My name is Julian. I am from Frankfurt, Germany. I am a bachelor graduate from the
International School of Management in Frankfurt in Psychology & Management. I am in Bali
for three months for an internship at CCI Consulting in the capital Denpasar.

The internship was postponed for a long time due to the Corona Pandemic and unfortunately also
shortened a bit afterwards due to a personal time bottleneck.

Nevertheless, I have now arrived and report on the course and organization of my trip to Indonesia.
The placement with CCI Consulting was surprisingly fast. I submitted my application documents
via the German agency “Students go Abroad”, and they in turn forwarded my application to their
placement agency, stationed in Bali. I was then presented with a selection of companies, from which I chose my favorite. A few days later, I had already secured an
interview. The interview process was fairly smooth, and it seemed that nothing
would stand in the way of my trip to Indonesia. Unfortunately, after a few weeks the
entry for foreigners to Indonesia was no longer possible due to the Corona Pandemic. Many
weeks followed, in which I hoped that I would hear the positive news that the Indonesian government would
decide to re-open borders again.

After patiently waiting three months, the news of the relaxed regulations came and within a very
short time the visa, the flights and the accommodation was quickly organized.

Applying for my e visa to Bali in 2021
The time after the permission to enter the country was given, until the departure in Frankfurt
was very stressful and full of unexpected events! For starters, the entry was only possible for foreign workers. Then, when it was possible to apply for a single entry visa, the regulations and requirements for my visa changed almost daily.
Basically, applicants had to be fully vaccinated and show an internship
contract. In addition, I needed to already show my flight tickets for the outbound and return flight, so that
the date of entry and exit was presented to Indonesian Immigration authorities, for further approval. An address of the accommodation in Bali was
also required. In my case, I could use the address provided by my host company, until I book the
accommodation for the entire three months at a later date. After consultation with the
placement agency and my host company, I received an internship contract with a specific period.
Accordingly, I also booked the appropriate flights, and the documents were complete. After
the flights were booked, the following day I received an e-mail stating that the Indonesian Government now required a Certificate of Good Conduct or Police
Clearance Certificate, and a doctor’s certificate stating that I was free of any contagious
viruses in order to obtain a visa. Thereupon, I looked on the Internet at the city
administration for an appointment and fortunately got an appointment on the same day,
although otherwise all appointments were booked up within the next two weeks.

Due to the pandemic, the administrative offices in Germany can only be visited by appointment and
therefore one is powerless if no timely appointments available. Fortunately, I was able to obtain
a doctor’s appointment in a timely manner, and had the report issued directly by my family
doctor. As for the police clearance certificate, it is only issued by post, and I had to wait
five days. Due to the additional requests, I could not apply for the visa in time and had to change my flights.
After some complications, the flights could be changed with only a small fee. My trusted
travel agent was a great help and in times of pandemic, I recommend booking bigger
trips together with an expert.

My Journey from Germany to Bali
A few days later I was ready to go, from Frankfurt via Istanbul to Jakarta with Turkish
Airlines. The flights were affordable and very pleasant – maybe even the most pleasant I’ve ever
had. Even the short-haul flight was equipped, as in a long-haul plane and the planes were both

not well booked, making it empty and quiet. The flight, of course, required a negative
PCR test and a visa. After arriving in Jakarta, I went through Immigration and was met by hotel representatives and escorted into hotel quarantine for five
days (four nights). Here I was lucky that the government reduced the regulations of the
period of eight days to five, one day before my departure.

In advance, CCI’s visa team had sent me the list of approved hotels for the quarantine. These can be found relatively easily on the
Internet. I decided to stay at The Kempinski, despite the higher price, I have no regrets.
The organization of the hotel was flawless. Here you book a complete quarantine package.
This includes three hot meals and a midday snack for all days. In addition, I received a QR
code with which I could easily do another PCR test at the airport after arrival in Jakarta. I was
then picked up at the airport and taken to a taxi that had already been paid for. At the hotel,
there was a separate entrance for the part of the hotel that was set aside for the quarantine
rooms. The days in quarantine were pleasant and went by very quickly. However, it is
difficult to get rid of jet lag when staying in a single room that has only one bed. I used the
time to book the final accommodation in Bali. For this I also got a list of recommendations
from the agency, which I could look at my leisure and still book in the hotel. On the
penultimate day of quarantine, one is taken to a hotel-internal test center for another PCR
test, and then finally I could fly onwards to Bali the next day. The quarantine stay is documented in
writing by the hotel, so there are no further problems. Of course, you can stay in Jakarta for
a few more days and fly to Bali later, but then another PCR test will be required, depending
on the current conditions.

In the current times, one is often just relieved to arrive at the destination in one piece.