One of the main reasons to come to Kupang is to obtain an East Timor visa – find out the visa requirements & process to obtain a Visa Authorisation Letter.
One of the main reasons travelers like us come to Kupang, Indonesia is to obtain an East Timor visa. This can be done at the East Timor/Timor-Leste Consulate, south of the center of Kupang.
Take a bemo/microbus heading east from directly outside Lavalon Hostel to the Consulate for 3,000 IDR / $0.20 – if you’re staying at Lavalon Hostel, a staff member will hail the microbus for you.
* April 2019 update – one of our readers has advised us of the current visa situation for US citizens: “If you get the ‘free’ visa on arrival, it’s ok to leave now at the East Timor land border crossing when you do the Kupang to Dili bus trip. I think the exit ports used to be more limited, but not at the moment.”
Thanks to Mike from South Carolina for letting us know
East Timor Visa Requirements in Kupang
- Application form (from the Consulate in Kupang)
- Copy of the ID page of your passport
- 1 x passport photo
- Invitation letter *
- Return ticket
- Bank statement
* May not be required – I was not asked for one (at the border, read on… )
East Timor Visa Information in Kupang
- Visa fee: US$30.00 cash only – the migration officer will give you a receipt of your payment
- Passport validity: minimum 3 months
- Processing time: approximately 3 working days (this can be negotiated)
After this time, you will receive an Authorization Letter, not the actual visa.
You must take this Authorization Letter to the border, where you will then received a visa in your passport allowing you to enter East Timor.
When we went to the embassy, the guard told us that no-one was currently working & to come back in the afternoon:
A Swiss guy who was also there for the visa when on ahead anyway, & saw a woman at the visa application window.
She informed us that the 1 person in charge of applications was in East Timor on business/vacation & would not be back for weeks, let alone in the afternoon!
In the meantime, we could proceed with our documents to the border, where they would issue us a visa, without the Authorization Letter.
We didn’t trust this information & argued with her about it over & over.
The woman didn’t actually work for the embassy either, she was talking to us as the only one who could speak English. Apart from making her give us names & phone numbers, there was nothing more we could do.
The Swiss guy & I exchanged contact details, as we went our separate ways contemplating whether we would actually head to the border without the Authorization Letter… well I ended up doing it, crossing the border to East Timor
*** TOP TIP: If you have entered Indonesia on a visa-free visa & did not pay for it, you are only allowed to exit Indonesia from certain ports – this does not include the East Timor land border.
In this situation, do not attempt to enter East Timor by land, you’ll be denied & sent back to Kupang ***
This information was not easy to come across & we found out about it the hard way – Erik is from the USA so he was allowed to enter Indonesia visa-free. I’m from Australia & had to pay for my visa. We both flew to Kupang, in order to cross over to East Timor by land. It was only when we checked into Lavalon Hostel that the owner Edwin informed us of this rule & that Erik, with his visa-free visa, could not exit Indonesia at the East Timor border.
Erik then had to fly from Ende to Bali, & then from Bali to Dili, East Timor – if you’re planning to travel overland to East Timor, don’t make this same costly mistake.
Another person staying at Lavalon Hostel in the same situation ventured on to the East Timor border anyway, to try his luck. He was denied & sent back to Kupang, making for one very & unsuccessful long 12hr+ day.
Check Wikipedia for a comprehensive guide on the Visa Policy of Indonesia.
Finally, we recommend purchasing travel insurance before any trip to Indonesia or East Timor. We’ve been using World Nomads through 80+ countries over the past 12 years and have been really happy with their coverage and services.
For more details check out our World Nomads review here.
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*** The Final Word: If you are applying for an East Timor visa in Kupang, question everything! Don’t accept no for an answer! ***
Have you gotten an East Timor visa in Kupang or anywhere else?
Super easy DIY travel around city centres
Visited in October 2015
Comments
Thanks for the post. I like you wrote all the details. By the way, do you know if you can get a visa without the return ticket? I don’t know how I will get out of the country so I wonder if it’s Ok showing a printscreen of my bank account. It worked for the Indonesian visa.
Hey Bil, I’m not sure if you can get a visa without a return ticket… you could always “create” one, just in case. Or you could try telling the embassy that you’re planning to return to Indonesia via land from East Timor? Sorry I can’t help too much with that, good luck & let us know how you go.
Hello!
What I can understand from some Google searching is that countries that’s a part of the Schengen agreement is allowed in to Timor Leste without visa since of May 26, 2015.. (Read here: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/05/26-visa-waiver-timor-leste/)
Since Switzerland is a part of this agreement the Swiss guy should have been allowed into the country for free up to 90 days?
What date did you guys cross the border?
Best regards, Max!
Hi, Max. Thanks for the information & we have heard that too. I guess he wasn’t aware at the time, and not having the proper staff at the embassy during our visit didn’t help. We’re not sure if he had to pay when he crossed the border since we went different days. We went in October 2015.
Hey, thanks for your informations.
Is it still true that you are not allowed to leave the country overland with a free visa? Can’t find any information. I only read that in your post. We’re from Germany.
Thanks in advance raphael
Unfortunately, I don’t have updated information. At the time of our visit, I was denied since I was on the newly implemented free tourist visa. The catch was that the free entry and exit ports were the popular tourist destinations only. Sheena was able to enter East Timor by land since Australia was excluded from the free visa.
You can check to see if they added the Timor border crossing to the economic improvement free visa, or pay for a tourist visa so you can depart at any border. Otherwise you will probably be stuck flying somewhere from West Timor.
Here is the best list I found for the ports of entry, which didn’t include the land border crossing on Timor.