Nine foreigners deported from Bali as immigration checks uncover investor permit concerns

In brief: Ngurah Rai Immigration Office reported on 5 October 2026 that it had deported nine foreign nationals over the previous week. Two held investor limited-stay permits, and officials said their activities did not match the purpose of those permits.

The removals took place between 29 September and 4 October, with the individuals departing through I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. The cases emerged from routine inspections in Badung Regency, where officers compared people's immigration status with their actual activities. The figures describe this office's enforcement actions during one reporting period; they are not an island-wide or national deportation total.

Two investor permits, two different findings

According to immigration chief Muhamad Novyandri's statement reported on 5 October, a German national and a French national both held ITAS Investor, Indonesia's limited-stay permit for investors. Officials said the German permit holder had neither contributed capital nor carried out business activity. They said the French national was instead acting as a host at a private villa.

The immigration office characterised both cases as misuse of investor status. That finding concerns the conduct described in these individual cases. It does not establish a blanket problem with legitimate investor permit holders or announce a new restriction on the permit category.

A separate case involved a Latvian national who, officials said, had established a foreign-investment company and managed assets while holding a visitor stay permit. It illustrates a related issue: company involvement and permission to reside in Indonesia for a particular purpose are not necessarily interchangeable.

Overstays accounted for three of the nine removals

Six deportations were described by the office as immigration-related administrative actions under Article 75 of Indonesia's Immigration Law No. 6 of 2011. The reported activities varied. One Australian national, for example, was said to have worked as an osteopath at a clinic in Canggu despite holding visitor status. The remaining cases in this group involved different circumstances and should not all be labelled investor-permit abuse.

The other three people were deported for overstaying: a Thai national by 45 days, an American by 61 days and a French national by 357 days. Those figures are specific to the cases reported. They should not be mistaken for a general threshold at which every overstay automatically results in deportation; the applicable legal provisions and individual circumstances still matter.

The practical question for foreign business owners in Bali

For anyone considering an investor-based move to Bali, the cases highlight the importance of the activity authorised by their immigration documents. Holding a share in a company, investing capital, running an accommodation business and personally providing services are not necessarily treated as the same activity. A company's registration alone cannot establish what an individual is permitted to do under a particular stay authorisation.

The announcement describes enforcement, not a newly enacted visa rule. People already resident in Bali do not need to assume their status has changed because of these nine cases. Those planning to use an investor permit — or whose day-to-day role has shifted since it was issued — have a clear reason to confirm that their actual work and business involvement fall within the conditions of their current permission.

• Bali Post — “Investor Bodong dan Sejumlah WNA Dideportasi”, 5 October 2026.
• detikBali — “Imigrasi Ngurah Rai Usir 9 WNA dari Bali, Termasuk 2 Investor Bodong”, 5 October 2026.
• Indonesia's Immigration Law No. 6 of 2011, Article 75, 5 May 2011 (as subsequently amended).