The Ngurah Rai Immigration Office (Kantor Imigrasi Ngurah Rai) has published statistics for the first five months of 2026. The figures show not only the scale of the tourist flow, but also how life for foreigners on the island is changing.
From January to May, 5,900,120 passengers passed through I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. This is 1.5% more than in the same period last year. Of these, 2,955,687 people arrived on the island, while 2,961,853 left Bali.
Foreign nationals still make up the main share of the flow. Over the five months, 2,627,129 foreign citizens arrived on the island. Australia remains the leader, with 664,882 arrivals. It is followed by China with 253,996 and India with 229,875. Russia ranked seventh by the number of foreign arrivals. In the first five months of the year, 100,473 Russian citizens arrived on the island.
More and more foreigners prefer not to limit themselves to a short holiday. Over the five months, the number of visa on arrival (VOA) extensions reached 27,744, almost three times more than last year. In addition, the immigration office processed 5,487 extensions for other short-term visas and stay permits.
At the same time, the number of people switching from tourist status to a limited stay permit, ITAS, also increased. Over the five months, 1,694 such cases were registered, 132% more than a year earlier.
Against the backdrop of growing tourist numbers, the immigration office is tightening controls. During the reporting period, 382 foreign nationals were refused entry to Indonesia. Another 303 people had their departure temporarily postponed.
From January to May, immigration officers deported 155 people. Another 122 foreigners were placed in detention, and 139 people were banned from entering Indonesia. In total, the office recorded 204 violations. In 121 cases, the reason was failure to comply with the law, while in 83 cases it involved overstaying the permitted period of stay.
Indian citizens were the most common among the violators, with 19 people. They were followed by the United States with 16 people and Russia with 15 people.
Tourism continues to bring significant revenue to the state through visa and immigration fees. In the first five months of the year, the local immigration office collected 449.3 billion Indonesian rupiah in non-tax revenue. The Bali office earned the most from visas, at 339.4 billion rupiah. A further 56 billion rupiah came from services related to extensions of stay status and re-entry into the country.
The way foreigners communicate with government services is also changing. WhatsApp turned out to be the most popular contact channel, with 5,283 enquiries received through it. By comparison, 718 requests came by email, 579 through Instagram and 57 through TikTok.
The office also reminded people about scammers and urged them to use only official contact channels.
Social media: @imngurahrai
WhatsApp: +62 81236956667
Sources: Imigrasi Ngurah Rai
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