29 Chinese-originated buildings were seized by the Immigration Team at the Marina City Waterfront, Batam

The joint immigration surveillance operation activity in the project area in Batam City, Riau Islands, Monday (21/4/2026). ANTARA/HO-Imigrasi Batam

BATAM - The Batam Special Class I Immigration Office, Riau Islands (Kepri), has secured 29 foreign nationals (WNA) from China who abused residence permits in the development project area in the city.

Head of the Batam Special Class I Immigration Office, Wahyu Eka Putra, said that a number of foreign nationals were found to be carrying out physical work activities in the construction area.

"In total, 29 foreign nationals were identified who were at the location, with details of the residence permit status consisting of five limited residence permit holders (ITAS), 17 residence permit holders (ITK), and seven visa on arrival (VoA)," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, April 23.

The joint immigration surveillance operation was carried out on April 21, 2026 in the Marina City Waterfront area at the luxury apartment development project.

Based on the results of the initial examination, there are indications that some foreign nationals are carrying out activities that do not correspond to the residence permit they have.

"Foreign nationals were found to be doing work such as welding, finishing work, to installing building materials in the construction project," he said.

From the findings, officers temporarily secured the passports of 24 foreign nationals, and at the initial stage, Batam Immigration officers have secured five foreign nationals to undergo further examination at the Batam Immigration Office.

Furthermore, the Batam Immigration Office will schedule further examinations for other foreign nationals.

"We are also deepening the project managers and guarantors to ensure the conformity of immigration data with conditions in the field, including related to the number of registered foreign workers and activities carried out in the project," he said.

Wahyu said this activity was a form of the Immigration's commitment to consistently and measurably enforce immigration law.

He said his party would continue to carry out intensive and sustainable supervision, especially in areas with foreign labor activities.

"We will follow up on any indications of violations professionally in accordance with applicable laws," said Kakanim.

Immigration also appeals to individual and corporate guarantors to ensure that all activities carried out by foreign nationals are in accordance with the residence permit they have.

He hopes that the public will also play an active role in reporting suspected immigration violations through the available official channels, such as the hotline [phone] for reporting foreign nationals.