Travel & Visa FAQ

Last updated 5 April 2021
Please look at our calendar here with key dates including the First day of school and New Families Orientation Day. Once your child has a confirmed enrollment place at Green School Bali and all tuition fees are paid, you should contact your visa agent to discuss the best time to start to apply for your visa. 

Once Ganesha or your visa agency has all your documents, processing takes 3 to 10 working days and you will have 90 days to enter Indonesia and activate your visa.  

(Info supplied from Pak Fabrice) 

Last updated 5 April 2021
Due to the pandemic, visas in Indonesia have become restricted. Under normal circumstances, parents can choose from several visa options and students are issued with a student permit which allows them to access a long-stay (KITAS) visa.  

As visa options open up again you may be able to access a different visa (other than social visa) and students can transfer to a KITAS visa. We will advise you when these changes occur and other options become available.

Our most important consideration is to support and advise our currently enrolled and incoming families to ensure they have visas processed in a timely way and to help make the transition smooth to Green School Bali. 

The good news is that we are continuing to welcome new families into Bali (including 40 students in January 2021) and our community via the Social Visa process. 

Social Visas explained
A social visa (social cultural visa B-211) is processed before you travel and enables you to enter Indonesia and stay up to 60 days, plus 4 x 30 day extensions. This means you will have a valid visa, continuously for six months in Indonesia before needing to start the process for a new visa.

To obtain this visa, you need a sponsor letter from an Indonesian citizen/entity here in Indonesia. Ganesha or other visa agents within Indonesia can supply this. The sponsorship activates the visa to be processed electronically. The agent will require information to support your application, including passport information and the letter from the School (mentioned above). Read on for more information on the steps involved and the support we can provide. 

In certain cases, an alternative visa to enter Indonesia may be an option for example an ‘Investment Visa’. Processing for any available alternative visas can be complex, expensive and time consuming, but you can check with our visa support people or your alternative visa agent for more information. 

Indonesia, like many countries, has been experiencing intricate and ongoing changes with visas permissions. We greatly appreciate your understanding that information is correct at the time of publishing. Green School Bali, in conjunction with Ganesha and other legal and visa advisors work to ensure we are providing regular updates to our community and prospective families, particularly during this time.  We will be in touch if there are any significant changes.

We focus our support on families who have enrollment confirmed and continue to be able to obtain visas for all incoming families in 2020-21. Things could change due to uncertainty in the world but we do not anticipate any sudden changes that would mean we were unable to facilitate visas for incoming parents and their children. We respect each family’s decision in relation to whether or not enrolment and travel to Bali at this time is right for them. But we require confirmation as we reach enrolment deadlines each semester, so that we can plan for staffing and space needs. Families may defer enrolment - just let us know by the enrolment confirmation deadline as communicated to you by our Admissions Team during the enrolment process.

Last updated 5 April 2021

Plan to arrive as early as you can and no later than 25 June into Indonesia to join our Orientation Day after finishing the 14 days isolation period (if quarantine still required in August 2021). See our Events page with details of all events including Orientation Day and First Day of school.

Orientation Day is on August 9. Please see our Events page with all key dates and working back from the 90 days required to travel during your visa.  

Assuming the 14 days quarantine will still be in place in August 2021, here is a guideline of dates of travel to ensure arrival date for Orientation Day. 

Sample Dates - For Guidelines Only 

• 2 May - Visa is issued (valid for 3 month)

• 19 July  - Arrival in Jakarta for 5 nights quarantine

• 23 July - Complete Jakarta quarantine and departure to Bali

• 23 July to 31 July - Self isolation in Bali to complete the full 14 days quarantine

• Pre-Orientation Camp (TBC) - Week before Orientation Day (Aug 2) 

• 9 August - New Families Orientation Day

• 11 August  - First Day of school

Ganesha Consulting Team process visa requests and manage the issuing of visas for Green School Bali community members, including our faculty and newly enrolled families. Ganesha is a private-entity but is conveniently located on-site at the Green School Bali campus. 

While Ganesha Consulting is used by most enrolled Green School Bali families, you may choose to use your own visa agency.

That being said , once in Indonesia, most parents apply for a Student Kitas. This Kitas can ONLY be processed by Ganesha for Green School students.  Having one Visa agent to process applications can make your life much easier. It is therefore recommended you have all your visa applications with one agent rather than using multiple agents. It will make your life much easier as well. 

Process for using other visa agents
If you are applying via an agent other than Ganesha, we recommend that you do not commit to any visa payments until your enrollment is registered. If using an alternative visa agent, Green School will require a copy of the issued visa and associated copies of documents eg: passport to register your child as attending Green School (as a legal requirement). You will be asked to provide this before the first day of school.

Things are changing daily at the moment, and we highly recommend that you speak to your Visa agent and airline for the latest updates before making any travel arrangements. 

As testing requirements are subject to change.  We strongly advise to confirm details with your visa agent, airline and authorities before confirming travel arrangements. Fabrice and team will be making updates on the Green School Bali New Families Facebook Group as things progress. 

Information correct as of 5 April 2021

The PCR test has to be valid no more than 7 days by the time you board your plane at your departure airport.  

Once you arrive in Jakarta, you will be required to do a 5 night quarantine in a government accredited hotel. This can be pre booked in advance. During your quarantine, you will take 2 more PCR tests. At the end of your stay you will receive an official release letter with which you will be able to continue your journey to Bali. 

We strongly recommend you contact Fabrice Abbey, Green School Parent, as his travel services include an arrival and quarantine package for your peace of mind.

At this point in time, the Indonesian Government recommends travellers from abroad to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival into Bali. The School supports this regulation via School policy. The 14 days should be counted with the day of your arrival counting as day 0, so day 1 is the next day.  

Is the self-isolation/quarantine mandatory?

All families coming to Green School Bali are required as school policy to self-quarantine before coming to on-site in-person learning. 

Also, when you apply for a Social Visa- B211, you are required to sign a letter of consent that you agree to be quarantined upon arrival 

This is not a matter of interpretation. It is now made very clear with this document. 

When you arrive, please inform the school you are in the country and don’t hesitate to reach out to the Green School Bali community who you can lean onto if you need any help during your isolation.

Read more information and tips here. 

• Fabrice Abbey performs a client relations role in explaining the visa process and to give information on travel, COVID testing and airport assistance services through his Travel Consultancy business -  contactme@fabriceabbey.com

• Ganesha Consulting Team process visa requests and manage the issuing of visas for Green School Bali community members, including newly enrolled families to visa@ganeshabaliconsulting.com 

• All other enrolment related questions and questions around the learning program, orientation etc should be directed to admissions@greenschool.org

Please also refer to our ADMISSIONS FAQ or our COVID FAQ  page for other information and our ADMISSIONS website page for general Admissions related questions. You can also Contact our team here