Anyone who carries an Indonesian passport probably knows the hassle of having to obtain pre-arrival visas to travel to most parts of the world, particularly destinations in the west.
A new report entitled, ‘Visa Restrictions Index 2016’ by Henley & Partners confirms that the Indonesian passport doesn’t really hold a lot of weight compared to many others. The report is a ranking of countries based on the number of countries that their citizens can travel to visa free (or with a visa on arrival).
Unsurprisingly, Indonesia ranked 79th (tied with Kyrgyzstan) in terms of travel power, as our passport only unlocks visa-free access to 58 countries.
Germany ranked first with 177 visa-free destinations, while our neighbors like Singapore (173), Malaysia (164), Thailand (71) and the Philippines (61) all have better visa freedom than we do.
So where can you travel visa-free with an Indonesian passport? The list of countries can be found here, but unfortunately for those who intend to travel far, the bulk of the list is comprised of Asian (including all Southeast Asian) countries. However, we do get the privilege of visa-free access to some South American countries like Chile, Colombia, and Peru (we hear South America is lovely this time of year).
We may shoot up in the rankings in the near future though, as Indonesia is currently under review to receive visa waivers for short visits to Schengen member states in Europe.
