Immigration Officials In Bali Confirm Deportation Of More Tourists

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Immigration officials in Bali have confirmed the deportation of more foreign tourists from the island.

The Denpasar Immigration Office has announced the deportation of five foreigners from the Island of the Gods who were found to have broken the conditions of their visa and abused the law. 

Late last month, Indonesia’s Director General of Immigration announced the creation of a new task force that will be working to hold badly behaved tourists to account in Bali.

The creation of the Bali Becik Task Force by the Director General of Immigration comes alongside existing task forces already in operation in Bali.

The provincial government of Bali created two task forces to crack down on badly behaved foreigners on the island; the first was to monitor those suspected of breaking the conditions of their visa, and the second task force was focused on eliminating illegal and culturally disrespectful behavior. 

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The Bali Becik Task Force has been assigned a target of 100 ‘control operations’ every month between now and the end of the year.

The Director General of Immigration, Silmy Karim, told reporters that the presence of the new Bali Becik Task Force will ensure “the level of violations of laws and norms by foreigners in Bali will decrease. Following the issuance of 12 Obligations and 8 Prohibitions for Foreigners by the Provincial Government of Bali.”

While many of the tourists who will be investigated during control operations will face verbal warnings, restorative justice meetings, and even fines, the public is anticipating an increase in deportations. 

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This week the Denpasar Immigration Office confirmed the deportation of six foreigners from Bali. The Head of Class I Immigration Office of TPI, Denpasar Tedy Riyandi, announced that three Russian citizens, one Ukrainian passport holder, one British citizen, and an Italian citizen were all deported from Bali in July. 

Riyandi said, “The violations committed by the [forginers] are varied, ranging from overstay, abuse of residence permits, to non-compliance with legal regulations. For the violation, as many as five persons have been deported and one placed in the Immigration Detention House.”

He also confirmed that a joint immigration control operation was carried out on the 10th of July in Ubud. The immigration control operation involved officers from twenty-three different departments and is an example of the kind of thorough approach immigration will be taking moving forward.

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Riyandi said, “We continue to be committed to conducting strict, measured yet humane monitoring and law enforcement of [forginers] living in the Bali region. This is done to ensure order and safety are maintained while supporting economic growth through the tourism sector.”

The raids and control operations are just one of the many solutions being implemented in Bali right now. In order to ensure that concerned citizens have a space to raise formal complaints about friends on the island, officials have launched a dedicated hotline. 

The hotline is operated in partnership with the Bali Becik Task Force, and officers have been ordered to follow up on all reports of foreigners behaving badly within 72 hours. 

At the launch of the hotline last week, Director General Karim said, “We, from the Bali Becik Task Force, invite the people of Bali to report foreigners who violate the hotline number 08 139 9679 966.”

He added, “Community participation is certainly very much needed in supervising and taking action against unruly tourists.” 

The authorities have not yet shared any details about the number of calls they are receiving every day, but it is clear that the strategies put in place to help tackle the issue of tourists breaking the law in Bali are starting to have an effect.

Director General Karim has suggested in the last few weeks that the tide is starting to turn but that continued collaborative efforts are needed to ensure that Bali receives the respect it deserves from tourists and that the island remains a safe and enjoyable destination for travelers from all over the world.