No. Children under 6 cannot use the autogates at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport (DPS) in 2027; an immigration officer must clear them at a manned counter. Families handle it three ways: queue at the counters together, split lanes, or book an escorted fast track counter at $105 per adult, $70 per child aged 2–5, infants free.
How the DPS autogates work in 2027
The autogates in the DPS arrival hall replace the officer’s stamp with machine checks. You scan the photo page of a chipped passport, a camera matches your face against the photo stored in the chip, the system checks your passport number against an approved e-VOA or visa-exempt registration, and the gate opens. For an adult with paperwork in order, the whole exchange takes a minute or two, which is why solo travellers love the gates.
Immigration keeps manned counters running beside the gates for everyone the machines cannot process: unreadable or damaged passport chips, faces the camera cannot match, travellers paying their visa on arrival in cash at the counter, and, most relevant for this article, young children.
Who can and cannot use the e-gates
Here is the practical eligibility picture as it applies at DPS. Treat the age rule as fixed and the rest as officer discretion: staff redirect anyone the machines reject, and no one is fined or penalised for being waved to a counter.
| Traveller | Autogate? | Where processed |
|---|---|---|
| Adult with chipped passport + e-VOA approved before flying | Yes | Autogate, usually 1–2 minutes |
| Child 6 or older with own chipped passport + own e-VOA | Generally yes | Autogate, subject to camera height and officer discretion |
| Child under 6 | No | Manned counter, with an accompanying adult |
| Infant under 2 | No | Manned counter, carried by a parent |
| Anyone paying VOA in cash at the arrival counter | No | Officer lane after payment |
| Damaged or non-biometric passport | No | Manned counter |
Two reasons behind the under-6 rule are worth understanding, because they explain why it will not quietly disappear. First, facial recognition is unreliable on young children: faces change fast, and a passport photo taken at age two barely resembles the same child at five. Second, an officer is required to sight a young child and the accompanying adult together, a basic child-protection check that no machine performs. The rule is a safeguard, not a bureaucratic leftover.
The three ways families actually handle it
Option 1: the whole family queues at the manned counters
This is what most families do, and it costs nothing. Everyone stays together, and one officer processes all the passports in a single batch, which is genuinely efficient once you reach the desk. The problem is reaching the desk. Outside peak season, mid-morning arrivals often clear in 20–45 minutes. During the December–January and July–August evening waves, the manual queue regularly runs 1–2 hours, and it is the slowest line in the hall precisely because every family, every cash-VOA payer, and every rejected autogate case ends up in it.
Option 2: split the family across lanes
Splitting is allowed: adults and children 6+ take the e-gates while one parent escorts the under-6s to a counter. In practice it rarely saves real time. The e-gate group simply waits at the baggage carousel while the counter group queues, so the family exits at the speed of its slowest member. It also loads one parent with every under-6 passport, the visa confirmations, and the children themselves, all at once. And officers sometimes call for the second parent anyway when documents raise questions, for example when a child’s surname differs from the escorting parent’s. If you do split, keep it to one child under 6 per adult and agree a meeting point at the carousel before anyone scans a gate.
Option 3: an escorted fast track counter
The third route is the one we sell, so judge this paragraph accordingly. A licensed agent meets you at the airbridge, takes the whole family through the fast track service lane to a staffed counter, and one officer processes everyone together, typically in 5–8 minutes instead of the standard 60–120 in peak periods. Nobody is separated, nobody carries the paperwork alone, and the agent handles stroller collection and bags afterwards. The Family Fast Track service starts at $280 for a family of three; per person it is $105 per adult, $70 per child aged 2–5, and infants under 2 are free.
What the rule costs you: the time math
| Scenario | Typical immigration time |
|---|---|
| Solo adult, autogate, off-peak | 2–5 minutes |
| Family with under-6s, manned counter, off-peak mid-morning | 20–45 minutes |
| Family with under-6s, manned counter, peak evening wave | 60–120 minutes |
| Family with fast track escort, any period | 5–8 minutes |
These are estimates, and honest ones: arrival waves shift with flight schedules, and a quiet Tuesday in February behaves nothing like the first Saturday of the Australian school holidays. Run the value calculation yourself. A family of three paying $280 and saving roughly 55–115 minutes in peak season is spending about $2.40–$5.10 per minute recovered, with two tired children in the equation. The same $280 spent to skip a 25-minute off-peak queue is poor value, and we say so on our own pricing page.
