The Bali Governor , Wayan Koster , has asked the central government in Jakarta to end visa-on-arrival privileges for citizens of Russia and Ukraine.
Because of the war , he said many citizens of the two countries - feeling unsafe in their own country - were flocking to Bali , some taking jobs from locals , without work permits .
Last year , 60,000 Russians arrived , 20,000 each month since September when the Kremlin declared a partial mobilisation of military reservists.
Some had taken up work on the island as hairdressers, babysitters, taxi drivers or even sex workers, often without a legally required work visa .
While the number of arrivals from the Ukraine had increased , growing complaints had mainly concerned Russians . The Balinese Provincial Government formed a task force to crack down on undocumented workers.
In its first week, the task force arrested six tourists, all Russian. All six – three sex workers, two motorbike driving instructors and a tennis coach – received deportation orders.
A 27-year-old Russian national was also paraded in front of local media with a black hood over his head – a practice normally reserved for suspected drug criminals – after accusing him of working as a freelance photographer on an investment visa .
Since 2019 , eight Ukrainians were deported from Indonesia, five were jailed but not on serious charges such as drugs or murder.
One news report said there were many Russians working the popular hike to the top of Mount Agung volcano , without local guides , some of whom are unemployed . The situation has been covered by Coconuts Bali News , the leading English language newspaper , and Al Jazeera .
