Indonesia Deports 108 Chinese Nationals in Single-Day Bali Crackdown

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Indonesian immigration authorities removed 108 Chinese nationals from Bali in a coordinated operation on 27 November 2025, the largest single-day deportation of Chinese citizens in the island’s history. All deportees had violated visa conditions through illegal employment, overstay, or involvement in online scam syndicates operating from villas in Canggu and Seminyak. The operation involved 300 officers from Immigration, National Police, and BIN intelligence agency.

Ngurah Rai International Airport’s deportation terminal processed the group across seven chartered flights to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Xiamen between 14:00 and 23:00 local time. Each deportee was issued a five-year re-entry bans and fined Rp1 million per day of overstay, totaling Rp4.8 billion in penalties collected on site. Authorities seized 312 laptops, 1,400 mobile phones, and 87 fake Indonesian ID cards during villa raids conducted earlier in the week.

The Directorate General of Immigration reported that 2,847 Chinese nationals have been deported nationwide in 2025, with 68 percent originating from Bali. Most entered on 30-day visa-on-arrival or B211A visit visas but remained to work in cryptocurrency fraud and love-scam call centres targeting victims in China and Southeast Asia. Bali’s Immigration Office recorded 1.2 million Chinese arrivals in the first ten months of 2025, second only to Australia.

Police raids targeted 42 luxury villas rented under Indonesian nominees, with monthly leases ranging from Rp150–400 million. Inside, officers found server racks, voice-over-IP equipment, and scripted scam dialogues in Mandarin. Bank Indonesia froze 87 linked accounts holding Rp127 billion traced to fraudulent transfers. Seventeen Indonesian facilitators were detained for visa sponsorship violations.

The operation follows President Prabowo Subianto’s October directive to intensify action against foreign criminal networks exploiting tourism visas. Immigration implemented new digital registration for all B211A sponsors effective 1 November 2025, requiring biometric uploads and police clearance certificates. Visa-on-arrival misuse reports dropped 31 percent in the first three weeks after the system launch.

Ngurah Rai handled 74 deportation flights in November alone, up from 41 in October. Airport authorities expanded the holding facility from 80 to 200 beds and added Mandarin-speaking interpreters. China Southern, Xiamen Air, and Lion Air provided the charter aircraft under direct government contracts, with Indonesia covering 60 percent of costs through seized assets.

Bali’s hotel and villa associations welcomed the crackdown, stating illegal workers had undercut legitimate tourism jobs and damaged the destination’s reputation. Chinese tourist arrivals remain strong, with 148,000 recorded in October 2025, but average length of stay has fallen from 9.2 to 7.8 days year-on-year. Forward bookings for Chinese New Year 2026 are down 22 percent compared with 2024 levels.

Immigration officials announced plans for similar operations in Lombok and Batam before year-end. Entry screening now includes secondary interviews for all B211A holders declaring “holiday” as purpose when travelling without hotel bookings. Deportees must cover repatriation costs or face detention until payment, with 14 individuals transferred to Jakarta’s immigration detention centre for non-compliance.