It is clear that Bali Immigration teams are not playing around when it comes to catching and holding to account foreigners who have been found to be abusing the visa system in the country.
Bali’s Denpasar Immigration Office has just confirmed the arrest of six foreigners found to be violating the conditions of their visas in big ways.
All six of the foreigners in question are now subject to immigration administrative action in the form of deportation and detention based on Article 75, paragraph 1 of Law No. 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration. The foreigners were paraded at an Immigration Department press conference held on Tuesday 4th February, all will be deported in the coming days.
Officials have confirmed that the six men all from the UK, Canada, Ghana, and India and were detained on individual and unconnected charges. The Head of the Denpasar Immigration Office Ridha Sah Putra, explained that the six men were arrested as a part of a targeted operation. He revealed that the British citizen, known by his initials KSM, was arrested on the grounds of missing his visa to run an illegal motorcycle rental business in Nusa Penida.
Putra told reporters “KSM has a visit residence permit that is valid until February 11, 2025. However, he instead runs a motorcycle rental business that is not in accordance with the permit he has.”
In Indonesia, any kind of visa is often referred to and directly translated to ‘residence permit’, even if the foreigner in question is not using said visa to be a formal, permanent, or long-term resident in the country.
KSM is believed to have been operating the business for the last 6-12 months, renting out three to four motorcycles for around IDR 150,000 a day.
Immigration officials were aware that KSM is married to his Indonesian citizen wife, but that nevertheless, he did not a Limited Residence Permit (ITAS) which allows foreigners to work or do business in Indonesia based on Article 61 of Law No. 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration.
Also in the lineup was Canadian citizen CBY, who was arrested by South Denpasar Police after he was suspected of conducting theft at an art store in the beach resort of Sanur. He, like KSM, will be deported.
The Ghanan national, known by his initials RM, was arrested by immigration officials after he overstayed his visa on arrival by nearly six years.
RM is known to have entered Indonesia on a 30-day visa on arrival back in 2019 and was arrested after public reports about his behavior.
Three Indian nationals completed the group of six deportees. The three men were working together and were arrested at a house in Sidakarya in South Denpasar as part of a joint mission by Immigration, BAIS, BIN, and Intelkam Polda Bali.
The three men have been found guilty of operating a visa scam operation, targeting Indian nationals within India, and falsifying visas and work permits to Canada.
Purta confirmed, “Their mode is to contact the victim in India via video call and offer visa-making services and travel tickets to Canada. The victims who were deceived were nine people with a total loss of IDR 3 billion.”
Purta confirmed to the press, “We continue to increase surveillance with selective policies. Only foreigners who provide benefits and do not endanger public order are allowed to live in Indonesia.”
He also called on the public to play an active role in reporting alleged immigration violations so that Bali remains a safe and high-quality tourist destination.
Foreigners in Bali are reminded that it is illegal to work or conduct income-generating activities in Indonesia on a visa on arrival, or socio-cultural visa.
Foreigners using pre-investment and investment visas in Bali must also be extremely mindful of the activities that they take part in and be aware that immigration teams are actively monitoring the activities of foreigners using these visa categories, especially due to the sharp rise in the number of people, reported to be abusing the system.
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