At least 18 foreign nationals faced immigration sanctions in the Cilacap Regency, of which 15 have been deported to their country of origin.
The Immigration Office Class II Cilacap carried out the immigration administrative actions (TAK) throughout 2021.
The other three foreigners faced detention. Two were held at Semarang Immigration Detention Centre while the other was detained at the Immigration Detention Centre in Cilacap.
The deported foreigners break down like this: seven from Iran, three from Taiwan, two from Malaysia, one from Nigeria, one each from the US, India, Peru, Bulgaria, and the UK.
Head of Immigration Information and Communication Facilities Class II Immigration Office Cilacap Yan Edo Supomo explained that, apart from deportations, his records show that throughout 2021, Cilacap Regency receive 1,391 foreign ship crew members across 84 ships through the immigration checkpoint at Tanjung Intan Port, Cilacap.
Even though they entered the waters of Cilacap, the 1,391 foreign crew members were not allowed to continue to the mainland.
The procedure, he explained, is in accordance with the Quarantine Law. This states that foreign crew members are not allowed to enter Indonesia. This was enforced because it was feared that ship crews could bring in new COVID-19 variants.
Apart from that, throughout 2021, 111 foreigners were issued a KITAS (limited stay permit), 282 foreigners have extended their KITAS, one foreigner extended their KITAP (permanent stay permit), and 123 foreigners extended their ITK (visit stay permit).
“These are permits to stay for foreigners who are interested in school or work,” he said.
Supomo continued that his party has issued 8,527 48-page passports throughout 2021. This number decreased from the previous year which saw 15,389 passports issued.
The decline in applications for passports was caused by several factors, including lockdowns in a number of countries and the resumption of the Hajj pilgrimage.
“The implementation of PPKM and the development of the COVID-19 pandemic which mutated into Delta and Omicron variants were also other causes,” added Supomo.