The WhatsApp hotline is available on weekdays (Monday to Friday), from 8 AM to 4 PM, with immigration officers standing by.
The Directorate General of Immigration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights announced on Wednesday, the 25th of April, that it has launched a hotline for anyone who wishes to report a foreigner who may engage in suspicious activity or cross-check a foreigner’s legal status in Indonesia.
According to the Director of Immigration Monitoring and Enforcement, Saffar Muhammad Godam, the hotline is available on the digital communication application WhatsApp at (+62) 81399679966.
“This hotline service, focusing on immigration-related monitoring and enforcement, serves as a tool for the Indonesian public to deliver their concerns over foreigners in the country who may have broken the rules of immigration,” Godam elaborated.
In delivering such concerns, Godam later explained that the Indonesian public must provide relevant details, namely the location in which the misdemeanour may have taken place, supporting photographs and evidence, and the chronology of the misdemeanour in question. What constitutes misdemeanour are, to name a few, overstaying, inconsistency regarding the foreigners’ purpose of staying in the country, and possible criminal activities.
The WhatsApp hotline is available on weekdays (Monday to Friday), from 8 AM to 4 PM, with immigration officers standing by to respond to the caller’s concerns and enquiries. Nonetheless, Godam also noted that all concerns by the public would still be subjected to verification by the immigration officers and, thus, not be taken at face value.
“It is our assertion to the public not to feel hesitant. Instead, they should be proactive in giving us all the information — if there is a suspicion that a foreigner has engaged in transgression,” Godam asserted.
Ultimately, Godam believed that it was up to the Indonesian public and the Directorate General of Immigration to ensure no foreigners would ever dare to harm the public interest in general.
“A solid partnership between the public and the immigration officers can generate great impacts for the safety and sovereignty of this country,” he concluded.