Ministry of Immigration and Corrections
Directorate General of Immigration
Bali (19/5) — The Directorate General of Immigration, Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, hosted the Second Bilateral Meeting with the Royal Cambodian Immigration in Bali on Monday (19/5). The meeting aimed to agree on cooperation in the field of human trafficking and address various immigration challenges faced by both countries. The Minister of Immigration and Correctional Affairs, Agus Andrianto, the Acting Director General of Immigration, Yuldi Yusman, and the Director General of Cambodian Immigration, Sok Veasna, were present at the occasion.
Along with the increasing number of Indonesian citizens (WNI) traveling to Cambodia in recent years, the Indonesian government has noted a surge in cases of WNI suspected of working non-procedurally and being trapped in online gambling and scamming. This forms the basis for the signing of the Indonesia-Cambodia Letter of Intent (LoI) at this meeting. This cooperation document serves as an effort to protect citizens of both countries from illegal migration, which includes agreements on information exchange, technical assistance, and human resource capacity building.
To complement this, both the Indonesian and Cambodian Governments deem it necessary to station an Indonesian immigration attaché in Cambodia to strengthen coordination and cooperation between Indonesia and Cambodia in the field of Immigration.
"As an effort to combat human trafficking, we will appoint a focal point in each country, and also intensify the exchange of immigration information and sharing best practices in resolving immigration issues for Indonesian citizens in Cambodia," explained Yuldi.
Indonesia is actively involved in combating human smuggling through a comprehensive strategy that involves cooperation at bilateral, regional, and international forums. Significant steps have been taken by including a criminal offense clause for human smuggling in Law No. 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration, which imposes strict sanctions on smugglers and their facilitators.
In addition, Immigration plays a role in preventing the departure of non-procedural migrant workers from upstream by delaying passport issuance or refusing and postponing departures for Indonesian citizens identified as non-procedural migrant workers.
It is recorded that from January to April 2025, officers at Indonesian international airport and seaport immigration checkpoints have carried out departure postponements for 5,000 prospective non-procedural Indonesian migrant workers. Meanwhile, to date, 303 passport issuance delays have been recorded by Immigration offices throughout Indonesia.
The Directorate General of Immigration is not only active in preventing human trafficking at border crossings and during passport issuance processes but also initiates the Immigration Assisted Village program, an immigration education program for rural communities – especially those known to be large contributors of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) – to understand the importance of completing documents in passport applications. Community involvement and public awareness-raising through educational campaigns in vulnerable areas are key components of the prevention strategy.
In this regard, Minister Imipas stated,
"We also help build awareness to be cautious in responding to job offers abroad, especially if they are asked to provide false information to obtain a passport. Currently, we have 185 assisted villages," explained Agus.
Furthermore, Agus expressed his hopes for the outcome of this Bilateral Meeting.
"This meeting is an important platform for deepening mutual understanding, sharing experiences, and formulating innovative solutions to immigration issues that are in the interest of both countries. We hope to achieve significant results, especially in efforts to protect our citizens and combat transnational crime," Agus concluded.
Last updated 20 May 2025
