Bali’s central immigration agency has been ordered to revoke the visa-on-arrival scheme for Russians and Ukrainians after an alleged rise in crimes involving visitors from these two countries, as per a report on CNN. The beach destination has recorded a spike in ‘tourists’ from Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the war in 2022. The violations of law included overstaying of visas and working illegally as hairstylists, tour guides and cab drivers.
Russian nationals form the major chunk of foreign visitors in Indonesia, according to official tourism statistics.
In 2022, 58,000 Russians and 7,000 Ukrainians came to Bali after the borders reopened, as per the report stating government data. In January this year, Bali saw 22,500 Russians, while the number of Ukrainians came to around 2,500.
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One of the most popular tourist hotspots, the island destination saw 6.2 million foreign visitors in 2019.
Last week, Bali governor Wayan Koster had announced that the ministry of law and human rights was directed to enforce stricter visa rules by cancelling the visa-on-arrival only for people from Russia and Ukraine.
According to a Bloomberg report, the country has stepped up its crackdown on foreigners breaching Indonesian laws by deporting 47 people, of which 13 are Russian. These foreigners were kicked out of the country for misusing their stay conditions and residence permit. Reportedly, one Ukrainian national is currently facing legal action for possessing a fake Indonesian citizen ID.
Last month, a Russian tourist was held by police for drunk driving and causing injury to an Indonesian national. In January, a Ukrainian and Russian visitor died in a vehicle collision.
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After a string of road accidents caused by motorists breaking traffic laws, Bali is planning to ban tourists from renting motorcycles. The proposed new law would allow foreigners to only go around in travel agent-approved vehicles. In the months spanning from February to March, more than 170 foreign nationals broke traffic regulations, including unruly behaviour on roads and wearing no helmet, reported BBC.
Ahead of the Balinese day of silence on Wednesday, the law enforcement authorities swung into action with a five-day operation starting from the weekend to monitor criminal activities, particularly among tourists.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
