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The move follows the emergence of a phenomenon involving several foreign nationals entering Indonesia by abusing their residence permits to work as scammers, as recently revealed in the arrest of 210 foreign nationals in Batam city, Riau Islands.

Director General of Immigration Hendarsam Marantoko was quoted by local media as saying that in light of this phenomenon, the agency will look further ahead at preventive measures against certain countries that tend to become “sources” of scam perpetrators.

The arrest of foreign nationals suspected of engaging in scamming activities by immigration authorities is not the first case.

Previously, authorities in Bogor and Sukabumi districts of West Java province handled cases involving nearly 30 foreign nationals, including suspects accused of planning online romance scams.

According to Hendarsam, the most important step in anticipating this phenomenon is strengthening early detection and intelligence functions, including enhancing the capabilities of Immigration personnel stationed at land, sea, and air border points to conduct proper screening.

He stated that if all such measures have been implemented but similar incidents continue to occur, then evaluating the visa-free policy would be necessary as a preventive effort to ensure Indonesia is not used by scammers as a safe haven.

Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, received 3.44 million foreign arrivals in the first quarter, up 8.62% year-on-year and marking the strongest quarterly performance since 2020.