrivals; you'll need your passport. Phones on local SIMs have to be IMEI-registered, which the official outlets do free for up to 90 days. This doesn't apply if you're on roaming or a travel eSIM from home.
- Cash. Get some rupiah from a bank ATM before you leave the airport.
Coming home: biosecurity
Foot-and-mouth disease is present in Indonesian livestock, and the virus can travel home on shoes, clothes and luggage, or in meat and dairy products. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) asks travellers coming back from Indonesia to:
- declare on your Incoming Passenger Card if you've been on a farm or in a rural area, or near farm animals
- declare any meat, dairy or other animal products, or better still, don't bring them home
- make sure shoes, clothes and gear are clean and free of soil and manure
Read the Department of Agriculture's current advice for travellers from Indonesia before you fly home, and if in doubt, declare.
Your first Bali trip, sorted
Our Bali trips are for solo travellers aged 18 to 40, with me as your Trip Host and a licensed local guide on the ground.
