Obtaining your Visa in Singapore

Indonesian Embassy in Singapore
7 Chatsworth Road, Singapore 249761
Tel:6737-7422 , Fax:6737-5037, 6235-5783
http://www.kbrisingapura.com/
Opening Hours: Mon-Thu 8.30 am - 1.00 pm; 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm; Fri 8.30 am - 12.30 pm; 2.30 pm - 5.00 pm

We hope the following information will be useful when you go to the Embassy in Singapore. While procedures for getting your Visa in Australia through the Perth Consulate are relatively smooth, this is mostly due to the personal contact between the Secretariat and various Consulate staff. The Singapore Indonesian Embassy is very busy and has been described to us by former students as a "visa processing factory ". In addition, they are not nearly as familiar with ACICIS as are the staff in the Perth Consulate, however this does not mean that the procedure has to be difficult. The general procedure for obtaining visas is described below.

• We request that visas be issued to specific students in specific places (either Perth or Singapore).
• The authorities in Jakarta fax authorisation through to the Embassy in Singapore, Consulate in Perth, the ACICIS Secretariat in Perth and the RD's office in Yogyakarta.
• In Perth we go to the Consulate (once authorisation has been faxed) and have the visas processed, however in Singapore students must go to the Consulate themselves.

The Visa cost in Singapore is $170 (as of Jan 2009) for three-day processing. You have to pay this yourself.

In the past, ACICIS students who wanted their visa quicker have often used the services of the following immigration agent in Singapore, and they all report very favourably on their efficient and quick service.

SK Coservices (contact Sazlyn or Ibu Tinie +65 9136 1988 or +65 9136 2626. F: +65 66 83 83 58 sk_coservices1@yahoo.com.sg)
Mobile 9180 1548 Tel/fax 6255 5538
205 Balestier Road #B1-01 Ruby Place, Singapore 329682
The cost is about SG $ 270

For information please contact the ACICIS Secretariat acicis@murdoch.edu.au

The following steps have helped our students in previous semesters obtain their Visa without too much difficulty. It can take the whole day - arriving at the Embassy early in the morning and being asked to wait or return later that afternoon, or perhaps the following day, but if you are prepared mentally for this, you will just take it in your stride. So the steps we recommend are:

• Contact us with a fax number in Singapore (or elsewhere), so we can fax you a copy of the authorisation for the Embassy to issue your Visa. Take this copy of the authorisation with you to the Embassy. The authorisation often does not arrive till about a month before you need to pick up the visa, and you will probably already be overseas at that time.
• Dress neatly and modestly.
• Take a good book to read, in case you have to wait.
• Give yourself plenty of time to get the Visa. You should be able to get it the same day if you need to, provided you go in the morning and there are no special events on that day. However, the Embassy may want to take a day or more to issue the Visa, depending on how busy they are, and depending on whether or not they want to check any information with Jakarta. We would recommend you don't go there on a Friday morning as they will close at midday and you will have to return the following Monday or Tuesday. It will leave less room for difficulties /problems if you could do it in the one day or at least two consecutive days, so that misplacing your paper work or passport was not given a chance to happen. Leaving everything there over a weekend could create such problems.
• If you do have problems, do NOT lose your cool. Remain polite and calm. This is the most important of all instructions. On one occasion in the past a student thought that shouting at the Indonesian embassy staff would help to solve his problem. Needless to say it didn't, but it did cause a big problem for him, as he had to wait almost 2 weeks to get his visa. Remember, be calm and polite at all times.

Keep in touch with the ACICIS Perth office. Let us know when you are planning to go to Singapore to get your Visa, and then a couple of days before that I will fax them - just to refresh their memories about your name and your requirements, so that by the time you appear at the 'window' they will, hopefully, know your name and be expecting you.

If by chance you encounter a problem, if there seems to be some major stumbling block, either ring the ACICIS Perth Office (61) 8 9360 6254 (mornings only), or send an email. When we know the day you plan to go to the Embassy, we will do everything possible to stay put in the office all day - so that if you need help, we are here to give it.

The experience of former ACICIS students

Advice from Leigh Brennan (sem 28, 2009) - Applied for Visa Wednesday 28/01/09

I went to the Indonesian embassy today, which ended up being nothing to stress about! I was out of the embassy in less than half an hour and told that my passport would be ready to collect by Friday. The notes about getting my visa in Singapore really helped. Below are some small things I learnt there which might help you:

• Cost SG $170.
• The longest i waited was only a few minutes.
• I arrived at around 10.30am and was out before 11am.
• Its really helpful to know what they wanted before getting there (see notes below).
• Remember to take your driver's license or some sort of photo ID besides passport, because they take this when you pass through the main entrance, and give it back on your way out.
• Bring travel insurance details to complete the yellow temporary visa application form.
• After submitting your visa application, passport, passport photo and visa authorisation letters they give you a docket and ask you to take it to the cashier to pay for it, which is where you get your receipt.
• They take your passport when you submit your application, and will return it when you pick up the visa.
• I was dropped off at the embassy and took public transport back. I walked to the Orchard MRT station which is about a 10-15 minute walk.
• If travelling by public transport, you’ll be charged an extra dollar when purchasing the ticket. When you have finished your journey this dollar can be refunded - you just need to return the ticket by using the same machine that you purchased the ticket from.
• It really is nothing to stress about, especially if you bring everything that you need and wear the appropriate clothing!

