The government of Bali does to attempt new strategies to address the problem of a significant number of foreigners misbehaving.
The Directorate-General for Immigration has developed the APOA app to make it easier for concerned Bali residents and businesses to report the whereabouts and activities of foreigners visiting or staying in Bali. The app can be downloaded from the Play Store or via immigration.go.id, the official APOA website.
All tourist hotels in Bali are being urged by TPI Ngurah Rai Immigration Department to support the island-wide initiative to punish unruly foreign visitors.
To do this, accommodation establishments, including hotels, residences, B&Bs and guest houses, will be asked to provide information about their visitors via an app.
The public can also download the app and rreport foreign visitors who they believe are violating local Balinese customs or laws.
Ngurah Rai Sugito, head of the TPI Special Class I Immigration Office, informed journalists that the Foreigner Reporting App (APOA) improves the monitoring of visitors to the island. “Thanks to the reporting in APOA, we can take swift action against foreigners who commit violations,” he said.
Sugito told the media that island-wide cooperation is needed to combat reckless and illegal acts by foreigners.
Sugito stated that he and his team will intensify their efforts to convince accommodation owners, tourist attraction operators and local citizens to report foreigners who are breaking the law in their country.
About 18,000 foreign visitors arrive in Bali every day, Sugito said at the press conference announcing the new plan.
“Bold foreigners subject to sanctions include the misuse of residence permits, circumvention of residence permits and criminal acts that violate the legal standards and regulations in force in Indonesia.”
According to recently released data from the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, a total of 188 foreigners have been deported from the island as of the end of August 2023.
The deportees came from 45 different countries, including 12 Austrians, 13 British, 14 Americans and 9 Nigerians.
