Australians in Bali among foreigners investigated for breaching visa permits

Australian tourists are among those being investigated by Indonesian authorities, as the popular island intensifies its crackdown on rule violations.

Australians are among nine tourists being investigated by Indonesian authorities for breaking conditions on their visa permits.

Immigration officials in Bali have intensified efforts to crackdown on tourists, foreign workers, and expats who are violating rules, both major and minor.

The Singaraja Immigration Office in Buleleng Regency has set up a taskforce to inspect foreigners suspected of violating their residency permits in Buleleng, Karangasem, and Jembrana Regencies.

Targeted investigations and surveillance operations were carried out across two days, on August 21 and 22.

Australians are among nine tourists being investigated by Indonesian authorities for breaking conditions on their visa permits. Picture: AFP

The Head of the Singaraja Immigration Office, Hendra Setiawan, told local media that his teams had detained nine foreigners in total, including three from Australia and others from China, Germany, Japan, and Romania.

“Our team combed a number of accommodations and villas in the Buleleng, Karangasem, and Jembrana areas, which were suspected of being places of activity for foreigners,” he said.

“As a result, we found nine foreigners at the operation locations who were suspected of carrying out activities that were not in accordance with their residence permits.”

He noted that further investigations would be carried out on these individuals and others who are suspected of breaking their visa conditions.

“We also hope for an active role from the public in reporting via the special hotline, especially regarding foreign activities and the potential to disrupt public order,” Mr Setiawan said.

Authorities have yet to reveal any further details on the kinds of visa violations the nine foreigners had been arrested for.

Australians dominated arrival numbers to Bali this year with 877,329 visitors. Picture: iStock.

So far this year, many foreigners have been arrested for violating public order, such as theft, traffic violations, and for “throwing tantrums” as immigration officials have been describing incidences of erratic and disruptive behaviour.

Foreigners have been arrested for violating visa conditions, including working on tourist visas, living on pre-investment visas, or running businesses without the necessary permits and licenses.

In July, the immigration office confirmed that 24 foreigners had been arrested for violating the conditions of their visas and that these individuals were identified as a result of the ongoing surveillance operations.

Some of these violations included overstays, while others were arrested for invalid travel documents, and some were arrested on suspicion of working illegally or operating illegal businesses in Bali.

Earlier this month, Indonesian officials said they were cracking down on businesses employing foreigners amid an increase in workers caught breaking their visa conditions.

The Foreigner Surveillance Team, known as Pora Bali, said they were targeting tourist hotspots Seminyak and Canggu first, before moving on to other resorts in Badung.

Balinese officials have been vocal about their zero-tolerance approach to foreigners breaking the rules of their visa, whether this be tourists, business owners, investors, potential investors, or employed workers.

Over the past two years, there has been a notable rise in the number of foreigners caught working in Bali without the correct visa or business permits.