On an ongoing basis, the deportation for troublesome foreigners continues to be intensified in Bali.
This aims to maintain security and order as well as to teach them a lesson to obey the law in the country.
Based on immigration records in Bali from January to April 2023, some 101 foreigners were deported from Bali, while since the international gate was reopened in Bali from May 2022 to December 2022, some 194 foreigners had been deported from the Indonesian territory via Bali.
Based on the Service’s record, citizens deported, among others, came from Russia and several other countries, such as Nigeria and Ukraine.
Related news: Bali deports four Nigerians, one Russian over visa violations
Related news: Foreign tourists must comply with laws, regulations: minister
Mode of Misbehaving Foreigners
Head of the Bali Provincial Law and Human Rights Service, Anggiat Napitupulu, noted that misbehaving foreigners were found to have misused residence permits, overstayed the time limit set in their residence permits, committed criminal acts, and violated the norms in Bali, among others.
In detail, the Denpasar Immigration arrested a foreigner from Ivory Coast, a country in the West African region, with the initials AJK, on December 8, 2022, who entered Indonesia using a 30-day visit visa-free of charge.
The 28-year-old man entered Indonesia in February 2019 and worked in Jakarta as a cook for African cuisines.
According to data from the Denpasar Immigration Detention Center, AJK, while living in Indonesia, also committed criminal acts by skimming or stealing the financial data of customers outside Indonesia.
After being arrested by Denpasar Immigration, he was handed over to the detention center, as he could not be deported immediately because the perpetrator's family did not have the money to facilitate his return to his country.
After collecting money from AJK, he was finally sent home on Wednesday, May 16, 2023.
Another case involved tourists from Russia, with the initials SN and IN, who misbehaved at the Pengubengan Temple area, which is in one of the largest temple complexes in Bali, namely Pura Agung Besakih in Karangasem District.
Another case that came to light was of LK, a Russian citizen, who was also found to have misbehaved. LK had entered Bali using a limited stay permit as an investor but rather took nude photos in the area of one of the temples in Marga Sub-district, Tabanan District.
The foreigner's behavior violated the norms applicable in Indonesia, especially customs in Bali, and caused unrest and disturbed public order.
In another incident, a Ukrainian citizen, with the initials as VB, entered Bali on a limited stay permit as an investor but worked as a masseuse, specifically for foreign tourists instead.
Immigration officials also reported violations of the visa on arrival (VOA) facility committed by a tourist, with the initials HB, from Ukraine who actually worked as a photographer.
Apart from being based on public reports, the misbehaving foreigner was also arrested with the help of digital patrols conducted by the Immigration along with the Foreigner Monitoring Team (Pora).
They conducted monitoring of social media platforms linked to the activities of foreigners, including tourists suspected of violating immigration laws.
Residence Permit
The rules for staying permits for foreigners have been regulated in Law Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration.
To enter the Indonesian territory, foreigners must complete all requirements for obtaining their residence permit. There are three residence permits in the country, namely a visit stay permit, limited stay permit, and permanent stay permit.
The average number of violations found were committed by foreigners who used visit residence permits and limited stay permits by claiming themselves to be investors.
Based on data from the Directorate General of Immigration, foreigners must complete the permit with a visit visa for one trip, with a duration of 60 days to 180 days, or six months, and can be extended.
Furthermore, there are multiple travel visas for a maximum of 60 days for each arrival.
Moreover, a visit visa on arrival, or VOA, at a cost of Rp500 thousand, is valid for 30 days and can be extended once for 30 days.
Currently, Indonesia provides VOA facilities for tourists from 92 countries.
This visa can be used for a variety of purposes, namely social visits, business purposes, and vacations, while a limited stay permit, especially for investors, has a duration in Indonesia starting from one year and a maximum of two years.
Tourist guide
The Bali Provincial Government had prepared guidelines for domestic and foreign tourists regarding information containing regulations during their stay in Bali.
This effort was made to prevent any disturbance to security by learning from the emergence of incidents of some tourists, who committed dishonorable acts in the sacred area of the temple, a place of worship for Hindus.
Head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Service, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, stated that his side had discussed the guide with several parties, including tourism actors in Bali, such as the Bali Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) and the Bali Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI), before finalizing the regulation by the Provincial Government Legal Bureau.
Later, the regulations will be printed in leaflets in English and Indonesian and then distributed to tourists.
Foreign Tourist Visits to Bali
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) noted that foreign tourist arrivals in Bali reached a peak in 2019, with a total of 6.3 million.
The visits dropped to around one million foreign tourists in 2020 and went quiet in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The arrivals of foreign tourists to Bali increased again in 2022, reaching 2.3 million people, as the COVID-19 case count began to decline.
Due to a decrease in the number of cases, the Indonesian government decided to reopen Bali for foreign tourists that was followed by high number of arrivals of domestic and foreign tourists in Bali.
However, the start of the rebound in Bali’s tourism was tarnished by the actions of a handful of foreign tourists.
Hence, the firmness of law enforcement officials in Bali towards misbehaving tourists should be supported by all parties, including the public and tourism actors.
All of this aims to ensure that those foreign tourists obey Indonesian laws and respect local customs and culture in Bali in order to support higher quality tourism on the island.
The arrivals of tourists in Bali is indeed important, but adherence to social, cultural, religious, and legal norms must be upheld.
Related news: No impact of tightening of tourist rules on arrivals: Official
Related news: Hope visa on arrival for Russian tourists will stay: envoy
Translator: Dewa Ketut S W, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
