Bali governor wants to end visa-on-arrival for Russians, Ukrainians

Bali Governor I Wayan Koster (background, second right) speaks at a press conference on May 6, 2022, announcing the deportation of Russian tourist couple Amdrei Fazleev and Alina Fazleeva (foreground, far left and second left, respectively) for taking nude photos at a Hindu temple compound in Bali.- Bali Provincial Administration /File) This article was published in thejakartapost.com with the title "Bali governor wants to end visa-on-arrival for Russians, Ukrainians". Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2023/03/13/bali-governor-wants-to-end-visa-on-arrival-for-russians-ukrainians.html.

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): Responding to reports of bad behaviour and possible criminal activities allegedly committed by Russian and Ukrainian tourists, Bali Governor Wayan Koster has proposed to the Foreign Ministry and the Law and Human Rights Ministry an end to the visa-on-arrival facility for visitors from those two countries.

"I have written a letter to the ministries requesting that the visa facility be revoked for Russians and Ukrainians," Koster told a press briefing on Sunday (March 12).

Koster said that he made the proposal after receiving reports and complaints about tourists from the two countries, which are currently engaged in a protracted war, abusing their tourist visas to find employment in the popular global tourist destination.

"Why these particular two countries? Currently they are at war so they come to Bali not only as tourists but also to work," Koster said in a press conference.

During the press conference, Koster and the Bali Immigration Office also announced the deportation of 31 Russian and Ukrainian tourists. Data from the Immigration Office show that between January and March this year, a total of 43,622 Russians landed in Bali.

In 2022, the Immigration Office recorded that 59,854 Russians arrived in Bali. Netizens in Bali have recently played whistleblower roles against apparent Russian and Ukrainian tourists by uploading videos of them violating traffic rules and behaving rudely toward police personnel stopping them for traffic offences.