JAKARTA: Bali authorities have tightened the screening of foreign nationals entering the Indonesian resort island in response to a surge in tourist arrivals this year.
The number of international visitors reached 3.89 million in the first seven months of 2024, an increase of almost 1 million from the same period last year.
According to the head of the Bali Regional Office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry, Pramella Yusnida Pasaribu, the heightened supervision applies to all foreign visitors arriving at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.
“We are committed to ensuring strict immigration supervision to maintain security and order in the Bali region,” said Mdm Pramella, in a statement on Thursday (Aug 1) as quoted by local news platform Antara.
She said that the enhanced screening includes meticulous checks of travel documents. Immigration officers will scrutinise passports, visas, and residence permits with greater diligence.
This tightening of controls is further supported by an integrated immigration information system designed to facilitate the monitoring of foreigners’ movements.
The immigration checks also integrate facial recognition technology for greater border control management, according to Antara.
Additionally, Bali’s immigration office collaborates closely with relevant agencies, including the police, customs, and tourism offices, to enhance the effectiveness of the screening.
Antara reported that since Mar 6, 2024, Bali’s Immigration had installed 30 autogate units, or automated immigration facilities, at the Ngurah Rai Airport’s international arrival terminal.
The immigration checks at the autogates integrate the facial recognition technology with the Border Control Management (BCM).
An additional 20 autogates will be also installed at the international departure terminal. Overall, the Ngurah Rai Airport will be equipped with 80 autogate units.
According to data from Ngurah Rai Immigration, the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali from January to July 2024 reached 3.89 million, up from 2.9 million during the same period in 2023.
Australians dominated arrival numbers with 877,329 visitors, followed by 328,767 from India and 278,329 from China.
Significant numbers of tourists also came from the United Kingdom, South Korea, the United States, France, Malaysia, Singapore, and Germany.
Mdm Pramella also emphasised that her office actively educates the public on the importance of maintaining security and order, including reporting any suspicious foreign nationals.
She urged all foreigners to comply with Indonesia’s laws and regulations.
According to the data released by her office, 258 foreigners were deported from Bali between January and July 19, 2024.
In April 2024, the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office reported denying entry to 318 foreign nationals between January and March 2024, mostly because they did not have Indonesian visas.
Other reasons for denied entry included having criminal records or passport validity of less than six months.
In 2023, 340 foreigners were deported, an increase from 188 in 2022.
The influx of foreign tourists has also boosted Bali’s Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) which saw the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office collect about 963.4 billion rupiah (US$60 million) in non-tax state revenue for the first semester of 2024.
This is an increase of about 8 per cent from 894.7 billion rupiah collected in the same period in 2023.
The majority of this revenue came from visa fees which form about 90 per cent of the total revenue collected and about half of the 1.5 trillion rupiah target for 2024.
Despite the tightened immigration checks, Mdm Pramella assured that services to tourists in Bali remain safe and comfortable.
“We want to ensure that every tourist who comes to Bali can enjoy the natural beauty and culture of Bali safely and comfortably,” she said.
