Bali’s Immigration Office has confirmed that it has deployed the next phase of Operation Jagratara, a surveillance and investigation operation targeted at locating foreigners across the country who are violating immigration law, whether by overstaying their visas, conducting illegal activities, or engaging in activities not permitted by their visa category.
The Directorate General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, has headed up Operation Jagratara over the last few months. Previous phases of the operation have seen targeted deployments across Bali over two—and three-day periods.
After a period of behind-the-scenes operational work, immigration officers will be deployed again as part of Operation Jagratara’s third stage.
Karim told reporters, “Immigration surveillance is expected to create a safe situation for the Indonesian people.”
Speaking from Bali’s Benoa Harbour, the Director General deployed 125 Bali immigration officers, civil servants, patrol officers, and immigration checkpoint officers into the operation.
Karim confirmed that the surveillance of foreigners is focused on risk mitigation and security stability.
Officers who find foreigners suspected of violating immigration law, or Indonesian law more broadly, will have permission to take action against the individuals.
As part of the third phase of Operation Jagratara, Karim handed over 20 new patrol vehicles to the Bali Immigration Office to be used throughout the province. Karim wants to see immigration officers have access to greater mobility in order to carry out their duties most effectively.
Bali Immigration has not outlined how, where, or when the patrol vehicles will be used, but that the distribution of the vehicles across the island will be arranged based on the volume of foreigners in each regency. This brings the total number of immigration patrol vehicles in the province to 265.
Karim explained, “With the addition of [vehicle] infrastructure, the response to immigration in taking action will be faster, and the range of operations that can be achieved by officers will be wider and evener.”
He told reporters, “We want to ensure that Indonesia is a comfortable destination for tourists and foreign investors who obey the rules.”
Based on data from the Bali Immigration Office, a total of 412 foreign nationals have been deported from the province in the year to date. This included 90 Taiwanese citizens who were caught operating a cybercrime network from a villa in Tabanan Regency.
Foreigners who have been deported from Bali have also hailed from Australia, the USA, China, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines, Nigeria, and more.
The number of foreigners deported in Bali by the end of September already surpassed the total for all of 2024, which saw 335 foreigners deported by the end of December.
Karim explained, “Indonesia is a country that upholds the tourism sector, but comfort must be accompanied by order. We want foreigners who come to Indonesia to understand and follow the rules and norms that apply in this country.”
“We also try to ensure that those who come are qualified travelers, through the strengthening of intelligence cooperation and information exchange with other countries.”
He added, “The point is, we want to make sure that Indonesia is a comfortable destination for tourists and foreign investors who obey the rules. On the other hand, immigration supervision is expected to create a safe situation for the Indonesian people, especially from cross-border crimes or foreigners who disturb public order.”
Karim confirmed that visa violation trends change throughout the country. He explained, “In Bali, more violations are related to the tourism sector, such as visa and residence permit abuse. Meanwhile, in Jakarta, overstay violations are more prevalent.”
He noted that misuse of the pre-investment and investment visa category is frequent across both regions.
Immigration officials and local politicians in Bali have confirmed that they want to see a crackdown on visa misuse, especially in the pre-investment and investment visa categories.
Karim explained, “An Investor visa is considered cheaper because there is no need to pay ITAS every year.” Teams are reviewing the visa category, and the minimum level of investment for applicants could be increased to help resolve issues of misuse.
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Thursday 3rd of October 2024
Militarization of Immigration?
Guns and now also patrol vehicles to go after the spiritual flower power yoga crowd overstaying as they love Bali so much?
Or is this because of the recent arrest (by police) of armed Mexican cartel gangsters? If so, let the police handle those rough elements as police unit Densus 88 unit is already chasing local extremists.