Documents to have ready for each child
Most family delays at the counter are paperwork problems, not queue problems. Before you fly, check each item per child:
- Their own passport. Every child, including infants, needs an individual passport with at least six months’ validity.
- Their own visa. The e-VOA is issued per passport, and the IDR 500,000 government fee (about $32) applies to each one, infants included. Apply before flying using the official channel; our e-VOA guide walks through the common mistakes, and a wrong passport number on one child’s application stalls the whole family.
- Tourism levy receipts. The IDR 150,000 Bali tourism levy applies per foreign visitor. Pay it online before departure and keep the QR receipts together; see the tourism levy guide for the current process.
- A birth certificate copy if a child’s surname differs from the accompanying parent’s. Officers do not always ask, but when they do, having it saves a long conversation.
- A consent letter if one parent travels alone with the children. Rarely requested at DPS, routinely requested by airlines at check-in, so carry it anyway.
When you should not pay for help
Transparency first: plenty of families clear DPS comfortably without spending anything beyond the government fees.
- All your children are 6 or older with their own e-VOAs and paid levies. They can use the gates with you, and the under-6 rule simply does not apply to your family.
- You land mid-morning outside December–January and July–August. The manual counters are often quiet enough that the under-6 detour costs you half an hour, not two hours.
- You want guidance, not a shortcut. Meet & Greet at $50 per person gets you an agent who navigates the building with you but does not skip any line. For a confident family that just wants a local pair of hands, it is the cheaper honest option.
The calculation flips with any of the following: an arrival between roughly 9 pm and midnight when the wide-body waves stack up, travel in the two peak windows, more than one child under 6, or an onward connection where losing 90 minutes breaks something expensive. For the full cost-benefit reasoning, see our earlier post on whether fast track is worth it for families.
Booking notes for 2027
If you do book, children’s ages drive the price, so state them exactly: ages 2–5 pay the child rate, infants under 2 are free on every tier, and children 6+ pay the adult rate because they queue like adults. Groups of five or more get 10% off, ten or more 15%. Refunds are family-realistic: full refund with more than 24 hours’ notice, 50% between 12 and 24 hours, free reschedule inside 12 hours. The same licensed team has operated at DPS under the Bali Fast Track Airport brand since 2009 and holds a 4.8-star rating. One last practical note: if you plan to self-drive from the airport, autogates and fast track do nothing for the drive itself, so arrange a rental car with child seats fitted before you land rather than negotiating one at the kerb.
FAQ
What is the age limit for the autogates at Bali airport?
Children under 6 cannot use the autogates at DPS and must be processed by an immigration officer at a manned counter. Travellers aged 6 and over can generally use the gates if they hold their own chipped passport and an approved e-VOA or visa-exempt registration.
Why can’t young children use the e-gates?
Two reasons. Facial recognition is unreliable on young children because their faces change quickly, so the camera cannot dependably match a child to their passport chip photo. And an officer must sight a young child together with the accompanying adult as a child-protection check, which a machine cannot do.
Can parents use the autogate while their child goes to the counter?
Yes, splitting lanes is allowed, but it rarely saves time. The e-gate group waits at the baggage carousel while the counter group queues, so the family exits at the pace of the slowest member. Most families stay together at the manned counter, or book an escorted counter and clear as one group.
Does every child need their own visa for Bali?
Yes. The e-VOA is issued per passport, and the IDR 500,000 government fee (about $32) applies to each traveller, including infants. Apply for every family member before flying; a single error on one child’s application holds up the entire family at immigration.
Do children pay the Bali tourism levy?
The IDR 150,000 tourism levy applies per foreign visitor. Pay it online before departure and keep each QR receipt accessible. Unresolved levy payments get sorted at the airport, which is exactly where you do not want extra admin with small children in tow.
How much time does a fast track escort save a family?
An escorted counter typically takes 5–8 minutes against 60–120 minutes in the standard manual queue during peak evening waves. Off-peak the gap narrows to perhaps 20–40 minutes, which is why we recommend paying for it mainly in December–January, July–August, and for late-night arrivals.
Do I need a birth certificate or consent letter for my child at DPS?
Carry a birth certificate copy if the child’s surname differs from yours, and a consent letter if one parent travels alone. DPS officers request them only occasionally, but airlines ask at check-in more often, and producing the document immediately turns a potential 20-minute question into a 20-second one.