Indonesia Immigration to Clamp Down on Rule-Breaching Foreigners

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Directorate General of Immigration of the Law and Human Rights Ministry instructed the central-level surveillance and enforcement team to help crack down on foreign nationals violating laws and regulations in Bali.

"I have instructed the [immigration] surveillance and enforcement team from the central level to help Bali. Every day, I monitor how the situation of foreigners is developing there," Director General of Immigration Silmy Karim said on Tuesday, March 14.

Karim said the condition is currently improving as the surveillance operation is quite effective in having a deterrent effect on foreigners in Bali to comply with the local regulations, culture, and values.

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On the other hand, the number of Russians and Ukrainians entering Indonesia with Visa on Arrival (VoA) and Electronic Visa on Arrival (e-VoA) through the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali showed a significant decline in March 2023, he added.

In March, the number of VoA and e-VoA holders from Russia and Ukraine reached 5,196 and 566, respectively.

"The trend of tourist arrivals from Russia and Ukraine using VoA and e-VoA has declined," he said.

He noted that in February, some 15,000 Russians and 2,000 Ukrainians had entered Indonesia, which was a decline from nearly 20,000 Russians and more than 2,000 Ukrainians recorded in January.

Also read: Two Americans Deported from Bali after Violating Immigration Law

During the pandemic, Bali, whose economic turnover majorly relies on the tourism industry, needed a stimulus. When the global situation improved, the conduct towards foreign tourists was more permissive to draw more tourists to visit, Karim said.

Regarding the Bali Governor's recommendation of revoking VoA and e-VoA for Russian and Ukrainian nationals, Immigration will conduct a study first, as some of them not only stay in Bali, he said.

The largest number of foreign tourists arriving in Indonesia using VoA and e-VoA in 2022 was from Australia with 640,406 tourists, followed by 252,241 from India, 162,914 from the US, 157,106 from the UK, and 125,487 from France.

Meanwhile, countries whose citizens had the most stay permit visas in Indonesia during the January-February period this year were China, with 27,351 people, followed by 13,963 from Russia, 3,736 from South Korea, 3,025 from Japan, and 2,555 from Australia.

Source: State News Antara