Do Timorese passport holders need a visa for Indonesia?

By Arun Singh · Destinations Writer, Tripmojo · Updated August 31, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

No, not for a visit. Timor-Leste is one of only 19 entries on Indonesia’s visa-free visit list, so a Timorese passport is admitted without anything arranged in advance. The part worth checking is not whether you may enter but where. Indonesia designates only eleven land crossings as immigration checkpoints for electronic visa-on-arrival holders, and three of them, Mota’ain, Motamasin and Wini, sit on the Timor border in Nusa Tenggara Timur.

Quick facts

Visa-free

Visa required: No, for a visit
Visa-free list: Yes, one of 19 entries
Visa-free stay: 30 days, no extension, no conversion
Designated land posts: Mota’ain, Motamasin and Wini, all in NTT
e-VoA airports: Sixteen, named individually
Paid alternative: Visa on arrival, Rp 500,000, extendable to 60 days

Entry requirements

A Timorese passport valid at least six months, and a return or onward ticket, both of which the immigration service names as what you show on arrival under the visa-free facility.
An arrival card, which Indonesia requires travellers to submit before arriving.
A crossing that is an authorised immigration checkpoint, which on the Timor border means Mota’ain, Motamasin or Wini if you are using the electronic visa on arrival.
A different visa altogether if the purpose is not a visit. Indonesia codes work, investment, study, family and second-home stays as separate visas rather than as extensions of a visit.

The question is where you cross, not whether you may

Indonesia keeps its subject lists on one page. The visa-free visit list is short, at 19 entries: the ASEAN neighbours, plus Suriname, Colombia, Hong Kong, Turkey, Brazil, Peru, Kazakhstan, Macau and Belarus, and a line covering holders of Singapore permanent residence entering through certain checkpoints. Timor-Leste is on it, and for a straightforward visit that is the list that applies. Nothing is arranged in advance.

Timor-Leste is also among the 97 entries on the visa-on-arrival list, though that is unremarkable in itself: 18 of the 19 visa-free entries appear on both, with Macau the only exception. What matters is that the two are different permissions. The visa-free entry, coded A1, costs nothing and allows a single entry with a stay of up to 30 days that the immigration service states cannot be extended and cannot be converted into another stay permit. The visa on arrival, coded B1, costs Rp 500,000 for 30 days, may be extended once to a total of 60, and can be converted through a bridging visa.

The land border is where this gets specific. Indonesia names eleven land immigration checkpoints open to electronic visa-on-arrival holders. Six are in Kalimantan and one in the Riau Islands, facing Malaysia. One, Skouw, is in Papua. The remaining three, Mota’ain, Motamasin and Wini, are all in Nusa Tenggara Timur on the border with Timor-Leste.

Good to know

The free route is the one you cannot lengthen, and that is the decision to make before you arrive rather than on day 28. Indonesia’s visa-free entry gives a single entry and up to 30 days, and its own page says that stay cannot be extended and cannot be converted into any other permit. The visa on arrival costs Rp 500,000 for the same initial 30 days, but it may be extended once to 60 in total, and it can be converted through a bridging visa. So the free option is genuinely free and genuinely final: if there is any prospect of staying longer or changing status, the paid one is not the more expensive version of the same thing, it is the only one of the two that has a next step.
The designated land posts are named individually, and three of the eleven are yours. Mota’ain, Motamasin and Wini are all in Nusa Tenggara Timur, facing Timor-Leste. The other eight face Malaysia across Kalimantan and the Riau Islands, or Papua New Guinea at Skouw. That is a short list for a country with land borders on three sides, and it means the crossing you pick is a decision rather than a detail: an informal or unlisted crossing point is not an authorised immigration checkpoint whatever the map suggests.
The air route is narrower than Indonesia’s airport network suggests. Sixteen airports are named as immigration checkpoints for electronic visa-on-arrival holders, including Soekarno-Hatta and Halim in Jakarta, Ngurah Rai in Bali, Juanda in Surabaya, Kualanamu in Medan, Sam Ratulangi in Manado, Sentani in Papua and Zainuddin Abdul Madjid in Lombok. Indonesia has far more international-capable airports than that, so a routing that looks convenient on a booking site is not automatically one where this route works.
The arrival card is a separate requirement from the visa question and it is easy to miss. Indonesia asks travellers to submit an arrival card before arriving, and it applies whether you are entering visa-free, on a visa on arrival or on anything else. It is the kind of step that produces a delay at the counter rather than a refusal, but for a short land crossing that delay is disproportionate to the trip. Completing the visa-free formalities electronically beforehand has a second benefit worth knowing about: the immigration service says the electronic entry mark can be used at the autogates rather than a staffed counter.

