Immigration tells 80 Bali tourists to get lost
Immigration tells 80 Bali tourists to get lost
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It has only been a month since the visa on arrival (VoA)
policy was introduced in February, but so far 80 foreign tourists
from 13 countries have been barred from entering Bali.
Ngurah Rai Immigration Office chief I Gede Widiartha said on
Friday that the bans had been imposed for various reasons.
The main reason was failure to obtain visas from the
Indonesian embassies in their respective countries as required by
the new policy.
They either forgot or were not informed that their countries
were not among the nine countries and two territories whose
citizens do not need to get visas when they arrive in Indonesia,
as well as the 20 states and one territory whose citizens are
permitted to obtain visas-on-arrival, Widiartha said.
These people come from, among other countries, Ireland,
Austria, Spain and Sweden.
Several other persons, including a Thai tourist and a U.S.
national, were turned away for various other reasons, including
politics, crime and drugs, although their countries are accorded
visa-on-arrival facilities (VoA) or visa-free facilities (BVKS).
Widiartha explained that during February, the number of
tourists arriving in Bali via Ngurah Rai Airport was 84,348.
In more detail, 5,584 tourists used the visa-free facility,
10,591 entered using ordinary visas, 3,507 entered on three-day
visas on arrival (each paying US$10, making a total of $35,070),
and 64,666 tourists entered on 30-day VoAs (each paying $25,
making a total of $1,616,650).
Since the introduction of the VoA policy, the Ngurah Rai
Immigrations Office has collected around Rp 13.9 billion in fees.
The new VoA policy, which took effect on Feb. 1 this year, has
restricted visa-free entry to tourists from only 11 countries --
instead of the previous 48.
The countries include Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines,
Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Macao, China, Peru and Morocco.
The 21 nationalities that lose their visa-free status but are
still able to apply for a 30-day visa on arrival include the
United States, Britain, Canada, France, Switzerland, Italy,
Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
The new policy also cuts the length of stay in Indonesia for
short-term visitors from 60 days to only 30 days with an optional
US$10 payment for three-day visit and $25 for a 30-day visit.
The affected countries are by far the largest contributors of
tourists to Bali. Three of the countries -- Japan, followed by
Australia and South Korea -- are the island's biggest tourist
markets.