Accommodation Managers Must Report the Presence of Foreign Guests via APOA

Mar 26, 2025

The Directorate General of Immigration (Ditjen Imigrasi) has introduced the latest Foreigners' Monitoring Application (APOA) to optimize the monitoring of foreign nationals' presence in Indonesia. This application offers various features that simplify the reporting process for foreign guests staying at their accommodation.

"Immigration has the authority to request data about Foreign Nationals from hotels or other places functioning as accommodations, in this case, we are using APOA as the platform. Accommodation owners or managers can register their guests through the application, and their data can be accessed by immigration officers for monitoring purposes," said the Director of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement, Yudi Yusman.

The implementation of APOA is based on Law No. 6 of 2011 on Immigration and amendments in Law No. 6 of 2024. Article 72, paragraphs (1) and (2) of the law state that accommodation owners or managers are required to provide information about foreign guests staying at their premises upon request by immigration officers. Failure to comply with this obligation may result in a criminal penalty of up to three months in prison or a fine of up to IDR 25 million.

The process of reporting foreign nationals who check in at hotels through APOA begins with accommodation owners or managers logging into the APOA system. After logging in, they must request the passport of the foreign guest who will be staying and then upload a photo of the passport page or take a direct photo through the application. Afterward, the foreign guest’s data is entered into the system and verified to ensure its accuracy. If all the information is correct, the manager can proceed to obtain the Foreigners' Report Receipt, which serves as proof that the report has been successfully submitted through APOA.

For check-out reporting, the accommodation owner or manager logs back into the APOA system and selects the foreign guests who are checking out. They must ensure that the data selected matches the guests who are actually checking out. After verification, they can proceed by selecting the check-out button in the application. With this step, the foreign guest’s check-out report will be stored in the system and become part of the immigration monitoring records. This process is crucial for ensuring that the data of foreign nationals in Indonesia remains accurate and properly monitored.

Referring to the Immigration database as of March 24, 2025, the total data of foreign guests in accommodations across Indonesia recorded in APOA is 78,077 people, consisting of 23,835 check-ins and 54,242 check-outs. Foreign nationals are predominantly from Australia with 13,104 people, followed by China with 12,493 people, India with 5,688 people, Singapore with 4,491 people, and Japan with 3,869 people. Meanwhile, the province with the highest foreign guest occupancy is Bali with 47,772 people, followed by Riau Islands with 6,068 people, East Java with 4,647 people, East Nusa Tenggara with 4,066 people, and Jakarta Special Capital Region with 3,210 people.

"With more structured reporting, the opportunity to detect illegal activities that may threaten public order and national sovereignty becomes greater," added Yudi.

Supporting this statement, the Director-General of Immigration, Saffar Muhammad Godam, stated that Ditjen Imigrasi continues to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to enhance the effectiveness of monitoring.

"With the existence of the APOA application and support from various parties, it is hoped that the monitoring of foreign nationals in Indonesia will run more effectively. The use of technology in this immigration system is a step forward in maintaining the security and sovereignty of the nation," he concluded.

Last updated 15 April 2025