Everyone has probably heard that the immigration patrol officers are already on the streets of Bali. But what exactly do they check, whom do they stop, and what questions do they ask? Some answers can be found in a video posted by the immigration service on its account.
According to the opening title, the video was filmed during a raid by officers in the vicinity of Nusa Dua beach. Two patrol officers (they indeed seem to wear bulletproof vests) question a man on a bicycle:
– How long have you been in Bali?
– 12 days.
– Are you alone?
– No, I'm with my wife.
– 12 days.
– Are you alone?
– No, I'm with my wife.
Later in the footage, there's a cut, and one of the patrol officers asks whether the tourists carry a passport with them. The man answers: "No."
"You must carry your passport everywhere," the officer tells him. The woman promises to follow this recommendation next time.
It seems that the officers operate according to a set pattern. The first question is how long you've been in Bali. If you're on holiday and have a return ticket home, you can answer without any concerns. However, if you've been doing visa runs for a year and are living in Bali on a tourist visa, then when answering this question, state the date of your last entry into Indonesia, as this is formally your length of stay. If you start telling the officers that you've been living on the island for a long time but have a VoA and are constantly leaving, it might raise even more questions.
Regarding the documents that officers recommend carrying with you, there's nothing unlawful about this requirement. In many countries, even citizens are recommended to do so, let alone foreigners. However, it seems the immigration patrol officers ask for the passport as a formality.
This is well illustrated in the same video. Two Australians initially got quite tense when an officer stopped them and said it was an inspection (the women were already ready to open their backpacks for inspection). When asked to show documents or a residence permit, they calmly replied: “But we don't have them, we just went out for a walk on the beach.” After which the patrol officers politely took their leave and wished them to enjoy Bali.
The exemplary interaction with officers of the new service was demonstrated by a Chinese citizen. He might have been somewhat lucky as he was stopped for a check by female officers - but the Chinese tourist also showed great politeness. Asked what he plans to do in Bali, he himself asked for recommendations on what to visit. A minute later, he was already taking photos with the embarrassed patrol officers.
It appears the patrol officers behave as politely and courteously as possible. The set of questions is standard; they don't apply any penalties in case a tourist, for instance, lacks documents with a visa. At least, not yet. We'll see how it develops further. But in any case, it's better to remain calm and not show dissatisfaction or irritation when encountering the patrol.
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