Authorities Target Visa Checks On Bali Businesses Employing Foreigners 

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Top authorities in Bali have confirmed that they are targeting visa and permit checks on businesses emptying foreigners or doing business in partnership with foreigners in the island’s most rapidly developing resorts. 

The Foreigner Surveillance Team, known as Pora Bali, has confirmed to the press that they are intensifying checks on business in the Seminyak and Canggu areas first.

They will move on to other resorts in Badung shortly, but with so many foreigners working and running businesses in these two tourist hotspots, there are a lot of checks to be completed. 

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The Foreign Surveillance Team is actually comprised of officers from the Bali High Prosecutor’s Office, the Bali Provincial Police, the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), and the Bali Regional State Intelligence Agency (Binda).

They are working collaboratively to ensure compliance with immigration rules. Leaders in Bali and from the central government have been vocal about their zero-tolerance approach to foreigners breaking the rules of their visa, whether this be tourists, business owners, investors, potential investors, or employed workers. 

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Speaking to the press following a series of spot checks on restaurants in Bali that employ foreigners, the Head of Immigration Intelligence and Enforcement Division, Setyo Budiwardoyo, revealed that the team is approaching the checks with a ‘sympathetic approach’ so as not to initiate business owners and create tensions. 

Budiwardoyo explained, “We want to ensure that all business owners understand the applicable rules without feeling pressured so that this supervision is carried out with caution.”

In theory, all foreigners working or conducting business activities in Bali should be doing so with the correct visas, permits, and licenses, so if everything is above board, these spot checks are a simple formality: a paperwork review. 

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Budiwardoyo added that the next round of spot checks in Seminyak and Canggu will focus on nightlife and entertainment venues. “Night entertainment venues receive special attention because of the higher potential for violations, including criminal activity that may involve foreigners.”

Speaking separately, the Head of the Regional Office of the Bali Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Pramella Yunidar Pasaribu, told the press, “We also appeal to the entire community to report all forms of violations involving foreigners to the Pora Team of Bali Province or the nearest Immigration office, in order to maintain order and security together.”

The Pora Bali Team has been told that in the instance that they discover a foreigner or business breaking the conditions of visas, permits, or licenses, swift actions should be taken to reiterate the zero tolerance approach and ensure that justice is served and legal order resumed.

This is all part of a wider mission to ensure that Bali ‘maintains a positive image as a tourist and business destination.’

Over the last two years, there has been a notable rise in the number of foreigners caught working in Bali without the correct visa or business permits.

Many feel that the grey area created by digital nomadism has enabled some foreigners to operate businesses in Bali on tourist visas. 

Indonesia has now launched the Golden Visa and a series of improved range of socio-cultural visa options for digital nomads. Many of the socio-cultural visas enable digital nomads or tourists to conduct income-generating work online under specific circumstances.

For example, where the income is generated either exclusively online or for services and products sold and utilized outside of Indonesia while using destinations like Bali as a base.

However, these socio-cultural visas prohibit foreigners from engaging in work activities within the country and a very limited range of business activities.

There were also many reports of foreigners misusing the pre-investment visa options as a means of residing in Bali for longer periods, with no intention to explore or commit to investing in businesses or development projects in Indonesia. 

In an interview last week, the Head of the Bali Tourism Office, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, spoke with the Indonesian Tourism Minister, Sandiaga Uno, to explain the ways in which foreigners have been caught breaking the conditions of their visas in Bali.

He explained, “[Regarding foreigners doing business], of course, this requires supervision and immediate report to the authorities because we have also seen how foreigners [do business] in Bali. There are land service brokers, model and photographers, motorbike rentals, salons, and even selling vegetables.”