Leaders in Bali have raised concerns that a number of marriages between foreigners and Balinese people are not true romantic relationships.
Many political leaders in Bali are concerned that there is a rising number of marriages between foreigners and Balinese people taking place so that foreigners can short circuit the immigration process and own land.
The issue has been formally tabled at the 12th Plenary Meeting of the Bali DPRD, by provincial politician I Gusti Ayu Mas Sumatri. He told the house “Where it is reported that some foreign tourists commit fraudulent practices by doing contract marriages with local people for the purpose of being able to buy or control property in Bali.”
He continued “Please the Governor coordinate with the relevant agencies for the supervision of foreigners in Bali, especially Immigration and Police.”
This has been an issue that has been a focal point for the Bali Provincial Government since 2023, at which time Governor Koster gave conformation on his stance regarding what is referred to as ‘contract marriages’ rather than ‘sacred marriage’.
Speaking at the time, Governor Koster explained “I need to remind [the public of] this, and we have to take it seriously.” Adding “These local residents are used by contract marriage foreigners, to simplify the transfer of their interests, namely the control of assets.”
He continued, “This is dangerous for Bali in the future, getting married for a while, getting divorced. Married for a while, divorced. Married for a while, divorced, and finally, we will face problems in the future. The land has been owned so.”
Governor Koster spoke of his concerns that any rise in such a practice would risk damage to Balinese culture and Balinese values.
He added, “The utilization of local Balinese residents by foreigners is increasing for the benefit of asset control which implies the threat of increasing function experts and land ownership, as well as the occurrence of community moral degradation.”
He concluded “Prohibiting foreigners from owning or controlling land in Bali, directly and indirectly, namely by taking advantage of marital status with local Balinese manners. We have to control this.”
While Governor Koster has given no such updates that would suggest that his stance on the matter has changed since 2023, it is clear that politicians like Sumatri want to see more done in practice to prohibit these kinds of business marriage agreements.
What this line of inquiry hasn’t spoken to yet, is the impact such investigations will have on interracial couples in Bali who are living within loving, legitimate marriages.
It is not uncommon, and in fact, there are hundreds of couples in Bali, for whom one partner is Balinese, the other is a foreign national, and part of their building a life together has involved also building a business together, oftentimes within the tourism or hospitality sector, or catering to the international market.
What is clear is that authorities in Bali are on a mission to stamp out illegal behaviour and exploitation of Balinese law of any kind, but especially in reference to the tourism sector, and the actions of foreigners on the island.
Another key focus area for the Balinese government right now is to clamp down on illegally operating private tourism villas. The Deputy Regent of Badung, Bagus Alit Sucipta, spoke with reporters this week about he and his team’s plan to improve the supervision of tourists accommodation in Badung Regency.
Badung Regency is the busiest tourism area in Bali, home to resorts like Canggu, Seminyak, and Uluwatu. Sucipta raised concerns that while tourist arrival figures are rising hotel occupancy rates are falling.
This discrepancy suggests that tourists are staying in unregistered and illegally operating accommodations across the island; whether knowingly or unknowingly.
Leaders are concerned that there is a high number of foreigners in the province operating illegal rental accommodation businesses.
He noted, “We will make regulations regarding this issue so that there are levies that go to the regional government with foreign entrepreneurs who build villas, but are using permits that are not for villas.”
Badung Regency Government revealed that in an assessment that was completed in June 2024, that 226 tourism rental villas were found to have been built and operating in the area, under the false premise on their registration permits of being luxury residential homes.
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