TEMPO.CO, Denpasar - The Directorate General of Immigration cut the duration of immigration services for Indonesian and foreign nationals at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, from several minutes to 25 seconds, with an auto gate facility.

"Immigration checks using auto gate integrate Face Recognition and Border Control Management (BCM) technology," Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, stated during the inauguration of 30 auto gate units at the Bali Airport on Wednesday.

Karim stated that facial recognition and BCM technologies can cut long queues at immigration.

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 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.

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.

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 14,000-16,000 people per day, the auto gate facility helps in making the immigration inspection process more effective and efficient, he noted.

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 30 auto gate units at the arrival terminal is the first stage of the plan to install a total of 80 auto gate units at the Bali Airport.

ANTARA

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