TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - During the Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 holiday season, hundreds of illegal migrants seized the opportunity to work abroad. They claimed to be tourists who were going on vacation to various countries in order to evade immigration checks at Indonesia's Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
The Head of the Soekarno-Hatta Special Class I Immigration Office, Priya Kartika Perdhana, stated that during the period from December 1 to 29, 2025, immigration officers at Soekarno Hatta Airport thwarted the departures of 137 non-procedural or illegal migrant workers. "Every day, there are those who depart under the guise of tourists wanting to go on vacation," Galih said at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Monday, December 29, 2025.
He mentioned that during the Christmas holiday period from December 15-29, the number of migrant workers leaving the country had increased. "It seems that they are taking advantage of the passenger density during the Christmas holiday," Galih said.
Pretending to be Tourists
Galih revealed that hundreds of migrant workers intended to depart abroad through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport by pretending to be tourists going on vacation during the Christmas holiday period.
He stated that the migrant workers initially claimed that they were going on a sightseeing trip. However, after a more thorough examination by immigration officers, strong indications were found that they were non-procedural migrant workers and strongly suspected of being victims of Human Trafficking (TPPO) and Human Smuggling Crimes (TPPM). "They all claim to want to go on vacation."
However, immigration officers conducting the inspection did not readily believe their suspicious behavior. "They claimed to want to go on vacation, but after further examination including brief interviews and observation of gestures and behavior, they were strongly indicated as non-procedural CPMI," Galih said.
Destination Countries
According to Galih, the hundreds of illegal migrant workers chose countries in Asia and the Middle East as their destination such as Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, which are known as destinations for illegal migrant workers.
Soekarno Hatta Immigration reported that throughout 2025, they prevented the departure of 2,917 passengers, with 1,905 of them being indicated as illegal CPMI or victims of TPPO and TPPM.
Double-Layer Inspection
The Head of the Immigration Inspection Place (TPI) at Soekarno Hatta, Jerry Prima, explained that the detection process for non-procedural migrant workers is becoming more complex as potential workers now understand the inspection patterns. However, he added that immigration officers continue to prioritize a two-layer inspection, namely through physical and gesture observation, a brief interview at the immigration counter, and the Subject of Interest (SOI) system, especially for those who have a record of non-procedural CPMI.
"Initial indications are usually seen from suspicious movements, inconsistent answers during interviews, and unpreparedness to explain travel plans, such as tickets, accommodations, or the party covering the expenses," Jerry said.
In addition to thwarting departures, from January to December 2025, the Soekarno-Hatta Immigration Office also rejected 197 passport applications that were suspected to be related to Human Trafficking (TPPO) and Human Smuggling Crimes (TPPM).
Based on interview results, the majority of passport applicants claimed that they were traveling for tourism purposes. "However, upon further investigation, many of them eventually admitted to planning to work non-procedurally abroad," Jerry said.
All non-procedural migrant worker candidates whose departures were successfully thwarted were then communicated with BP3MI for further guidance and registration, as well as with the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police for handling CPMI indicated as victims of TPPO/TPPM.
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