Indonesia’s immigration office mull ‘sports visa’ plan amid Indonesia’s sporting ambitions
March 13, 2023
JAKARTA – As Indonesia plans to host several international sporting events this year, the Directorate General of Immigration has announced a plan to issue a special “sports visa” to attract sports fans from around the world to the country.
“We don’t want Indonesia to miss out on the tourism potential of the various sporting events in the country, so we plan to accommodate those sports fans with this sports visa,” Director General of Immigration Service Silmy Karim said on Sunday, as quoted by Antara.
While Silmy did not provide details on what this sports visa would entail, he said the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, through the Directorate-General for Immigration, plans to roll out the visa by the end of March.
said immigration spokesman Achmad Nur Saleh The Jakarta Post that Silmy “will be making a more detailed statement soon,” but didn’t reveal a specific timeline.
Silmy’s statements come as the country will host several international sporting events in 2023.
In February, Lake Toba in North Sumatera hosted a Formula One Powerboat World Championship race for the first time, while the Mandalika Circuit in Lombok cemented its enduring status on the Superbike World Championship calendar after hosting its third race last week .
But the biggest test won’t come until May, when the country is set to host the three-week, six-city FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023.
Despite initial doubts as to whether Indonesia could host the tournament following the Kanjuruhan tragedy in October, Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) chairman Erick Thohir said on Wednesday that preparations were already complete.
“[The tournament] is in 73 days and I think this is the fastest preparation that Youth and Sport Minister Zainudin Amali and I have overseen. We had to work hard together as the tight deadline is no excuse,” said Erick.
To raise awareness of the event, the PSSI and the Ministry of Youth and Sport, in partnership with local sportswear manufacturer PT Juara Raga Aditya (Juaraga), launched a range of official U-20 World Cup merchandise on Wednesday.
Sporting ambitions
Zainudin, who formally tendered his resignation as minister on Thursday to focus on his role as PSSI vice-chairman, said the success of the U-20 World Cup was instrumental in boosting Indonesia’s global sporting ambitions.
“If this tournament is a success, it could be a launchpad for package Erick and the PSSI to apply for the Senior World Cup in the future,” said Zainudin.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo outlined Indonesia’s sporting ambitions by announcing that the country was ready to host the 2036 Olympic Games in the proposed new capital, Nusantara, currently under construction in the east becomes Kalimantan.
More recently, Indonesian Motor Association (IMI) Chairman Bambang Soesatyo announced on February 18 that the federation was studying the possibility of hosting a Formula 1 race in the country.
As two possible venues, IMI suggests the Bintan International Circuit in Bintan on the Riau Islands, which is still under construction, or a new circuit in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) in North Jakarta.
While there are doubts about the viability of these proposals, Tourism and Creative Industries Minister Sandiaga Uno has said he believes in Indonesia’s potential to become a sports tourism destination.
“Indonesia will continue to actively make proposals to host various world-class sporting events. […] We will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIBA, one after the other [Basketball] World Cup and the World Beach Games in the near future,” said Sandiaga.
As part of a joint bid with Japan and the Philippines, Indonesia will host the international men’s basketball tournament, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, in August.
Faced with a lack of capacity at Istora Senayan in Jakarta, which seats around 7,000, Indonesia is building a new indoor multi-purpose stadium, due for completion in June.
The new stadium, named Indonesia Arena, is located in the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex in Jakarta. “[The new stadium] will seat 16,250 spectators and could be used for various sporting events as well as other cultural events,” Jokowi said in January.