Bali Visa: Australian tourists warn of Bali online visa scam

Summary:

1. Tourists have been warned about websites offering visas for Bali.

2. Some travellers have paid higher fees by using an agency instead of the official visa website.

3. Other tourists bought invalid visas and had to purchase official ones at the airport.

Australian tourists warn of websites offering Bali visas

Travellers heading to Bali are being warned about websites offering visas prior to arrival, which can result in higher fees or invalid visas. Some tourists unknowingly used an agency that charged extra fees to assist them in purchasing visas through the official site, while others bought invalid visas and had to pay for official ones at the airport.

The Indonesian Government has cautioned travellers about using unofficial sites and reminded them that molina.imigrasi.go.id is the only official website for e-VOA application. Despite this warning, some unsuspecting travellers are still being stung with hefty extra fees by other unofficial sites. Many are attempting to get refunds from their banks but have not been successful.

One tourist shared their experience on Facebook: “People beware e-VOA (visa on arrival), I just got online and paid for my VOA thinking I was paying around $A50, turns out I just paid $204 each. I cannot be refunded, expensive mistake.” Another commented: “Can someone tell me how to do (sic) online visa as I think I just got scammed as I had $148.57 taken out for one!”

Interim Immigration Director General Widodo Ekatjahjana urged foreigners to be cautious and said: “Like the payment mechanism for the real e-VOA, in this … website foreigners can also make payments using a payment gateway mechanism." Meanwhile, a traveller whose relatives used www.indonesia-evoa.com said he lost money and felt "ashamed, worried and alone in all this".

Baligram has an article on buying a Bali visa online and can confirm that this article has only trustworthy links to the Indonesian government e-visa website to buy a visa on arrival and to a trusted, authorised visa agent for other visa types.

Source: https://www.thebalitimes.com/headlines/australian-tourists-warn-of-websites-offering-bali-visas/

More Bali Travel News

---