Press The Immigration Violation Rate, Foreigners Must Go To The Immigration Office For Extension Of Residence Permits

Illustration of the atmosphere in the immigration room (Doc. Directorate General of Immigration)

JAKARTA - The Directorate General (Ditjen) of Immigration of the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections has set new regulations in managing residence permits for foreign nationals (WNA) in Indonesia.

Referring to Circular Number IMI-417.GR.01.01 of 2025 which will be effective starting May 29, 2025, foreigners in Indonesia are required to take photos and interviews at the immigration office when applying for an extension of the residence permit.

Prior to this stage, foreigners registered for residence permit application and uploaded required documents online through the evisa.imigration.go.id website. This procedure also applies to foreigners holding visas on arrival (VoA).

Acting (Plt) Director General of Immigration, Yuldi Yusman explained, this policy was determined with the aim of damage control, namely minimizing the potential for misuse of residence permits, maintaining immigration administrative order and supervising the role of guarantor of foreigners.

"We have announced the adjustment of the procedure for extending the residence permit by observing the results of a thorough evaluation by the Directorate General of Immigration. We found that the number of misuse of residence permits and also guarantors who do not fulfill their responsibilities is still high. In the operation of foreign investment (OPS PMA) for example, which was carried out together with the BKPM during the first quarter of 2025, the Directorate General of Immigration succeeded in capturing a total of 546 foreigners with the alleged use of residence permits and a total of 215 companies suspected of being fictitious and problematic companies whose business licenses have been revoked by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), "said Yuldi.

Based on statistical data, the periodic immigration administrative action in the January period to April 2024 was 1,610 foreigners, while in January to April 2025 there were 2,201WNA. The performance of law enforcement based on immigration administrative actions in 2025 increased significantly with an increase of 36.71%.

Referring to Law Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration, Article 63 Paragraph (2) it is stated that the guarantor is responsible for the existence and activities of foreigners who are guaranteed to stay in the territory of Indonesia and are obliged to report any changes in civilian status, immigration status and address change.

For foreigners who are among vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and are in urgent condition, the application registration process, the submission of documents to payments can be done directly in conjunction with photos and interviews at the immigration office (walk-in) and assisted by officers.

Yuldi also appealed to all foreign nationals who are processing the extension of the residence permit or data changes to provide correct information when conducting interviews with officers.

"We remind foreigners to give actual information to officers to avoid obstacles in the future," he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Immigration and Corrections, Agus Andrianto said, "With the implementation of this policy, the Directorate General of Immigration hopes to strengthen the supervisory system on the existence and activities of foreigners in Indonesia, and ensure that all immigration processes run in accordance with applicable legal provisions," he concluded.