Filming visas for Indonesia: which category fits which shoot

By Film Permit Bali Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and check month. Fees change, and they are official or third-party figures, not our offers.

A filming visa in Indonesia means, on the immigration service's own pages, C14 for a single entry or D14 for repeat entries. One embassy instead cites C5 for film production, and C5 is otherwise the journalist visa. Visitor visas do not list filming. Your local sponsor lodges the application, so confirm the category with your mission first.

Which filming visa does Indonesia use?

The immigration service publishes two categories written for production work. C14 is the single-entry option, written for films, music videos, reality shows and documentaries shot on Indonesian locations, along with TV and radio programmes. D14 covers the same activities with multiple entries and up to 60 days per arrival. Those two pages are the plainest statement of what a foreign crew should apply for. Those pages show no separate Bali film visa: a foreign crew bound for Bali uses the same national categories, on top of the Bali film permit, and the Embassy in Canberra points applicants to the same pair once its notification letter has been issued.

The picture gets less tidy once you leave those pages. One embassy names a different index, a journalist category sits close by, a content creator entry appears on the official list with nothing behind it, and the visitor visa is what most people already hold. This table puts them side by side. Amounts sit in the price table on this page, and the full budget is on the film permit cost page.

When is C14 the right category?

C14 fits one production on one trip: a commercial shot over two weeks, a music video, a documentary shoot that arrives, films and leaves. Because it is single entry, a crew member who flies out to Singapore for a day has used it up. Plan the schedule before you pick the category, not after.

Two conditions shape everything else. First, the application is lodged by a sponsor with its own account on the evisa portal, so a foreign company cannot simply apply for its own crew. Second, the immigration page sets a special requirement: a government agency's permit for using the shooting location. That is why the visa tends to be the later step in the sequence rather than the first thing a producer does.

The C14 visa page goes through the stay, documents and sponsor mechanics in more depth. Read it once you have settled the category here. Your sponsor may be the company discussed under film fixer in Bali, the folder is on film permit requirements in Indonesia, and how to get a film permit in Bali shows where the visa sits. A drone brought from abroad changes the order, as commercial drone filming in Bali and drone rules in Bali explain.

When does D14 make more sense?

D14 is built for the production that keeps coming back. Think of a series with blocks months apart, a documentary following a harvest or a ceremony cycle, or a commercial crew with several Indonesian jobs in a year. Each arrival gets up to 60 days, and the price table shows one-year and two-year versions, so compare the D14 fee with the number of C14 applications it would replace.

One limit: D14 cannot be converted to a limited stay permit. A department head who hopes to base themselves in Bali for a long project should not treat it as a stepping stone. It is still a visit visa, and the page describes it as one. The same goes for anyone searching for a work permit for a Bali film crew: both production categories are published as visit visas. If a crew member would be employed by an Indonesian company rather than visiting for a production, that is a different question, and it belongs with your sponsor and immigration counsel.

A rough way to choose a film crew visa:

• One shoot, one continuous stay, no travel out and back: start with C14.
• Two or more trips inside a year, or a shoot that crosses a border midway: look at D14.
• Staff reporting news for a recognised outlet: read the next section first.

Why does one embassy say C5 for film production?

This is a real conflict between official sources, so here it is in plain words. The Embassy in Washington tells non-Indonesians that journalism and film production both take a visit visa with index C5. The immigration pages place film production under C14 and D14, and describe C5 as covering journalistic visits and news coverage, single entry, with up to 60 days extendable to 180.

A press report adds another wrinkle. TTG Asia describes C5 as a visa for recognised media organisations that reaches beyond news to documentary production, interviews and event coverage. Documentaries also appear on the C14 page. So a broadcaster's documentary team could read either page and feel it had the right answer, so state who the crew works for as well as what the film looks like.

The practical response is short. Write to the mission that handles your application, name the production type and the employer, and ask which index it expects. Keep the reply with your application file. Show it to your sponsor before anything is lodged, since the sponsor is the one submitting. The same split applies to a visa for a TV crew: programme production reads as C14 or D14, and news reads as C5. News crews should continue to the journalist visa page.

Where do tourist visas fit?

They do not fit production work on any official wording. The B1 page names holidays, family visits, meetings and similar events, and transit. The official visitor visa portal words it differently, adding government visits, business meetings and goods purchasing, and it routes any other purpose to an e-VISA application. Neither mentions filming.

Business meetings appear on that list, but a meeting is not a shoot, and nothing on either page stretches the purpose that far. The separate question of holiday video and paid content has its own answer on filming on a tourist visa.

Content creators will also run into C5A. A C5A Content Creator Visit Visa entry sits on the immigration list with no data behind it. TTG Asia, quoting an immigration official on the plan, described the visa in August 2026 as proposed and not yet in effect. No terms, fee or availability can be stated for it. If a seller tells you C5A is live, ask to see the official terms before paying anything.

Does the visa replace location consent?

No. C14 requires a government agency's permit for using the shooting location, which is the national paper. Site-by-site consent is a later step that the visa does not touch. The visa answers who may enter and for what purpose. It does not clear a temple courtyard, a national park or a rice terrace, each of which has its own manager. The Canberra sequence also places the visa application after the notification letter, and that embassy says missions do not have authority to issue a filming visa at all. Applications go through the e-Visa system, usually with your sponsor doing the lodging.

The mission's part is the statement and notification stage that feeds the application, as its own page describes. The order differs by country, and the location permit guide covers site consent.

What else do crews ask about filming visas?

Is there a filming visa for Indonesia?

Yes. The immigration service publishes C14, a single-entry visit visa, and D14, a multiple-entry visit visa, for film and programme production using Indonesian locations. One embassy instead cites C5 for film production, so confirm the index with your mission.

Can I film in Indonesia on a business visa?

The official visitor portal lists business meetings among its purposes, and filming is not listed. Treat a meeting visa as a meeting visa. Production work belongs in the C14 or D14 categories unless your mission tells you otherwise in writing.

Where do I apply for an Indonesia film visa?

Through the e-Visa system, with a sponsor who holds an account on the portal and lodges the application. The Embassy in Canberra says missions cannot issue a filming visa themselves.

Do foreign crew members need separate filming visas?

The price table lists fees per person, so budget for one visa for each foreign crew member. Ask your sponsor whether the crew should be lodged together, since that affects the paperwork rather than the rule.

Does a D14 visa let a crew member live in Bali?

No page describes it that way. D14 is a visit visa with up to 60 days per arrival, and the immigration page says it cannot be converted to a limited stay permit.

Which sources support this page?

• Immigration: C14 visa
• Immigration: D14 visa
• Immigration: C5 visa
• Immigration: C5A entry
• Immigration: B1 visa on arrival
• Immigration e-Visa portal: visitor visa information
• Embassy in Canberra: filming procedure for foreign producers
• Embassy in Washington: journalistic and film production
• TTG Asia, 11 August 2026: Indonesia plans visa for foreign content creators

How do I reach the desk?

Send the desk your shoot dates, the nationalities of the crew, the employer of each person and the number of trips planned, and we will answer on WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or at bd@juaraholding.com. Any visa decision belongs to immigration. Requests can lead to a paid booking, so we have a commercial interest; the disclaimer explains how, and only a written offer binds anyone.