European Union adopts more favourable Schengen visa rules for Indonesia

Indonesian Nationals can now apply for a multiple entry Schengen visa with longer validity

On 23 July 2025, the European Commission adopted specific rules on the issuing of multiple entry visas to Indonesian nationals, which are more favourable than the standard rules of the Visa Code that applied to date. This new visa ‘cascade’ regime will provide easier access to visas with multi-year validity.

According to the newly adopted visa ‘cascade’ regime for Indonesia, Indonesian nationals residing in Indonesia can now be issued multi-entry Schengen visas valid for five years after having obtained and lawfully used one visa within the previous three years, if the passport has sufficient validity remaining. During the validity period of these visas, holders enjoy travel rights equivalent to visa-free nationals.

This decision marks an important achievement in the EU-Indonesia relationship and was announced during the bilateral meeting between the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on 13 July. The agreement is part of a broader initiative to strengthen people-to-people connections, alongside advances in trade and education.

Schengen visas allow the holder to travel freely in the Schengen area for short stays of a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. The visas are not purpose-bound, but they do not grant the right to work. The Schengen area consists of 29 European countries (of which 25 are EU states): Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.