Good luck!

Benita Chudleigh (sem 28, 2009) - Applied for Visa Wednesday 28/01/09

• The visa was SG $170 and you don't pay at the visa counter but the visa person gives you a receipt to take to the cashier on the left. There was no line for that when I went so it was all done very fast!
• I only needed 1 passport photo.
• Coming in there seems to be a clothes bin and they were making any guy with shorts on put some loose cotton pants over the top and one girl had to put on a sarong.
• I recommend the YMCA international on 1 Orchard Rd for accommodation for people staying in Singapore. It's about 35 bucks a night incl breakfast (4 to a dorm) and walking distance to the embassy (although i caught a cab there to save getting lost!).
  

Getting to the Embassy

To get to the embassy I caught the MRT to Orchard and then a cab from there cost $3.30 there and $4.40 back (due to traffic). When you get out of the MRT take the exit to Orchard Road and turn left once you reach the street, Patterson/Scotts road is about 50metres away. It's very easy to get a cab from Orchard, the best place I think is either on Orchard road, before it reaches Patterson*/Scotts Road (*I think the road is called Patterson but it might be something else starting with P) or from Scotts Road heading towards Patterson Road. I think its a bit hard to stop cabs at the top of Patterson Road. From Orchard road the cab should turn right onto Patterson. The cab will drop you at the taxi rank around the corner from the

If you choose to catch a bus, take the 111 bus from Orchard Boulevard which will take you to Tanglin Road. Get off the bus after you pass Chatsworth Avenue, on your left. Walk back to Chatsworth Avenue which connects to Chatsworth Road and to the Indonesian Embassy. Alternatively you can catch bus number 132 from outside Far East Plaza on Scott's Road (off Orchard Rd). Ask the bus driver to let you off at the stop just before Chatsworth Rd. From here it is about a 7-10min walk to the Indonesian Embassy.

The easiest way to get there is to take a taxi. From the Little India area this should cost around S$10 one-way.

Entry to the Embassy

At the entrance you line up to get a visitor's entry ID to go into the embassy, for which you will need to take a drivers licence or photo ID with you, to leave at the gate. The guy should point you in the direction of the Visa application place, which is about a 20 metre walk and up some stairs……you'll know it when you reach it.

Wear "appropriate clothing" - i.e NO flipflops, NO Shorts, NO Short Skirts or strappy/revealing tops for girls, NO ripped denim etc. Go EARLY! The Visa application department will only accept applications from 9am - 12pm Monday to Friday. If you arrive much after 9.15am, expect to have a queue of 100+ people in front of you! Take some ID with you - i.e. driver's licence, ID card etc. NO ID...NO Entry.

Getting your visa

Once inside, go to the far wall where there are various application forms, fill out the yellow temporary Visa form. Be warned, they don't give much space for long names and addresses. Once the form is filled out you need to collect a queue number, which is on the left of counter 3, then wait. Its best to fill out the form then get a number as sometimes the numbers go really quickly and before you've filled out the form your number is up (happened to me).

Go to counter 3, for Temporary Visas. Counter 3 is only open to submit your visa application form from 9.00am until 12.00pm. At 12.00pm they slam the shutter down, and despite the Embassy's opening hours, you have to come back the next day. So go early in the morning.

From here it is easy, just give the guy your form, the fax from ACICIS (visa authority, or letter of approval), passport and one passport size photo and he will tell you to pick it up in 3 days not counting "today", then he will ask you for the money and tell you to sit and wait for a receipt. This waiting was the longest waiting of the process. When he calls your name get your receipt and you can leave to return in 3 days.

Don't forget that you need to take a passport photo with you. If you don't have it when you first go in, they may let you bring it when you pick up the visa - they could just as easily refuse to do anything until you come back with a photo.

I was there by 10am and gone by 11am. The application must be lodged before 12pm and it can only be picked up between 3.30 and 5pm. I noticed that when I was leaving, the queue was much bigger to gain the entry pass and also the road traffic was heavier. 10ish is a good time as the traffic is calm both on the roads and the trains. Be sure to bring a PEN. It was a very efficient process and not frustrating at all.

Cost

As it stands, the visa cost is SG $170 for three working days processing - this doesn't include the day you go to the Embassy. So it is effectively 4 days. Don't forget to bring the money as there is no ATM.

Selamat Jalan