Indonesia to relax visa policy

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are expected to enjoy easier entry to Indonesia starting at the beginning of next year, while Pakistan and Afghanistan will have to wait for approval from several different agencies.

Citing economic benefits, Indonesia is slated to relax its visa policy next year for four countries known as sources of illegal immigrants bound for Australia.

Foreign Affairs Ministry director of South and Central Asia Rizali Wilmar Indrakesuma recently said the plan to ease entry for citizens of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had been planned since last year.

"It [visa relaxation] will be effective at the beginning of 2012," Rizali said.

A ministry official who declined to be named said the ministry was also trying to convince other agencies, particularly the Justice and Human Rights Ministry that oversee the immigration office, to provide similar facilities to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Rizali, however, claimed that he had no knowledge of the plan.

Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan are currently on the immigration red list of 13 countries whose citizens are feared to have the potential to create trouble for Indonesian law enforcers and intelligence officers.

According to the immigration office, only 10 percent of Sri Lankans legally entering Indonesia exited the country, while the remaining 90 percent could no longer be located.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees revealed that there were more than 2,800 refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia, most of whom came from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

A wooden boat carrying 255 illegal Sri Lankans was stranded in Merak, Banten in 2009 and more than 70 people from Bangladesh were stranded in Sabang, Aceh, on their way to Australia.