Bali immigration rejects 10 foreigners without visas

I Wayan Juniartha and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar/Jakarta

The first four days of the new visa policy have seen 10 tourists denied entry into the country's major tourist destination Bali, but officials say the policy has paid dividends.

Fifty-one foreigners were refused entry nationwide in the first two days of the scheme, which the government said had generated over US$140,000.

Bali immigration office chief Gde Widiartha said on Wednesday the 10 tourists could not enter the island as their countries were among those excluded from the list of visa-free or visa-on- arrival recipients.

"These holiday-makers are citizens of countries that are not listed as recipients of either the free visa for short-term visit (BVKS) or the visa on arrival (VOA). They should have applied for visas at the Indonesian Embassy in their respective countries beforehand," Widiartha said.

Three of the visitors were from Austria, three from the Netherlands, two from Sweden and two from Mexico. Nine of them arrived at Ngurah Rai airport on Tuesday, while the rest reached Bali on Wednesday. Most of them were elderly people, who traveled via Bangkok or Singapore.

The airlines, responsible for carrying the tourists had informed the tourists of the new visa policy, Widiartha said. "Unfortunately, they ignored the warning, hoping they could settle things upon their arrival here," he said.

After two days of implementation, the government claimed the policy was a success, generating $143,270 in state revenue.

Director-General of Immigration Iman Santoso said on Tuesday the money was collected from entry points across the country.

Data showed about 900 foreigners applied for visas on arrival at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hata airport and some 2,000 in Bali's Ngurah Rai airport on the first day of the policy's application. The number in Bali increased to about 2,700 on the second day.

Many in the country's tourist industry have expressed fears the new policy would discourage foreign tourists from traveling to Indonesia. They have demanded the scheme be shortened to a one-month trial.

Under the new policy, a visa on arrival costs $10 for a three- day stay, and $25 for 30-day stay.

Also on Wednesday, an Italian national was sent back to his country after immigration officials decided his drunkenness was disturbing other passengers. The man, whose identity was not revealed, arrived at Ngurah Rai on Monday. He was taken to a nearby health clinic, where he spent the night.

"Although he is a citizen of the country that receives a VOA facility, we decided he might cause problems here, therefore we sent him back to his country on Wednesday," Widiartha said.

The BVKS privilege is given to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Macau, Chile, Morocco, Peru and Vietnam, while the 21 countries that are entitled to VOAs are the United States, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Finland, Hungary, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Norway, France, Poland, Switzerland, New Zealand and Taiwan.