“Prison sentence for an expired visa,”
“20 years in prison for illegal immigrants,” and “life imprisonment for overstaying” — such alarming headlines appeared in English-language media in Bali recently, causing widespread panic, including among our editorial team.
While Indonesia’s immigration authorities have indeed introduced new regulations, they are not as radical as they first appear. We reached out to visa experts from LegalIndonesia for clarification, and it turns out the situation is not as dire as it seems.
For those who neglect their visa or break Indonesia’s laws, the new rules mean they could face a lifetime ban from the paradise island. The changes significantly extend the blacklisting period for deported individuals, which previously lasted six months. After this period, individuals could initiate a process to lift the ban, although it wasn’t easy, it was still possible. Now, the ban period can be extended to 10 years or, in some cases, even 20 years or life, particularly for those deported for criminal offenses.
The regulations don’t just target visa violations but also include overstays and illegal activities in a broader sense. These developments come at a time when Indonesia’s Immigration Department is ramping up efforts to crack down on foreigners who fail to respect the country’s laws. The issue is particularly felt in Bali, where rapid growth of foreign-owned businesses, many of which operate illegally, has led to an overwhelming number of violations.
In 2024 alone, more than 400 people have been deported from Bali, mostly for breaking immigration laws. To curb the rise in foreign violations, Indonesia’s Immigration Department is ready to implement various measures. The head of Indonesia’s Immigration Office, Silmy Karim, confirmed the formal adoption of the Third Amendment Bill to Law No. 6 of 2011 on Immigration.
“With the introduction of this new rule, the penalties, which were previously only six months to a year, have now been increased to 10 years, plus another 10 years, meaning up to 20 years or even life in some cases,” Karim explained.
This policy update is designed to tackle the growing number of offenders who overstay their visas by months or even years. The next group to face tighter restrictions will be those using investor and pre-investor visas, which have been found to be exploited by many foreigners who do not meet the requirements for KITAS and KITAP visas. Moreover, obtaining these visas will soon become much more difficult.
During the launch of the next phase of immigration raids, called “Operation Jagrathara” in Benoa, Bali, Silmy Karim stated: “The investor visa is considered cheaper because there is no need to pay for ITAS annually. Upon closer inspection, however, the capital requirements were found to be just 1 billion rupiah, which is too low. We are going to change this, and until the end of December, we are giving a limited opportunity for people to increase their capital to 10 billion rupiah. This is the first step we need to take.”
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