Indonesia eyes visa overhaul to boost int’l student numbers

Indonesia’s ministries of higher education and immigration are expected to work together to address challenges including heavy administrative burdens on universities acting as visa sponsors, as well as long visa processing times, high costs, limited transparency, and weak inter-agency coordination – factors hindering the country’s competitiveness in attracting international students.

According to Indonesian media reports, the government may allow international students to apply and pay for visas independently using a university-issued letter of acceptance, reducing the administrative workload on institutions and allowing them to focus on academics and student support.

“We want more foreign students in Indonesia, so administrative processes must improve. Universities should focus on academics, while services must be simpler, faster, and more predictable,” said Hermawan K. Dipojono, a representative of the Indonesian ministry of higher education, science and technology, at a press event in Jakarta.

“Visas form the first impression international students have of Indonesia.”

While letting students apply for visas independently using university-issued admission letters would be a first step, there are also plans to build more adaptive, solution-oriented services, according to Mukhamad Najib, director for institutional affairs at Indonesia’s Higher Education Directorate.

Reports suggest the Indonesian government is also considering a series of measures to make the system more flexible, including reducing student visa fees, waiving certain immigration charges for scholarship recipients at state universities, removing exit requirements for academic transfers, and allowing students to take up part-time roles in teaching, research, or internships.

We want more foreign students in Indonesia, so administrative processes must improve. Universities should focus on academics, while services must be simpler, faster, and more predictable
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Despite being expected to become the world’s third-largest higher education system after China and India within the next decade, Indonesia still lags behind neighbours like Malaysia and Vietnam in having a dedicated strategy to attract international students.

While Malaysia has emerged as a regional hotspot with over 155,000 international students and a 26% rise in applications over two years, Vietnam – though smaller with around 22,000 – is also boosting its appeal with plans for part-time work rights and factors such as low costs, safety, and English-language programs.

For Indonesia, while concrete data on international students remains limited – with earlier estimates suggesting around 6,000 – the country is positioning itself as a “new kid on the block” for transnational education, aiming to host 10 international branch campuses in the coming years. it comes at the same time as the UK-Indonesia bilateral strategy, which could open exchange opportunities for British students interested in studying in Indonesia.

“There’s just as much that UK students can learn from Indonesia as vice versa,” Summer Xia, director, British Council Indonesia and Southeast Asia told The PIE News in a recent interview.

“It’s really important for us to build that Indonesian literacy in the UK among the future generation so that we know how to engage effectively with such an important global player.”

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