To date the visa regime for international students who wished to study in Indonesia have been complex and bureaucratic, and are only available for a few months. To that end each university will establish an international office to manage visa applications so that students don’t have to deal with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. However HE expert Edy Suandi Hamid suggested that most Indonesian universities are not yet ready to received foreign students because of lack of English language medium courses.

Source: ‘The Government Issues Student Visas for Foreign Students’, Koran Sindo, p.2, 10 March 2016.

Commentary by: Teresa Birks, British Council Indonesia, Director Education and Society, teresa.birks@britishcouncil.or.id

The new regime should make it easier for those universities that wish to deepen their partnerships by sending their students to study in Indonesia, albeit for short or summer courses. Demonstrates a realisation that Indonesia needs to open up to foreign students, but English language issues remain. However, there has been increased interest from Indonesian HEIs to seriously tackling the issue of English LMI courses and a number are showing signs of being willing to pay for training (something which state universities in particular have mostly been reluctant to do).