Frequently asked questions

Do Timorese citizens need a visa for Indonesia?

Not for a visit. Timor-Leste is one of 19 entries on Indonesia’s visa-free visit list, so entry is granted on the passport.

Should I use the visa-free entry or buy a visa on arrival?

The visa-free entry is free and gives 30 days that cannot be extended or converted. The visa on arrival costs Rp 500,000, gives 30 days extendable once to 60, and can be converted through a bridging visa. Choose on whether you might want to stay longer.

Which land crossings can I use?

Indonesia names eleven land immigration checkpoints for electronic visa-on-arrival holders, and three are on the Timor border: Mota’ain, Motamasin and Wini, all in Nusa Tenggara Timur.

Can I fly into any Indonesian airport?

Sixteen airports are named as immigration checkpoints for electronic visa-on-arrival holders, including Soekarno-Hatta, Ngurah Rai and Juanda. Indonesia has more international airports than that, so check your routing.

Is there anything to do before travelling?

Submit the arrival card, which Indonesia requires before arrival regardless of which basis you enter on.

Other passports for Indonesia

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 31 August 2026.

Directorate General of Immigration, Republic of Indonesia, "Daftar Subjek Bebas Visa Kunjungan": 19 entries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Tailan, Vietnam, Philipina, Kamboja, Singapura, Myanmar, Laos, Timor Leste, Suriname, Kolombia, Hong Kong, Turki, Brazil, Peru, Kazakhstan, Makau and Belarus, plus a line covering foreign nationals holding Singapore permanent residence entering through certain immigration checkpoints. Read 2026-08-31. https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-negara-voa-bvk-calling-visa/daftar-negara-bebas-visa-kunjungan
Same source, "Daftar Subjek Visa on Arrival": 97 entries, including Timor Leste. Read 2026-08-31. https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-negara-voa-bvk-calling-visa/daftar-negara-subjek-visa-on-arrival
Same source, "Titik Masuk Bagi Pemegang E-VoA": sixteen airport immigration checkpoints (Halim Perdana Kusuma, Hang Nadim, Juanda, Kertajati, Kualanamu, Minangkabau, Ngurah Rai, Sam Ratulangi, Sentani, Soekarno Hatta, Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman, Sultan Hasanuddin, Sultan Iskandar Muda, Sultan Syarif Kasim II, Yogyakarta, Zainuddin Abdul Madjid) and eleven land border posts (Aruk, Entikong, Jagoi Babang, Nanga Badau, Tunon Taka, Sei Nyamuk, Serasan, Mota’ain, Motamasin, Wini, Skouw), of which Mota’ain, Motamasin and Wini are in Nusa Tenggara Timur. Read 2026-08-31. https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-negara-voa-bvk-calling-visa/titik-masuk-bagi-pemegang-e-voa
Directorate General of Immigration, Republic of Indonesia, official e-Visa portal: "Arrival Card Submission is Required. All travellers are required to submit an arrival card within 3 (three) days prior arrival in Indonesia." Read 2026-08-31. https://evisa.imigrasi.go.id/
Directorate General of Immigration, Republic of Indonesia, A1 Bebas Visa Wisata: single entry with a stay of up to 30 days from arrival, "Izin Tinggal dari fasilitas bebas visa ini tidak dapat diperpanjang dan tidak dapat dialihkan menjadi izin tinggal lain"; cost Rp 0; no guarantor; on arrival you show a passport valid at least six months and a return or onward ticket; the pre-arrival electronic form yields an entry mark usable at the autogates. Read 2026-08-31. https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-visa-indonesia/A1
Same source, B1 Visa Kunjungan Wisata (visa on arrival): first stay up to 30 days, "dapat diperpanjang satu kali dan dapat dialihkan menjadi izin tinggal lain melalui mekanisme bridging visa", extension to a total of 60 days, fee Rp 500,000 for 30 days, no guarantor required. Read 2026-08-31. https://www.imigrasi.go.id/wna/daftar-visa-indonesia/B1

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

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