According to reporting from Tempo, Indonesia’s Directorate General of Immigration has managed to cut the time for immigration services for Indonesian and foreign nationals at Bali’s International Airport with an auto gate facility, from several minutes to just 25-seconds.
“Immigration checks using auto gate integrate Face Recognition and Border Control Management (BCM) technology,” Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, said during the inauguration of thirty auto gate units at the Bali Airport on Wednesday (6/3/24.)
Karim stated that facial recognition and BCM technologies can cut long queues at immigration.
Tempo reports that to use the auto gate, travelers are required to use an electronic passport and have a valid visa, including an electronic visa on arrival (E-VOA) or E-Visa submitted via the evisa.imigration.go.id page.
It can also be accessed by purchasing VOA at the Molina Lite counter at the arrival terminal.
Foreigners from countries in the ASEAN region with visa exemption can use the auto gate by first registering at evisa.imigration.go.id.
Meanwhile, for Indonesian citizens, the auto gate can be used by both electronic and regular non-electronic passport holders, say Tempo, adding that all passengers are also required to remove accessories, such as hats or masks, before entering the auto gate for clear visibility.
After scanning the passport biodata page, the passenger’s face will also be scanned at the auto gate using facial recognition.
“The auto gate system immediately verifies foreigners when scanning their passports, so they immediately match their passport data with their E-VOA, E-Visa, or visa-free data,” Karim stated.
According to Tempo, the Directorate General of Immigration also prioritizes aspects of state security by linking the crossing system with Interpol data to prevent foreigners involved in crimes from entering Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Head of the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office, Suhendra, stated that the auto gate installation at Ngurah Rai Airport began in October 2023, with trial use in February 2024.
With an average arrival of 14,000 to 16,000 people per day, the auto gate facility helps in making the immigration inspection process more effective and efficient, he said.
He stated that from February 1 to March 4, 2024, as many as 112,939-travelers comprising 14,684-Indonesian citizens and 98,255-foreigners used the auto gate facility.
The highest number of auto gate users comprised 23,179-Australian citizens, 14,684-Indonesians, and 10,664-Chinese citizens, followed by those from South Korea, the United States, Japan, England, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore, with each ranging from 7,700 to 3,500-people.
Meanwhile, the number of travelers based on visa type, namely E-VOA, reached 54,318-people, 3,278-people with E-Visa, 30,974-people with Molina Lite, and 9,685-people with Free Visit Visa (BVK).
The installation of thirty auto gate units at the arrival terminal is the first stage of the plan to install eighty auto gate units at the Bali Airport, say Tempo.
Source: Tempo
Stock image by Joshua Woroniecki from Pixabay
