TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Bali governor wants to end visa on arrival for Russians, Ukrainians, ban motorbike rental
Change Size
People walk along Kuta beach in Bali during sunset on March 11. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
R
esponding to reports of bad behavior and 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 that the visa-on-arrival policy for visitors from those two countries be terminated.
"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.
Koster made the proposal after receiving complaints about tourists from the two countries, which are currently engaged in a protracted war, misusing 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," he said.
During the press conference, Koster and the Bali Immigration Office also announced the deportation of 31 foreign tourists throughout this year, many of whom were Russian, for reasons ranging from overstaying their visas to working illegally.
Reports of rude behavior and alleged criminal activities by Russian and Ukrainian tourists in Bali have made rounds on social media recently.
Last week, a 37-year-old Ukrainian tourist was arrested by the Bali Police for allegedly paying a local Rp 31 million (US$2,005) to illegally obtain an Indonesian identification card and family card (KK) to extend his stay on the island.
