Jakarta. The government recently announced that Indonesian and foreign children aged six and older could now use autogates to enter or exit Indonesia.

The policy officially entered into force on Aug. 26.

Before it came into effect, only children aged 14 and above could use the autogates available at Soekarno-Hatta and Ngurah Rai International Airports. Parents whose children were younger had to go through manual immigration checks.

"The increasingly sophisticated face recognition technology allows facial detection even in children as young as six years old. With this, we hope that the use of autogates can be more optimal and facilitate travel, especially for families," Immigration Director General Silmy Karim was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

"Currently, there are nearly 200 autogates installed. Autogates are available at immigration checkpoints with high traffic, such as Soekarno-Hatta and Ngurah Rai airports," Silmy said.

An autogate is an automated gate that allows passengers to pass through immigration checks quickly and easily. This system combines facial recognition technology and border management, thus preventing long lines. Checks only take 12-25 seconds per passenger.

Both Indonesian and foreign citizens who meet the requirements can use this facility. 

The technology helps pave the way for a more seamless immigration service ecosystem, from online visa applications to airport checks.

With a volume of 20,865,311 people entering and exiting Indonesia in the first half of 2024, the immigration office sees the need to develop digital innovations for a more efficient service.

"We tried to benchmark the best practices of using autogates in other countries. In Singapore, for example, six year olds and older can use autogates. So I challenged my team to implement this in Indonesia. It was not easy, especially in adjusting the system and so on, but thank God our efforts have paid off," said Silmy. 

He added: "We want to provide a memorable travel experience for all passengers, especially children. With autogates, the checking process becomes faster and easier. Children will feel more comfortable going through immigration. This is part of our effort to provide better immigration services."