Bali is a long way from the UK, and you'll always have at least one change. The upside is that all the entry paperwork can be done online before you leave. This page covers the visa, the two other forms, your flight options (including the 2026 Gulf disruption), UK health advice and what to pack from home.
For other passports, extensions and longer stays, see the Bali visa and entry requirements guide.
The Bali visa for UK citizens
The UK is named on Indonesia's official list of Visa on Arrival countries. British passport holders don't get visa-free entry. The visa facts here match our Bali visa guide, which we re-checked against the official portals and the FCDO on 6 October 2026.
| Bali visa for UK citizens (2026) | |
|---|---|
| Visa | Visa on Arrival, index B1 (e-VOA online or VOA at the airport) |
| Cost | IDR 500,000 (about £21 at September 2026 rates), the same either way |
| Stay | 30 days from arrival |
| Validity | Use within 90 days of issue. Single entry |
| Extension | Once, for 30 more days (60 days total), about IDR 500,000 |
| Overstay | IDR 1,000,000 per day, and possible deportation |
Bookmark the FCDO's entry requirements page. It warns that working on a tourist visa can lead to prosecution and detention. Paid content creation, teaching yoga or surfing, and remote work for Indonesian clients all count as work.
Staying longer than 60 days means applying for a C1 visa before you travel. The main guide has the details.
How to apply for the e-VOA
If you can, buy the e-VOA online rather than at the airport. It costs the same, you skip the 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, the kind with a chip symbol on the cover. Airport VOA holders go to the desks.
Use evisa.imigrasi.go.id and nothing else. There are lookalike sites, and the FCDO says visa scams are on the rise.
- Register at https://evisa.imigrasi.go.id and verify your email within one hour.
- Upload your passport photo page and a passport-style photo, each as JPG, JPEG or PNG under 200 KB.
- Select the Visitor Visa / e-VOA and enter your arrival date, port (DPS) and flight.
- Pay IDR 500,000 by Visa, Mastercard or JCB within 120 minutes. Your bank may add a non-sterling transaction fee.
- Download the visa PDF, save it offline and print it.
You can apply up to 14 days before travel. The portal wants at least 48 hours before departure, but the FCDO suggests allowing at least a week for e-visas, and I'd go with the FCDO.
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 before you submit, because you can't correct mistakes afterwards. A mismatch with your passport makes the visa invalid, and there are no refunds. Every traveller needs their own e-VOA.
Entry checklist
- Passport valid for 6 months from your arrival date, with 2 blank pages. The FCDO also warns that a damaged passport can get you refused entry
- e-VOA PDF, saved and printed
- Return or onward ticket, which the FCDO lists as required for the VOA
- All Indonesia arrival card (free), submitted within 72 hours before arrival at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id or the official app. Keep the QR code
- Bali tourist levy of IDR 150,000, paid at lovebali.baliprov.go.id or the Love Bali app. Keep the voucher QR code
- Travel insurance that covers your plans
- International Driving Permit with the motorcycle category, if you'll ride a scooter
Don't confuse the arrival card with the levy. The card is Indonesia's immigration, customs and health declaration, and the levy is Bali's tourist tax, paid on a different website. You need both. The levy gets spot-checked at places like Uluwatu, Tanah Lot and the Nusa Penida crossings.
Flights from the UK to Bali
There are no nonstop flights from the UK to Bali, so every route has at least one stop. These airlines fly into Bali (DPS) from a hub and also fly from UK airports to that hub:
| Via | Airline for the Bali leg | From the UK |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Singapore Airlines (Scoot also flies Singapore to Bali) | Singapore Airlines flies from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester |
| Doha | Qatar Airways | Heathrow |
| Dubai | Emirates | Heathrow |
| Abu Dhabi | Etihad | Heathrow |
| Istanbul | Turkish Airlines | Heathrow |
| Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia Airlines | Heathrow |
| Bangkok | Thai Airways | Heathrow |
| Hong Kong | Cathay Pacific | Heathrow |
| Amsterdam | KLM (Amsterdam to Singapore to Bali on one flight number) | Check KLM's UK departure airports |
Route lists change, so check the airline's own route map for your departure airport before you book.
Garuda Indonesia flies Amsterdam to Jakarta nonstop, with a domestic connection on to Bali. AeroRoutes (5 March 2026) reported a third weekly flight from 1 July to 21 October 2026 and two a week otherwise. Garuda doesn't fly its own planes from London in 2026.
