Bali Tourist Tax for Students: Pay It or Get Exempted?

Bali Tourist Tax for Students: Pay It or Get Exempted?

The Bali tourist tax is a levy of IDR 150,000 per person that the Bali provincial government charges international tourists once per trip, paid through its official Love Bali system. If you are coming for a hospital placement, the real question is your visa: holders of non-tourist visas, such as an academic internship visa, can apply for an exemption at least five days before they land.

Editorially reviewed by Nils-Andre Stritt, travel4med (author page). All figures checked against the official Love Bali and Indonesian immigration pages on 26 October 2026.

What is the Bali tourist tax?

The Bali tourist tax is officially called the Foreign Tourists Levy. It is a provincial charge of IDR 150,000 per person that protects Balinese culture and the natural environment, and it is collected by the Bali provincial government, not by national immigration. It is not a visa and does not replace one. Love Bali says the payment feature went live on 14 February 2024.

You'll see three names for the same thing: Bali tourist tax, Bali tourist levy and Love Bali tourist levy. They all mean this one charge. The legal basis listed by Love Bali is Indonesia's Law Number 15 of 2023 on Bali Province, Bali Provincial Regulation Number 2 of 2025 (which amends Regulation Number 6 of 2023), Governor Regulation Number 25 of 2025 on the payment procedure and Governor Decree Number 699/03-L/HK/2025 with the technical guidelines.

Why should a medical, nursing or physician assistant student care? Because the Bali tourist tax is one of the few entry steps nobody else does for you. Your host arranges the visa sponsorship. The levy, or the exemption, is on you.

Who has to pay the Bali tourist tax?

According to the Love Bali FAQ, every international tourist who travels to Bali and does tourist activities pays the Bali tourist tax. The levy is paid only once while you are in Bali, before you leave Indonesia. Cruise passengers pay too. A student on a placement pays it unless their visa falls into an exempt group and, where required, the exemption was approved in time.

That last part matters. A hospital placement is not a holiday, so a tourist entry is not the right document for it anyway. Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration lists the C22A visa (Visa Kunjungan Pemagangan Akademik, an academic internship visit visa) for internships at an educational institution, a company or another place that meet the academic requirements of an education abroad. Our guide to nursing in Bali explains how the sponsor led C22A route works for a placement.

Here's the catch. The same immigration page says the C22A also lets you sightsee and visit friends and family. So you're not "only" an intern in the eyes of the rules. The internship is the main purpose, which is why the exemption route below exists for you, but the Bali provincial government makes the final call.

Which visas are exempt from the Bali tourist levy?

Love Bali names seven groups that do not pay the Bali tourist levy. Five of them only show their card or visa to the officer. Golden visa holders and holders of other non-tourist visas are exempt only after they apply on Love Bali and receive approval at least five days before arriving in Bali.

Source: Love Bali FAQ and the official exemption notice "Exemption From Levy Payment Applies", both read on 26 October 2026.

For a placement student on a C22A, group G is the one to look at. Immigration calls the C22A a visit visa with an internship purpose, so it is not the "student visa" of group E. That means you need to act: no application, no exemption. And if the province doesn't approve it in time, you simply pay the Bali tourist tax like everyone else.

How do you apply for a Bali tourist tax exemption?

You apply on the official Love Bali site through "Apply Exemption". The form asks for your passport number, names as in your passport, email, nationality, arrival date, the exemption category and your purpose in Bali, plus one PDF attachment of up to 2 MB. Love Bali says to attach your visa or stay permit card and to apply no later than five days before arrival.

1. Wait until your visa is issued. The exemption is based on your visa, so you need the actual document. Immigration says a C22A must be used within 90 days of issue.
2. Open the official site. Use lovebali.baliprov.go.id or the "Love Bali" app from your app store. Nothing else is the Bali tourist tax official website.
3. Choose "Apply Exemption". Pick the category "Other Categories" (the golden visa has its own option) and enter your passport details exactly as printed, without accents or hyphens, as the site's name guidelines ask.
4. Explain your purpose and attach your visa as one PDF. A short line such as "academic hospital internship at RSU Bangli Hospital" is enough. Keep the file under 2 MB.
5. Submit well before the five day cut off. Two weeks ahead leaves room for questions. If you add up to nine applicants in one form, only the first one gets the status emails.
6. Keep the approval offline. Save it on your phone and print it. It is your proof at arrival.
7. No approval three days before you fly? Pay the IDR 150,000. It's far less stress than an argument in the arrivals hall.

The form can change, so follow what the screen asks for on the day. If you are still sorting out the bigger picture, our medical elective application timeline shows when each step of a placement usually falls.

How do you pay the Bali tourist tax online?

