The Ministry of Law and Human Rights’ Directorate General of Immigration has installed 90 autogate machines at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport to streamline the immigration process for international travelers. Sixty of these machines are placed at the arrivals area, while the other 30 are in the departures section. Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, highlighted that the new autogates will significantly improve service efficiency, cutting down passport inspections to just 15-20 seconds per traveler.
The use of autogates continues to increase, with 67% of foreign nationals and 62% of Indonesian citizens utilizing them. The top five countries using the autogates are Australia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and South Korea. Despite the expedited process, security remains a priority with checks against the blacklist and Interpol red notices.
As of September 2024, 4,722,771 foreign nationals have entered through Ngurah Rai Airport, with the majority coming from Australia, India, China, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. The Director General of Immigration hopes that this service improvement will positively impact immigration services throughout Indonesia.
These autogates verify the traveler’s passport, biometric data, and cross-check information with immigration and Interpol databases. This implementation aims to enhance the flow of travelers, reduce wait times, and address the heavy tourist traffic in Bali. Silmy emphasized that the new system will reduce the need for long queues at manual counters, making the travel process smoother for both arrivals and departures.
The initiative reflects Indonesia’s commitment to modernizing its border-crossing services, especially in high-tourism areas like Bali. If necessary, the number of autogates can be increased to accommodate rising tourist numbers.
This development represents a major step toward delivering fast and modern immigration services at Indonesia’s international borders.
Leave a Reply