Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobieva finally gave a statement about tourists from Russia, who, according to several reports, caused uproar and were involved in many cases in Bali. The Bali authorities have proposed revoking the Visa on Arrival (VoA) service for Russian tourists. Ambassador Vorobieva said her party always encourages Russian tourists visiting Indonesia to comply with the applicable regulations. She also assured that the majority of tourists from Russia obey the law.
“Of course, like any nation, there are some people (Russia) who are not very law-abiding, and I don’t think that’s something we should focus on,” Vorobieva said at the Indonesia-Russia investment and tourism forum in Jakarta Friday, the 17th of March 2023.
Several cases involving foreigners, including Russian citizens, have occurred recently, such as traffic violations and falsification of identities. Last week, the Directorate of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement of the Directorate General of Immigration arrested three Russian citizens who violated their residence permits by working as Commercial Sex Workers (PSK).
The foreigners with the initials VS, IL and TE were arrested by immigration during an immigration control operation in Bali. At that time, the Immigration Service received information from the public that there was a villa in Seminyak where suspicious activity was suspected.
“Officers then rushed to the place and managed to raid three pairs of Indonesian citizens and foreigners,” said the Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, Thursday, the 9th of March, 2023, in his official statement.
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Bali Governor Wayan Koster proposed cancelling the visa on arrival service for Russians and Ukrainians. Koster said the decision was taken after considering the widespread reports of citizens from the two countries who often violated the law in Bali.
Another reason, according to Koster, is that the conditions in those two countries are so uncomfortable to live in at the moment since Russia & Ukraine ongoing conflict is forcing people to find comfort somewhere else, and Baii is top on their list. However, the number of violations made by Russians & Ukranians keeps increasing, which is why the Governor pushed the agenda of revoking the Visa on Arrival to keep Russian & Ukrainian tourists in check.
“Because the two countries are at war, they feel uncomfortable in their country. They come to Bali to travel, seek comfort, and work. Other countries also do that but are not violating the laws as much as Russians & Ukrainians,” said Koster on Sunday, the 12th of March, 2023.
In a press conference on Friday, Vorobiev said that he hoped the Government of Indonesia would not revoke the VoA for Russian citizens.
Head of the Bali Tourism Office, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, as quoted by Antara on Thursday, the 16th of March, 2023, said there would be no problem if the Governor proposed revoking the VoA for Russia and Ukraine was finally accepted. Until this news was published, Bagus had not received a decision on the proposal submitted by Governor Koster to the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights and a copy of it to the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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- Ukraine Ambassador Response Over Bali’s Proposal to Revoke Visa On Arrival
