The Indonesian Minister of Immigration and Corrections, Agus Andrianto, asserted that illegal shop businesses established by foreigners in the country could potentially take over economic opportunities for local people.
According to Andrianto, even practices such as foreigners illegally opening grocery shops could jeopardise the livelihoods of local people. He explained that the supervision of foreigners has been carried out since their arrival in Indonesia, including through direct connections with Interpol.
The government has conducted operations in various regions to crack down on such violations by foreign tourists. According to findings from Immigration, in addition to overstaying or violating residence permits, some foreigners have also used fictitious investment permits as a means to work illegally — setting up fake offices, working as illegal tour guides, and even opening small businesses such as grocery shops.
As part of its law enforcement efforts, the government held the Wira Waspada operation in the areas of Jakarta, Depok, Bekasi, and Tangerang. As a result, 170 foreigners who were found to have overstayed were detained and are now being processed for deportation. Meanwhile, in Bali, the Bali Becik Operation secured 97 foreigners. Of that number, 12 were proven to have violated their stay permits, with the rest still under investigation.
In response to this issue, Andrianto stated that his office would evaluate the procedure for foreigners submitting investment permits to prevent them from becoming loopholes for legal violations.
“We will discuss this at the ministerial level so that future submissions for investment permits do not open up room for abuse,” he said while reviewing the Class I TPI Denpasar Immigration Office on Tuesday, the 20th of May.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Architects Association (Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia or IAI) of Bali Province previously claimed that many foreign tourists work illegally as architects on the Island of the Gods. Most of these foreign tourists typically introduce and offer their services as architects through websites or social media.
The Chairman of the Bali IAI, I Wayan Agus Novi Dharmawan, remarked that the practice of foreign tourists moonlighting as illegal architects is common in South Badung, in areas such as Canggu and Seminyak.
“Many foreigners are also dabbling [in architecture] even though we know they are supposed to be here as tourists. As tourists, they are supposed to use us [the local architects]. Instead, they are here as workers,” observed Dharmawan to the press on Monday, the 5th of May.