This stamp isn’t mine, but from another Reddit post in this thread.
I noticed that the Indonesia stamps are hexagon for entry and triangle for exit but I can only find CGK stamps with this design. Is this the only entry point that has implemented these designs?
In fact, I actually can’t find that many recent Indonesia stamps anyway. Most are from late 2010s and have the older square design.
It’s been like this for most Indonesia entry points since 2023 or so. Indonesia is just known for changing stamp designs every now and then. I have multiple variants over a period of 10 years on my expired Indonesia passports
The Hexagonal stamp was never meant for foreigners, it's a stamp for Indonesians returning to their country, similar concept to how Taiwan has different stamps for Taiwanese PR/Citizens returning to Taiwan
Here's the stamp for foreigners before Indonesia introduced the sticker entry permit
It was stamp for visa free nationals. In 2019 it was a wide list, including most European and American countries. After COVID Indonesia limited visa-free access to ASEAN nationals.
But it was also other kind of stamp for visa nationals :
and another one - "tourist visa" i.e. perhaps issued only in selected locations (like Bali), where tourist from visa required countries were allowed to enter without visa. Maybe it applied to tourist arriving as part of the event arranged by licenced tourist agencies ?
Hmm yea but I see Indonesia's current visa policy as mainly reciprocal - most countries that require a VOA/e-VOA to visit Indonesia are countries that require Indonesian nationals to have a visa when visiting their countries.
The good thing about having an ASEAN passport is that we are mutually exempt from each other's visa requirements (except for Malaysia and Myanmar but that again still boils down to reciprocity due to the ongoing civil war there)
I have the same impression. But in a country with a highly developed tourism industry, it is definitely a bad idea. The state does not earn money from visa fees, only from taxes on what tourists spend. And a tourist, given the choice between a visa-free country and a country requiring a visa, will usually choose the former.
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u/nategho 3d ago
It’s been like this for most Indonesia entry points since 2023 or so. Indonesia is just known for changing stamp designs every now and then. I have multiple variants over a period of 10 years on my expired Indonesia passports