The Republic of Indonesia only allows citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada to teach English, and all local schools must abide by these rules. A prospective teacher must have an offer of employment from a school legally recognized in Indonesia and must be certified to teach English as a foreign language. A Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate is acceptable, but a degree is not needed. When submitting a visa application to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in your home country, you will need to include a letter from the hiring Indonesian school stating that you have been offered a teaching position at their school and the length of your employment.
Your passport should be good for at least 24 months from the issuing date of the visa, and you will need at least one blank visa page. If your passport does not fit these requirements, it would be advisable to renew your visa or obtain extra visa pages from your government passport service office to avoid any complications in obtaining your visa.
A copy of your flight itinerary is required when submitting your visa application. If you have booked your flight online, a printed receipt with your itinerary is adequate. If you have used a travel agency, please obtain a copy of your flight itinerary from them. A copy of your hard ticket is also acceptable.
The fee for processing the visa application varies in each country. As of May 2010, the fees for a U.S. citizen include $50 for stays up to six months, $100 for stays up to one year and $175 for stays up to two years. If you are applying in person, you may pay by cash, a United States Postal Service money order or a company check made payable to the Embassy of Indonesia. If you are applying via post, cash is not accepted. Personal checks will not be accepted in either case.
The application for a Limited Stay Visa can be picked up at the Consulate General of The Republic of Indonesia, or it can be found on the consulate website. (Please see Resources for application.) Fill out the application in its entirety and sign it. With the application form, include your passport with one blank visa page, the offer of employment letter, the flight itinerary, two recent passport-sized color photos and the application fee. If there is no consulate in your area, you may send the application via Express Mail to the embassy. Please note that you must also include a self-stamped envelope for the return of your passport and visa, or your application will not be processed. From the date of receipt, the approximate application processing time is three working days for applications made in person and five working days for applications made by post.
