25 Chinese Photographers Deported for Misusing Visa on Arrival to Work in Indonesia
A total of 25 Chinese photographers have been formally deported after being found to have misused their residence permits and Visa on Arrival (VOA) status in Indonesia, not for tourism but to work. The legal action was enforced by the Directorate of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement of the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, in synergy with the Foreigner Supervision Team (PORA), which includes representatives from the Ministry of Creative Economy.
This was revealed during a meeting between Minister of Immigration and Corrections Agus Andrianto and Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya at the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections office in Jakarta on Tuesday (9/6).
“Open global collaboration must continue within the corridor of orderly, healthy, and fair national regulations to protect local creative economy players. We also need to maintain a healthy business competition climate for local industry players,” said the Creative Economy Minister.
Meanwhile, Agus Andrianto stated his commitment to tightening supervision and taking firm action against any misuse of residence permits by foreign nationals in the creative economy sector. “Foreign photographers are permitted to carry out commercial activities in Indonesia as long as they comply with all statutory provisions, including licensing aspects, appropriate work visas, and compliance with labour regulations,” Agus Andrianto said.
Teuku Riefky explained the high mobility of global talent amid the development of the world’s digital economy. One impact has been reports from various professional associations regarding the misuse of residence permits by foreign nationals, some of whom were proven to be operating illegally in the domestic photography and videography subsectors.
“Their non-compliance with immigration law has a direct and significant impact on the local creative market. This condition not only affects business competition due to unbalanced service rates, but also influences the sustainability of local creative players who are facing global competition, making this case a matter of common concern so it does not recur and harm Indonesia’s creative ecosystem,” said Teuku Riefky.
Through this meeting, Teuku Riefky said, the two ministries agreed on a strategic collaboration direction to build an integrated monitoring mechanism for creative economy activities involving foreign workers. The Ministry of Creative Economy is also expanding coordination with other subsector associations such as music and Film-Animation-Video. In addition to law enforcement, both institutions will also promote programmes to strengthen education and literacy on immigration regulations for creative economy players and MSMEs to create a common understanding in the field.
The Ministry of Creative Economy also submitted a document containing concrete evidence from reports by the Indonesian Photography Professional Association (APFI), the Indonesian Documentation Entrepreneurs Association (HIPDI), and the Indonesia Professional Photographer Association (IPPA), as well as representatives of national photography industry practitioners. These practitioners included Tompi and Jerry Aurum, both photography activists.
The concrete evidence from practitioners and associations formed the basis for firm action against the foreign photographers. Teuku Riefky also emphasised that similar enforcement is expected in other creative economy sectors, especially in locations with high concentrations of foreign nationals such as Bali.