Bali Immigration Tourist Crack Down Intensifies Finding Serious Violations

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As Bali continues efforts to crack down on foreigners breaking the law in the province, patrol teams have been deployed across the island.

Intensive patrols have uncovered some serious offenses by tourists in the area, just as Indonesia has increased jail time for those found guilty of immigration-related charges.

Tourists visiting Bali in the coming months will see more immigration officers out on patrol. The deployment comes as part of Operation Jagratara, ordered by the Directorate General of Immigration himself, Silmy Karim.

In the last month, Karim has personally visited Bali to have over the keys to new patrol vehicles to help increase mobility for immigration officers seeking to make sure Bali remains safe and harmonious for both local residents and tourists. 

As part of Operation Jagratara, officers conducted patrols in central Ubud last week. As confirmed by Bali Immigration, these patrols aim to maintain security and ensure foreigners’ compliance with immigration regulations in the Bali region, especially in destinations that are frequently visited by foreign tourists.

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Immigration has spoken to the press regarding the patrol and shared that last week’s patrols began at 4pm, one of the busiest times of day in central Ubud, and involved a team from the Intelligence and Immigration Enforcement Section of the Denpasar Class I TPI Immigration Office.

In an interview, the Head of the Denpasar Class I TPI Immigration Office, Ridha Sah Putra, explained that this patrol targeted two main locations; Jalan Monkey Forest and Ubud Art Market, which are the tourist centers of Ubud. 

During last week’s patrols in Ubud, the teams found no violations but have confirmed that patrols will continue to be carried out in the area.

Violations were found, however, by immigration teams as part of Operation Jagratara patrols conducted elsewhere on the island. 

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The Head of the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Pramella Yunidar Pasaribu, told reporters. “This monitoring is carried out to ensure that all foreigners in Bali comply with immigration regulations. We want to keep Bali safe and conducive for tourists and local residents.”

She added “Immigration patrols will continue to be carried out routinely in various other locations in Bali that are tourist centers to ensure that security and order are maintained.”

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Serious violations were found by immigration teams from Ngurah Rai Immigration. Ten foreign nations have been detained by immigration officials after a raid on a ‘spa’ in the tourist resort of Kuta. The violations included serious immigration offences such as overstaying, and conducting illegal activities and work on tourism visas. 

The Head of the Class I Immigration Office for TPI Ngurah Rai Suhendra said that the foreign nationals who were secured by officers came from a range of countries, including Uganda, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, all of whom are female.

All ten were detained on the grounds of immigration offenses and for engaging in sex work. 

Speaking separately, the Head of Information and Communication Section of Class I Special Immigration Office TPI Ngurah Rai, Nyoman Asta, revealed strong evidence pointing to the alleged misuse of residence permits for illegal activities.

He explained, “We found strong evidence in the form of online service offers and conversations via WhatsApp regarding the rates offered. For foreign nationals from Uganda, the rate reached USD 300, while for other foreign nationals, it was around IDR 6.5 million.”

He added, “Immigration crimes are specific. If there is an alleged misuse of a residence permit, immigration has the authority to provide administrative action such as deportation or projustisia action.”

Seven of the foreign nationals have already been deported, and others have been detained at the Denpasar Immigration Detention Center pending further investigation.

He noted, “In several cases, we also work with the police to follow up on allegations of other crimes such as document forgery, drugs, and so on.” Other foreign nationals, including a couple from Australia, were also arrested in connection with illegal ‘spa’ businesses in Bali last week.