The Director General of Immigration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Silmy Karim, has proposed extending the period of banning foreigners who break the rules in Indonesia to 15 years.
This comes in response to the increasing number of foreigners behaving inappropriately, particularly in Bali. Karim stated that the proposal would be included in the revision of Law Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration, which is considered outdated.
The current regulation stipulates that the deterrence period is only valid for a maximum of six months and can be extended for an additional six months.
“If a foreigner has only been arrested for six months, they wouldn’t hesitate to return. However, if they arrive two years later, for instance, it will cause trouble. Therefore, we need the authority to reject individuals for five, 10, or 15 years,” recently stated Karim during a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission III.
Karim aims to prevent foreigners with a history of misconduct in Indonesia from entering the country for an extended period. Similar measures are reportedly in place in the United States, where individuals with outstanding debts or unpaid credit card bills are barred from entry.
“This is why we propose a new mechanism. We even seek changes to the immigration law because it is no longer able to address the current dynamics,” he explained.
Commission III has expressed support for this proposal, with many faction members expressing their anger over the numerous incidents involving misbehaving foreigners in Bali.
“We fully support this because recently, a Russian foreigner who caused trouble was arrested by Bali immigration and subsequently deported. Six months after being released, the individual committed another crime by extorting people in Bali. Therefore, we wholeheartedly support your plan,” said one council member during the meeting.