Visa test for upgraded study-abroad plan University of Sydney PhD student Elisabeth Kramer says it was worth the trouble to gain one of Indonesia's new work and holiday visas. WELL over a half-million Australians head off on holiday to Bali every year. But those who go to Indonesia on the new "work and holiday" visa are members of a club so exclusive it had no members at all in 2009, its first year of operation. This year, for the first time, the numbers have ticked over into double digits. "I found out about this work and holiday visa and it sounded like the perfect solution but it didn't turn out to be so easy," says PhD student Elisabeth Kramer from the University of Sydney. Her story from 2011 is complete with officials from Kafka Casting as well as those who helped her out of a maze of mistakes and misinformation. It's worth telling because as soon as next year, the Abbott government hopes to begin sending the first of thousands of undergraduates into the region for study and internships as part of its New Colombo Plan. Indonesia, vital to the plan for foreign policy reasons, will be tricky. Visa-getting can be an ordeal, if you're not bound for Bali, and work rights may become even more contentious as Indonesia approaches national elections next year. Plus, it's hard to motivate many young Australians to pursue study in Indonesia, which they see as a holiday destination. As it happened, Ms Kramer's first problem was with our immigration authorities, who must supply a "letter of government support" before the work and holiday visa can be issued. "I sent an email to an address and got absolutely no reply," Ms Kramer said. So she rang an immigration hotline, encountering somebody who knew nothing about these letters of support and could not transfer her to the ACT office, which apparently did know something. "So eventually I ended up sending my father down to Canberra to go into the ACT office," she said. Once the letter turned up, she went to the Indonesian diplomatic mission, only to be told she had to ring a mobile number in Jakarta, organise a telex and return. This led nowhere. A clued-up friend suggested that next time she ask for "Ibu Cynthia." So I came back into the embassy armed with this magical name and Ibu Cynthia did come to the rescue. A few weeks later, visa secured, she flew into Denpasar, Bali, where immigration officials "didn't know what to do with me." Time was ticking by and there was a connecting flight to catch, so Ms Kramer pleaded for them to stamp her passport, let her in and she would sort it out in Yogyakarta. And for some reason they said yes to that. I didn't get kitas (residency permit), I didn't get multiple-entry," she said. The next day, in the immigration office in Yogyakarta, there was consternation - "How did you even get into the country?" officials asked. Luckily, Denpasar's immigration director was in town and the affair was resolved by Ms Kramer flying back to Bali, where the paperwork was redone. She told her story at a visa seminar in Sydney last week staged by Indonesia's consulate and professional group the Australia-Indonesia Youth Association. Both organisations say the process is getting easier.