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Indonesia bans entry of foreign workers
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said on Wednesday that his ministry had issued an update on restrictions for foreigners wishing to travel to Indonesia. The update includes banning foreign workers of national strategic projects until the COVID-19 situation has changed.
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he government has tightened restrictions on foreign worker arrivals, including those being deployed to work on national strategic projects, just as the nation ramped up efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has seen Indonesia become the new epicenter of the pandemic in Asia and a mainstay on many countries’ travel ban lists.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said on Wednesday that his ministry had issued an update on restrictions for foreigners wishing to travel to Indonesia.
“Previously, foreign workers [were allowed to] enter Indonesia for work on national strategic projects, but now we have placed new limits on them and they are no longer allowed to enter,” he said during the press conference.
Exceptions to the rule apply for foreigners traveling for diplomatic purposes and in support of health, logistics and humanitarian efforts, as well as those already possessing a limited or permanent stay permit.
“Foreigners [who visit] for health and humanitarian purposes, such as doctors for the COVID-19 response, lab workers and humanitarian workers, are still allowed to enter,” Yasonna explained.
He said the new rule would come into effect on Saturday, two days after the relevant ministerial regulation is signed.
Additionally, those allowed to enter the country must ensure that they obtain recommendation letters from the relevant authorities and fulfill existing entry requirements, such as providing proof of COVID-19 vaccination and negative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results, as well as undergoing the mandatory eight-day quarantine period.
The entry ban for foreigners had been a topic of growing debate, with the government drawing public criticism early this month for allowing dozens of workers from mainland China to enter the country shortly after emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat) were put in place.
Immigration authorities reportedly confirmed that 20 Chinese nationals arrived in Makassar, South Sulawesi to begin work on some national strategic projects.
Their entry came amid separate reports elsewhere that have suggested that Indonesia was importing COVID-19 infections from returning migrant workers, at a time when cases in Java and Bali began to surge at alarming rates.
In its response to this issue, the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta suggested that the visit was still allowed under the prevailing regulations at the time, and that Indonesia had yet to suspend international flights and visa issuance due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
“China has been Indonesia's largest trading partner for eight years and Indonesia's second-largest source of foreign direct investment for two. Close economic and trade cooperation will naturally lead to an active exchange of personnel,” an embassy spokesperson recently said.
There are currently more than 200 national strategic projects across the country, including ones that employ foreign labor, such as Nickel miner PT Huadi Nickel-Alloy Indonesia, whose smelter in Bantaeng, South Sulawesi is the project where the 20 Chinese nationals work.
Over the past few weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia has grown exponentially, turning it into Asia’s newest virus epicenter. The nation surpassed 3 million confirmed cases on Thursday and posted another record-breaking 1,449 coronavirus-related deaths. It is also coming close again to 50,000 new daily infections.
Epidemiologists have warned about the short-lived downward trend that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo touted on Tuesday, saying that it can be attributed to lower testing over the weekend leading up to the Idul Adha holiday.
A planned easing of nationwide restrictions next week is unlikely to result in a relaxation of the entry ban, at least until the government can get the outbreak under control.
Several countries and territories have already placed Indonesia on their travel ban list, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as neighboring countries like the Philippines.
On Monday, Brunei announced that approvals on the entry for foreign nationals departing from or through Indonesia are temporarily suspended, according to the Borneo Bulletin. The monarchy detected eight new imported COVID-19 cases on Sunday.