We don't quote fares or journey times here because they change daily and by route. Bali's wet season runs roughly November to March, and July and August are busy. Check the date of Nyepi too, which closes Bali airport for 24 hours each March (Nyepi dates). The best time to visit Bali guide goes month by month.
Then there's the Gulf. In late February and March 2026, escalation in the Middle East closed airspace, Qatar, Emirates and Etihad cancelled their Bali flights, and passengers were left stranded at Bali airport. Qatar Airways listed Doha to Bali twice daily in its April to June 2026 schedule (AeroRoutes). The FCDO's advice, updated on 18 September 2026, still says the escalation has caused widespread disruption, including airspace closures, delayed and cancelled flights. If you'd rather not take the chance, go via an Asian hub such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Hong Kong. Whichever route you pick, check with your airline before you fly.
What to bring from the UK
Bali uses Type C and Type F plugs (two round pins) at 230 V, so your UK three-pin plugs need an adaptor.
Pay in rupiah, cash or QRIS; Bali's 2025 Governor circular rules out paying in foreign currency. Only change cash at licensed changers with the green "PVA Berizin" sticker. ATMs are common in Bali's towns but scarce on the Gilis and Nusa Penida. Stick to ATMs inside banks or malls and keep your card in sight. When a machine or card terminal offers to charge you in pounds, say no and pay in IDR. The FCDO also warns about fake phone numbers stuck on ATMs to phish card details.
On insurance, the FCDO says medical evacuation can cost tens of thousands of pounds. If you plan to ride a scooter (with a licence), dive or trek a volcano, check your policy covers it. The FCDO dropped its advice against all travel to Indonesia's volcanoes on 18 September 2026, but local exclusion zones still apply.
The FCDO is clear that a UK licence isn't valid on its own in Indonesia. To ride, you need your UK licence plus an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle (A) category endorsed. GOV.UK lists the 1968 IDP for Indonesia, and you can get one for £5.50 at shops that offer the PayPoint IDP service. Police checks target foreigners, and insurers often won't pay for accidents while riding unlicensed.
Keep prescription medicines in their original packaging with your name on, along with a copy of the prescription and a doctor's letter. Up to about 3 months' supply is fine for ordinary medicines. ADHD medication, benzodiazepines and strong opioids are tightly controlled, and Adderall is effectively prohibited. The FCDO points to TravelHealthPro, and if you take anything controlled, contact the Indonesian embassy. Cannabis, CBD included, is illegal.
The FCDO says to check TravelHealthPro at least 8 weeks before your trip. TravelHealthPro recommends routine vaccines and hepatitis A and tetanus for all travellers, typhoid for most, and hepatitis B, rabies and Japanese encephalitis for some. It rates malaria risk in Bali as low, and says a yellow fever certificate is needed only if you arrive from a country with transmission, which doesn't apply on a flight from the UK. The FCDO lists Zika, dengue and rabies among the health risks.
TravelHealthPro posted Zika alerts in 2026: on 20 April it reported 11 cases in France, most linked to travel to Bali, and on 16 July it reported four UK cases linked to travel to Indonesia. Its advice is that women avoid becoming pregnant for 2 months after the last possible exposure. Ask a travel clinic what that means for you.
Drone rules conflict, and some guides report mandatory pre-registration for every drone entering Bali. We couldn't confirm that from an official source, so check with Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (hubud.dephub.go.id) before you pack one. Never fly near the airport zone, temples or crowds.
Also pack reef-safe sunscreen, mosquito repellent, rehydration salts, a refillable bottle, a dry bag for boats and a sarong for temples. More in our Southeast Asia packing list.
Arrival day at Bali airport
You land at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International (DPS), just south of Kuta, after a long one-stop journey.
- Immigration. e-VOA holders go to the automated gates where available, or the desks. Without an e-VOA, queue to pay for the VOA (cash or card) first. Have your All Indonesia QR code and return ticket ready.
- Customs. Show the All Indonesia QR code. Have medicine paperwork handy.
- Levy. If your online payment didn't go through, 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. They register your phone's IMEI free for up to 90 days. You can skip this if you're on a UK roaming plan or a travel eSIM.
- Cash. Withdraw rupiah from a bank ATM before you head out.
Come to Bali with a small group
Our Indonesia trips are for solo travellers aged 18 to 40, with me as your Trip Host and a licensed local guide.
