Jakarta arrival card: Soekarno-Hatta arrivals, autogates and transit

Who needs the card at Soekarno-Hatta

The rule is the same as everywhere in Indonesia: every international arrival files an arrival card within 72 hours before landing, foreigners and Indonesian citizens alike, adults and children. What changes at Jakarta is how many people only pass through.

• Staying in Jakarta or connecting to a domestic flight: you clear immigration at CGK, so the card names Jakarta as port of entry.
• International-to-international transit without leaving the transit area: no immigration, no card.
• A stopover with a hotel outside the airport, even for one night: you pass immigration, so the card is required, plus a visa or exemption.
• Indonesian citizens returning home: same card, Indonesian citizen category, NIK required.

The 72-hour window and the arrival date

The portal accepts a card only when the arrival date in Indonesia falls within the next 72 hours. Enter the local date you land in Jakarta, not the date you depart: on overnight flights from Europe, the Middle East and North America that is usually the next calendar day. Check the date on the summary screen before submitting. If your trip is more than three days away, set a free reminder and file when the window opens.

Autogates at CGK: how the QR is used

The international arrival halls of Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 have autogates for passengers with biometric passports. The gate reads the passport chip, takes a photo and checks in the immigration system that a valid arrival card exists for that passport number. You usually do not scan the QR at the gate itself; the match happens in the background. That is why a passport number typed with a wrong character matters: the gate finds nothing and sends you to a counter.

• Have the passport and the QR ready anyway; if the gate rejects you, the officer scans the code.
• Visa on arrival travelers pay at the VOA counters before immigration, or hold an e-VOA and go straight to the gates.
• After baggage claim, scan the QR at the customs kiosk and take the green or red channel.

Transit passengers: three cases

Jakarta is a hub for Garuda Indonesia and several foreign carriers, so transit questions come up daily.

• Airside transit on a through ticket, bags checked to a destination abroad: you do not pass immigration and do not need the card.
• International arrival, domestic onward flight: you clear immigration and customs at CGK, collect and re-check your bags, and need the card with Jakarta as port of entry. Allow at least three hours.
• Separate tickets or a hotel overnight: you enter Indonesia. Card, visa and customs apply as for any visitor.

Business travelers

The arrival card is a declaration, not a visa, and it asks for a purpose of visit. Business meetings, conferences and purchasing are permitted on the visa on arrival and the e-VOA; paid work for an Indonesian company is not, and needs a visa arranged in advance. Frequent visitors can keep an account in the official app so that each new card takes a few minutes, but there is no multi-entry arrival card: the 72-hour rule applies to every trip.

• Use the hotel or office address where you will actually stay; a company name alone is not enough.
• Company laptop and samples: personal effects are fine, but goods for sale or handover and cash of IDR 100 million or more must be declared. See our customs page.
• An assistant can file on a traveler's behalf, but the QR must reach the traveler's phone before check-in.

Domestic connections from Jakarta

If you connect to Bali, Lombok or elsewhere, the port of entry on the card is Jakarta (CGK), because that is where immigration stamps you in. Entering the final destination instead is a common mistake: the customs kiosk in Jakarta may not find your card. The Bali tourist levy, if you continue to Bali, is a separate provincial charge paid online. Every screen of the form is explained in our step-by-step guide.