Accommodation providers in Bali have been issued with updated guidance to help keep track of all foreigners on the island.
The move comes as Bali looks to crack down on foreigners who violate the conditions of their visas by working, running businesses, and even engaging in criminal activity. Moving forward, all accommodation providers in Bali will have to report all overnight guests to immigration.
Although all accommodation providers are supposed to keep a record of all overnight guests, and formally report all overnight guests to immigration, this has not always been the case. The Head of the Singaraja Immigration Office, Hendra Setiawan has told the media about what is now expected of accommodation providers and the implications for tourists.
He confirmed that there will be legal consequences if accommodation providers do not report their guests to immigration. This applies to big hotels and resorts but is especially focused on smaller guesthouses, B&Bs, Airbnbs, private villas, and mid-term homestay accommodation rentals.
Setiawan told reporters that all accommodation providers must use the Foreigner Monitoring Application (APOA) and confirmed that he and his teams are conducting site visits and spot checks on accommodation providers in Buleleng Regency, Jembrana Regency, and Karangasem Regency.
Setiawan cited that the implementation of APOA is based on Law Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration and its amendments in Law Number 63 of 2024. Article 72 paragraphs (1) and (2) of the law states that the owner or manager of accommodation is required to provide information regarding foreign guests staying if requested by immigration officers.
He explained “We require hotels, guesthouses, and villas to report. So that foreign guests are detected by immigration. The goal is to detect the presence of foreigners. To find out whether their permits are overstayed, entered illegally or not.”
Adding “The current obstacle is collecting data in remote areas, it must be visited one by one. If the manager does not report, there are sanctions for the manager related to immigration crimes.”
Setiawan noted that the APOA has been in effect since 2024 but that a series of program updates were needed for the system to operate optimally. Now the system is working efficiently the grace period for accommodation hosts is over and all foreigners staying overnight must be added to the system.
In a press statement issued in March 2025 the Director of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement, Yuldi Yusman, confirmed that the APOA was fully operational.
Yusman explains “Immigration has the authority to request foreign data from hotels or other places that function as accommodation in this case we use APOA as the platform. The owner or manager of the inn just needs to register guests through this application, then the data can be accessed by the Immigration officer for surveillance purposes.”
Setiawan added that he and his teams are now working on mapping put all villas and guesthouses in the three regencies and told reporters “Now it is still being distributed to hotels and villas. Their enthusiasm (of accommodation managers) is already good. The data has been submitted to us. It’s just that those in remote areas must also be visited because our area reaches Jembrana and Karangasem.”
This also means that all foreigners in Bali must stay at legally registered accommodation businesses or with their social visa sponsors or family members, as stipulated in their visa applications.
Again, this has technically always been the case; however, until the implementation of these laws has been acknowledged to be inconsistent throughout Bali.
Moving forward tourists and foreigners in Bali can expect to have to show their passport and visa when checking into an accommodation or staying overnight at any premises on the island.
Tourists visiting Bali also have a responsibility to ensure that they are staying at legally registered accommodation, as it stipulated “Circular Letter (SE) No. 07 of 2025 concerning New Regulations for Foreign Tourists During Their Stay in Bali” – the policy update stated that tourists must “Stay in licensed accommodation and using official transportation services.” The full updated list of Do’s and Don’t’s for Bali tourists can be found here.
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