It has always been the case that foreign nationals in Indonesia must carry their identification and stay permit documents with them at all times. However, over the year, this is something that both immigration and security officials and foreigners have become more relaxed about.
Not only is this a legal requirement, but immigration officers are carrying out spot checks on an increasingly regular basis throughout the island.
This is part of a province-wide initiative aimed at preventing foreigners from overstaying their visas and violating their visa conditions. Now, a team of immigration officers, wearing security vests and body cams, is conducting spot checks on tourists, asking to review their passports and questioning them about their intentions and activities on the island.
The team has been spotted out in Legian, in Nusa Dua, and this week in Ubud. Officers can be recognized by their blue and black uniforms, as well as security vests branded with ‘IMMIGRATION’ badges.
Tourists and foreigners in Bali who get stopped by the immigration task force can expect to be asked to produce their passports and stay permits.
This should be the real passport, not a photocopy or other ID card. Officers are also questioning tourists as to their nationality, address in Bali, their travel plans, arrival and departure dates, and plans for their stay.
However, many tourists in Bali have reservations about carrying their passports with them at all times, fearing theft or damage. There are currently no criminal ramifications for not carrying a passport at all times, despite it being a legal requirement.
Officers who have encountered tourists without their passports on their person have issued verbal warnings. In the future, officers may request tourists to check in with their closest immigration office or maybe even conduct a follow-up at their accommodation.
These new spot checks have arisen as a result of a sharp rise in the number of immigration violations detected by Indonesia’s Immigration over the past year, with a significant increase during the first four months of the year.
The Indonesian Minister for Immigration, Agus Andrianto, told reporters in early August, “The establishment of this Immigration Patrol Task Force is a follow-up from the President’s direction to ensure stability and security in Bali as one of Indonesia’s main tourist destinations.”
Speaking at the deployment ceremony for the new immigration task force team, the Acting Director General of Immigration, Yuldi Yusman, also shared, “Patrol Officers will patrol the predetermined route, especially in areas prone to immigration violations or areas where [international tourist] activities are concentrated. The patrol movement schedule is carried out periodically and randomly to avoid predictable patterns.”
The immigration task force officers are a separate group from the Bali Tourism Task Force, which has been tasked with conducting spot checks on tourists at top attractions to ensure they have paid their Bali Tourism Tax Levy. The IDR 150,000 mandatory tourism tax came into effect in February 2024, but within the first year of the policy being in place, as few as 30% of tourists made the payment.
The payment can be made most easily at the LoveBali website or app. In the coming months, more tour and travel agents in Bali will become payment points for those already on the island.
Once paid, tourists are issued a QR-code voucher that they must present to officers should they be subject to a spot check.
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