Entering PNG from Jayapura

Has anybody actually tried - recently - to cross from Jayapura to Vanimo (and beyond) at Wutung without a prior visa ? What happened? I have been given conflicting information by two PNG missions about this.

Thanks.

As of last year, the Indonesian immigration officer there claimed one needed a PNG visa even to be allowed to leave Indonesia at Wutung.
This may or may not have changed.

Nope: still the same (assuming "there" meant an Indonesian immigration official in Jayapura, not one at the border or Vanimo).

But since I have one "official" comment from another PNG mission that the official was "two hundred percent" certain I can (and my own admittedly biased-toward-the-favorable interpretation of another government website), I'm hoping somebody has done it. In which case it will be at least worth a try.

Anybody?!

what are your plans after vanimo ?

if you plan for just a day trip across into png then travellers have reported being allowed through without a visa but paying a fee/bribe and leaving their passport

the png border officials cannot issue visas so if you sneak across then you will have problems on exiting png

getting a visa in jayapura is possible but cannot be assured and may take several days or more

I meant the officer at the border.
Last year, he wouldn't even allow us to to the midway point between the 2 countries' posts for a photo without having a PNG visa and clearing Indonesian immigration. No bribe was hinted at.
This may depend on the mood of the officer on duty. Many years ago they allowed me over to talk to PNG immigration even without a bribe.

In comparison, down south at Sota, near Merauke, the border proper is something of a picnic point and you can walk right across to the PNG side. However there is only bush on that side there, and a narrow dirt track leading to the nearest village ca 15 kms away.

Sorry to report that the official who was "two hundred percent" certain I could obtain a PNG visa at the Wutung border seems to have been three hundred percent wrong*: the PNG mission in Jayapura, and emails from the PNG Immigration & Citizenship Service Authority in Boroko and the PNG Embassy in Jakarta all state that visa on arrival is available (for certain nationalities and with several conditions) at Port Moresby only.

*I did not try to cross at the border myself, but with the above information it didn't seem worth the effort to try.

I'll offer a possible reason for the misinformation from the one government official. That is, since that official worked in a mission with direct flights to Port Moresby (where voa does seem to be available) and presumably handles travelers going to PNG on that route frequently, it just may be that it didn't register with the official that I was asking about land travel, from Jayapura. Still (excuse the venting), although I did plan on coming to Jayapura anyway, the misinformation had me leave where I was much sooner than I had wanted and to pay quite a bit more for airfare to get here in time to cross and get to the Sepik River festival, beginning today (Enjoy, any readers who are there!), and it had me accept a less desirable visa-exempt entry to Indonesia, since I thought I'd only be here for days before exiting to PNG.
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So, now... Tips for the Baliem Valley Festival, anyone?! ;-)

The Baliem Festival is fun, don't miss it if you are so near.
It is less diverse than most PNG festivals though, when I saw it, most groups were Dani, with just a few Lani and a Nduga added.
Easy to reach by public bemos from Wamena, where cheap accommodation is available - we got rooms at the Hotel Nayak near the old airport without prior booking right before the festival.
Also do some trekking if already there.

Thanks, Laszlo. I thought you'd post some helpful and specific information!

I just remembered I need a permit(s), don't I, and it's Saturday mid-afternoon already. The office is presumably closed, but I could give it a try. ...the permit office, INTEL, isn't it - where in relation to Mall Jayapura/Hotel Amabel? Are you able to make suggestions about which places to list for permits on such short notice (for Baliem and Nabire and their environs, at least - just that: "Baliem" and "Nabire," or more?)?

And then with less urgency: can I go to Wamena without prior permits, or is it better to wait until Monday to get it/them here? (I read the festival doesn't start until the 8th, Tuesday, and there are still flights to Wamena, according to SkyScanner, on Saturday through Tuesday.)

Oooh: lots of questions. Pick and choose those you feel like answering - at least one or two, I hope! ;-) Thanks.

You can go to Wamena without a permit and try and get it there.
In fact, in the town and close to it, no one is likely to check.

In Jayapura you go to the polresta near Hotel Matoa.
I did once get permits here on Sunday, but the officer had to be called in from home, for which a nice tip is justified.

For the Baliem, write Jayawijaya, for Nabire just Nabire.

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