The good news for travellers heading to Bali is that the Facial Recognition System for tourist arrivals at Bali Airport is to be launched.
This will definitely speed up the tourist arrivals at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), simply known as the Bali Airport.
Facial Recognition System For Tourist Arrivals At Bali Airport in 2024
In early January, new auto-gates featuring facial recognition have been installed and will be ready to be used anytime soon. It is unsure when immigration will enforce this.
This Facial Recognition System was implemented to monitor and secure immigration and will work in automation with the increasingly digitized immigration and visa process the Indonesian government is moving towards.
With the new auto gates in place, the immigration inspection process will be much faster, more accurate, effective, and efficient without compromising monitoring and security.
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| You will see signs and posters like these at the Bali airport when you exit the plane. |
This system is already in place at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport and is proving to be a massive success for both traveller and immigration teams.
Currently, 30 auto-gate units have been installed at Ngurah Rai Airport, with work starting in October 2023.
The auto-gates are set to be used by the first passengers this month once final systems checks have been completed.
Another 50 auto gate units will be added in the first quarter of 2024, bringing the total to 80 units at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.
Out of the total, 50 facial recognition auto-gates will be placed at the international arrivals terminal and 30 devices in the international departures area.
With hundreds of thousands of tourists landing in Bali monthly, staffed immigration counters are still essential, and a wholly automated arrival process is still a long way away.
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| Signages are easy to see as they are everywhere. Just follow them to the immigration. |
Indonesia Online Immigration Service
In 2024, tourists planning to visit Bali are encouraged to use Indonesia’s online immigration services as it will make the entry process much more manageable. Visitors can now apply for various Indonesian visas online and process their visa extensions online.
For years, renewing or extending an Indonesian social visa requires at least three visits to an immigration office if done by themselves, without a visa agent.
In January 2024, the Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, confirmed that a new set of social visas can now be renewed and extended online.
This new online service was launched to simplify and speed up the stay permit extension process, which previously required foreigners to present at the immigration office.
As a surprise to the long-stay visitors, there is no longer a need to stamp the stay permit on the passport because it is sent directly to the applicant’s email.
Types of Visas for Visitors to Bali
The Director General of Immigration confirmed that online extensions can now be processed online for the following visas:
- Holiday, Family, and Transit Single-Entry Visitor Visa (index C1)
- Medical Treatment Single-Entry Visitor Visa (index C3)
- Foreign Government Official Trips Single-Entry Visitor Visa (index C4)
- Short Courses and Training Single-Entry Visitor Visa (index C9)
- International Exhibition Single-Entry Visitor Visa (index C11)
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| I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. |
Please note that travellers entering Bali on visas that have been applied for and granted online before arrival in the county will be eligible to use the new auto-gates.
This included the e-visa on arrival and the newly launched D1 and D2 visas, which allow tourists and business travellers multiple entry to Indonesia for up to 60 days at a time over five years.