Minister Agus Urges Public Not to Force Illegal Hajj: Better Not to Become Victims

Minister of Immigration and Community Affairs (Imipas) Agus Andrianto has urged Indonesian citizens not to force themselves to perform Hajj in a non-procedural or illegal manner. This, he said, is to anticipate criminal acts of fraud through the modus operandi of offering visas via illegal Hajj travel agents. “That means if you don’t have a Hajj visa, it’s best not to. Rather than becoming a victim, our duty is to protect citizens,” he stated in Tangerang on Wednesday, 22 April 2026. According to him, the government has now provided opportunities for the entire community to fulfil Hajj pilgrimage. “The Hajj implementation waiting period has been accelerated with a maximum duration of 26 years, previously up to 40 years,” he explained. Therefore, his side urged all parties to follow the procedures according to the requirements recommended by the government to ensure the safety and comfort of performing Hajj. “We urge our brothers and sisters who will perform Hajj; there will be opportunities. The government has now accelerated it, and it will continue to be accelerated,” he revealed. In this regard, the Ministry of Immigration and Community Affairs through the Special Class I Immigration Office for Immigration Checkpoint (TPI) at Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Soetta) in Tangerang, Banten, conducted a series of delays in the departure of 13 Indonesian citizens (WNI) who were indicated to intend to perform Hajj in a non-procedural manner. Head of the Special Class I Immigration Office TPI Soekarno-Hatta, Galih P. Kartika Perdhana, said the delay efforts were carried out in a series of intensive examinations by immigration officers on 18 April and 19 April 2026 at Terminal 3 international departures. “From the supervision results, eight WNI were found to be departing on a flight to Jeddah using the modus operandi of work visas,” he stated. However, he said, after further examination, the individuals admitted that their actual purpose was to perform Hajj without going through official procedures. Galih said four other WNI were also found to claim they were going for Hajj using work visas without supporting documents as workers. Meanwhile, on 19 April 2026, officers again delayed the departure of one WNI who was detected in the system as someone who had previously attempted the same regarding indications of non-procedural Hajj departure.