Increased Quarantine Period Under Decree 1/2022
On January 1, 2022, the Head of the Covid-19 Management Task Force (“Covid-19 Task Force”) issued Decree No. 1 of 2022 on Entry Point, Quarantine Location and RT-PCR Requirement for Indonesian Nationals Travelling Overseas (“Decree 1/2022”) which imposes various new travel protocol aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 and its new variants. The notable provisions of Decree 1/2022 are as follows:
- Entry Points
Entry into Indonesia, whether by air, sea or land, may only be done through designated entry points, as follows:
Airports
- Soekarno Hatta, Banten;
- Juanda, East Java; and
- Sam Ratulangi.
Seaports
- Batam, Riau Islands;
- Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands; and
- Nunukan, North Kalimantan.
Cross Border Posts
- Aruk, Kalimantan;
- Entikong, West Kalimantan; and
- Motaain, East Nusa Tenggara.
- Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Tests and Quarantine Provisions
Under Decree 1/2022, Indonesian nationals that have travelled overseas shall, upon arrival within Indonesia, conduct quarantine for a period of 14 x 24 hours if their place of departure: (i) is confirmed to have community transmission of the new Omicron variant; (ii) is geographically close to countries with community transmissions of the Omicron variant; and (iii) has over 10,000 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant. If arriving from places other those with the above criteria, Indonesian travelers shall only be subjected to a quarantine period of 10 x 24 hours. We note, however, that the Government is considering to shorten the periods to 10×24 hours and 7×24 hours respectively. We will inform any change immediately.
The quarantine protocols (which include the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (“RT-PCR”) tests) shall refer to Circular Letter issued by the Covid-19 Task Force. Currently, the latest Covid-19 Task Force Circular Letter which regulates quarantine protocol may be found in Covid-19 Task Force Circular Letter No. 26 of 2021 dated December 26, 2021 on Health Protocols for International Travel During the Covid-19 Pandemic Period.
Decree 1/2022 also designates a number of Centralized Quarantine Locations for each of the entry points. However, these Centralized Quarantine Locations are reserved only for:
- Indonesian Migrant Workers returning to Indonesia and staying for a minimum of 14 days;
- Students returning to Indonesia after completing their education/study assignment overseas;
- Government Employees returning to Indonesia after completing a work trip; and
- Indonesian representatives in international competitions or festivals
Decree 1/2022 remains in force until December 31, 2022, with the caveat that it may be amended as necessary if any errors/inconsistencies are discovered.
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January 3, 2022
Please contact Johannes C. Sahetapy-Engel (jsahetapyengel@aksetlaw.com) or Caleb K. N. Sitorus (csitorus@aksetlaw.com) for further information.
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