Six Chinese Nationals Deported by Tangerang Immigration for Misusing Tourist Visas
The Class I Special Non-TPI Immigration Office of Tangerang has deported six Chinese nationals for committing immigration violations. The six foreign nationals, identified by the initials PM, FR, ZF, HY, LT, and DX, were found to be using tourist visit permits for business purposes by operating a photography service.
Hasanin, Head of the Tangerang Class I Special Non-TII Office, explained that the enforcement action began following community reports regarding suspected illegal activities by a group of foreigners in the Kosambi area, Tangerang Regency, Banten. In response to these reports, the Immigration Intelligence and Enforcement Division conducted cyber patrols and gathered information.
“The team moved to conduct immigration supervision and successfully secured six Chinese nationals who violated the regulations,” said Hasanin on Wednesday afternoon.
Based on the investigation, the six Chinese nationals had rented space in a five-star hotel in the Kosambi District to open a service studio named Aure Portrait. The studio provided paid services including photography, makeup artistry, and fashion styling for its clients.
Immigration officers conducting a thorough inspection at the location discovered that the immigration documents held by the six foreigners were only Tourist Visit Permits. As their activities did not align with the permitted purpose of their stay, officers immediately detained them for further investigation.
This illegal business was found to have been operating for one week. In that short period, they had managed to attract several customers.
Bong Bong Prakoso Napitupulu, Head of the Tangerang Immigration Intelligence and Enforcement Division, revealed that the six Chinese nationals had a structured division of roles in running the business.
To market their services, they utilised TikTok. To avoid detection by officials, they intentionally omitted the studio’s address from their promotional posts. The specific details of the hotel address where the studio was located were only provided to consumers after they had paid a down payment.
The rate charged for the service was IDR 1,400,000 per photo session. During its one week of operation, the illegal studio was recorded serving more than 10 customers.
As a result of the violations, the Tangerang Immigration Office has imposed Immigration Administrative Sanctions in the form of deportation and a blacklist. The repatriation process was carried out on 15 September at 22:00 WIB.
Bong Bong emphasised that this firm action was taken in accordance with the mandate of the Immigration Law, which requires every foreigner to conduct activities in accordance with their permitted stay. This step is expected to serve as a deterrent and prevent similar violations by other foreign nationals in the future.