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Indonesia to review free-visa policy
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Surfers on Kuta Beach, Bali, carry their boards while Indonesian Military members fly Indonesian flags from jet skis in the background on Aug 16. (The Jakarta Post/Zul Trio Anggono)
T
he government is set to review President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's signature free-visa policy, which some have blamed for the rising number of illegal foreign workers in the country.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly has brushed off such suggestions, defending the policy, which gives free visas to the nationals of 174 countries. He said, however, that his office would evaluate the policy over efficiency issues.
"The policy will be evaluated because there are small countries [among the 174 on the list] that have never sent tourists to Indonesia, so what's the point of giving them free visas?" Yasonna said on Friday.
He made the statement following a ministerial meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister, where the relevant officials discussed revamping the system to prevent foreign nationals from misusing tourist visas to work illegally in Indonesia.
(Read also: Indonesia's free-visa policy here to stay)
Meanwhile, chief security minister Wiranto raised a similar concern, saying that an evaluation of the list of countries entitled to free visas was important to ensure that the policy left no gap that enabled foreigners to commit illegal and criminal activities in the country.
Some foreign nationals entitled to free visas might not bring benefits to Indonesia and could result in an increase in illegal workers, or worse, terrorism-related activities and illicit drug trading, which could endanger national security, Wiranto said.(dmr)
