Immigration Emphasizes Ease of Investment and Visa-Free Status Prioritizes National Security
JAKARTA - The visa-free visit (BVK) policy and investment facilitation in Indonesia are like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, this step is able to trigger economic growth and bring in foreign exchange. But on the other hand, there is a potential risk to national security, misuse of residence permits, and the entry of illegal Foreign Workers (TKA).
Responding to this strategic issue, the media Hallonews held a public discussion entitled "Testing the Free Visa Expansion Discourse: Opportunity or Threat?" at the Nusantara Hall, Faculty of Law, Pancasila University, Jakarta, Wednesday (29/7/2026).
Director General of Immigration of the Ministry of Immigration and Correction (Kemen Imipas), Hendarsam Marantoko, emphasized that various service facilities provided by the Directorate General of Immigration did not necessarily ignore the aspects of sovereignty and state security.
"Immigration continues to open the widest door for investors who provide benefits for Indonesia. What we do is ensure that the investment that comes in is really qualified and has a positive impact," said Hendarsam as the main speaker.
He revealed one of the concrete achievements, namely the Golden Visa program which has so far managed to attract investment commitments of around IDR 52.1 trillion. According to him, Immigration always applies the principle of selective policy - only qualified, moral, and law-abiding foreigners are allowed to enter and invest in the country.
"Investors who come with good intentions will certainly be served by us in the best possible way. The balance between service and supervision is the key," he added.
DPR asks for a free visa evaluation based on data
The critical view was delivered by the Deputy Chairman of Commission XIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Sugiat Santoso. He urged the government to conduct a thorough evaluation of the policy of providing visa-free facilities to six countries.
Sugiat emphasized that immigration policies should be measured based on real benefits, not just assumptions about the potential increase in the number of foreign tourists.
"The government needs to conduct a thorough study. The visa-free policy must be measured based on the benefits that the country really feels. Don't let us provide ease, but the results obtained are not proportional," said Sugiat.
He also reminded that at a time when many foreign countries raise visa tariffs to maintain sovereignty and state revenue, Indonesia must be more selective in order to have a strong bargaining position at the global level.
Illegal TKA Highlights and Data Integration Solutions
From an academic perspective, the Rector of Pancasila University, Prof. Dr. Adnan Hamid, S.H., M.H., M.M., highlighted the oversight gap that foreigners often use to work illegally and displace local workers. According to him, this problem is triggered by the still weak inter-agency coordination.
"Solving the problem of illegal TKA is not enough just through enforcement. An integrated surveillance system is needed so that every foreign national working in Indonesia can be verified from the beginning," said Prof. Adnan.
To overcome this problem, Prof. Adnan offers two strategic solutions:
The preparation of a Joint Ministerial Regulation to strengthen coordination between the Ministry of Imipas, the Ministry of Manpower, and regional services.The discussion, which was guided by the Dean of the Faculty of Law of Pancasila University, Dr. Lisda Syamsumardian, also featured UI International Law Expert Prof. Hikmahanto Juwana and ISESS Co-Founder Khairul Fahmi.
The Editor-in-Chief of Hallonews, Sumber Rajasa Ginting, closed the discussion by saying that this academic forum was presented to provide objective and data-based input for policymakers.