The easiest way to pay the Bali tourist tax is online on Love Bali before you travel; the FAQ strongly encourages paying before departure to speed things up at the airport or port. You can also pay at counters at the airport and port in Bali, or at registered hotels, travel agents and attractions. Payment is always cashless.

1. Choose "Pay Tourist Levy". Select single or group payment.
2. Enter your details. Given names, last name, email, passport number, country and arrival date, all as in your passport.
3. Pick a payment method. Love Bali accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB cards, bank transfer, virtual account, UnionPay and QRIS.
4. Check the exchange rate. The site shows an equivalent in currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, AUD or INR. The fixed rate on the payment page is the one applied, and your bank may add its own fee.
5. Get your voucher. A levy voucher with a QR code arrives at the email you entered.

Typed your email wrong? Love Bali says payments can be verified with your passport data, and the site has a "Resend Voucher" option. It also warns you if it finds an earlier payment with the same name, passport number, country and arrival date, so you don't pay twice by accident. For mobile data on arrival, our guide to an eSIM for a medical elective helps you stay online for that QR code.

How much is the Bali tourist tax next to your visa costs?

The Bali tourist tax is IDR 150,000, a small amount next to your visa. Indonesia's immigration directorate lists the C22A academic internship visa at IDR 3,000,000 for a 60 day stay and IDR 4,000,000 for 180 days. Each fee includes a verification fee of IDR 2,000,000, and the sponsor sees the payment code after applying.

Two more C22A rules are worth knowing. The first stay is up to 180 days and can be extended, with a total of no more than 12 months. And you may not sell goods or services or take payment for work from anyone in Indonesia, which fits an unpaid placement anyway. For the full trip budget, from flights to food, see our guide to budgeting for a clinical placement abroad.

What else should you sort out before landing in Bali?

The Bali tourist tax is one of several small entry tasks. Before you fly, check that your passport has at least six months of validity left (Immigration asks for this on C22A applications, and Love Bali's name guidelines say the same for the ID you enter), that your visa approval and levy voucher or exemption are saved offline, and that your insurance covers clinical work.

Insurance is the one students underestimate. Standard travel cover often excludes hospital placements, so read our guide to medical elective insurance before you buy a policy. What goes in the suitcase, from a copy of your visa to scrubs, is in our packing list for a clinical internship abroad.

German speaking students planning from Germany will find the same topic in German, with the German entry rules, in our sister site's guide to the Bali Touristensteuer im Praktikum. Students from Switzerland can read the Swiss angle on the internship visa in the Swiss guide to the Indonesian visa for a placement in Bali.

Your placement in Bali with travel4med

In Bali, our placements run at RSU Bangli Hospital, an academic teaching hospital affiliated with Udayana University, according to our Bali destination page. Medical students are registered as elective students, premedical students as observers. Placements start on Mondays and prices start at 1,720 EUR, with local costs and your own currency on top.

You can join as a medical elective, a nursing placement, a clinical placement, a final-year placement, a physician assistant placement or an observership for doctors. Medical students apply at least three months ahead, doctors and premedical students at least one month ahead, and your place is confirmed once your acceptance letter and visa are ready. Want the hospital itself in detail? Read our clinical clerkship in Bali guide, or compare Bali with Sri Lanka and Nepal in medical electives in Asia.

So count backwards from your start date: application, then the visa through your host, then the Bali tourist tax exemption or payment. Whether the placement counts toward your degree is decided by your own school, so ask your elective or placement office first.

Planning your time in Bali? Book a free consultation and we'll go through dates, specialty and the visa with you, so the Bali tourist tax, your documents and your flight all line up. You can also compare all destinations. travel4med is part of the futuredoctor group ecosystem, which supports students from application to graduation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Bali Provincial Government, Love Bali. FAQ: levy amount, who pays, payment methods, exemptions, legal basis: lovebali.baliprov.go.id/faq (accessed 26 October 2026).
• Bali Provincial Government, Love Bali. Exemption form and applicant information (five day rule, PDF attachment, up to nine applicants): lovebali.baliprov.go.id/exception (accessed 26 October 2026).
• Bali Provincial Government, Love Bali. Notice "Exemption From Levy Payment Applies", groups A to G: lovebali.baliprov.go.id (accessed 26 October 2026).
• Bali Provincial Government, Love Bali. Home page with levy form, currency note and payment check: lovebali.baliprov.go.id (accessed 26 October 2026).
• Directorate General of Immigration, Republic of Indonesia. C22A Visa Kunjungan Pemagangan Akademik (purpose, stay, fees, sponsor, rules), in Indonesian: imigrasi.go.id (accessed 26 October 2026).
• travel4med. Bali destination page (hospital, registration, deadlines, starting prices): travel4med.com/destinations/bali (accessed 26 October 2026).