Two Foreign Nationals Barred After Viral Discrimination Claims in Canggu
Bali's immigration authority has placed two Dutch men on an entry ban list following allegations that their community run club systematically rejected Indonesian applicants while approving foreigners. The case, which went viral on Indonesian social media, has drawn a sharp public response from officials and raised broader questions about how foreign nationals conduct themselves while operating in Indonesia.
What Happened
The Entourage Bali community organized a "silent disco" running event in Canggu, where participants wore headphones and ran through the streets together. Social media posts from a May event showed a large crowd taking part. The controversy began when an Indonesian woman reported that her message requesting to join the community received a holding reply saying her application would be reviewed, while her husband's identical request, sent under a name that read as Western, was approved immediately.
The post circulated widely, prompting further complaints and drawing the attention of Balinese senator Niluh Djelantik, who said she had spoken directly with immigration officials. According to ABC News, she stated that "utilising public spaces while rejecting local residents is unacceptable" and that Indonesian hospitality should never be treated as permission to disrespect locals.
The Official Response
Bali's Director General of Immigration, Hendarsam Marantoko, condemned the event in a formal statement, describing it as "fraught with discrimination against local residents" and characterizing it as a "state within a state." He instructed immigration teams to inspect the organizers and, if foreign nationals were found to be involved, to detain them. The two men, identified by officials only as JAS, 35, and HQV, 37, had already left Bali for Singapore before they could be detained. They have since been placed on Indonesia's travel ban list.
Officials also clarified that foreign nationals are not permitted to manage or organize events in Indonesia under the country's regulations.
The Organizers' Explanation
In a statement on their social media pages, Entourage Bali said the community was created to help digital nomads new to the island connect with others. They noted that Indonesians made up nearly 25 percent of ticket holders at the silent disco run, describing them as the largest single national group among participants. The group attributed the rejection of some Indonesian phone numbers to a flaw in their automated WhatsApp approval process, saying that "some, and not all, +62 numbers were incorrectly rejected." They apologized, paused all future events, and said they would make changes.
A Wider Crackdown on Visa Compliance
The ban arrives during a period of heightened scrutiny of foreign nationals in Bali. Immigration authorities have been actively enforcing rules against foreigners working on tourist visas. Australia's Smartraveller advisory, as noted in the ABC News report, explicitly warns that creating online content for commercial purposes while on a tourist visa may be considered a breach of visa conditions, even if the content is published after the creator has left Indonesia.
Why It Matters for Hosts
Independent hospitality operators in Bali increasingly host digital nomads and short-stay international visitors who may be unaware of the legal boundaries around organizing activities, events, or commercial content creation on a tourist visa. Proactively sharing clear, factual information about Indonesian visa conditions at check-in, whether through a welcome card, a notice in the room, or a brief conversation, can protect guests from legal trouble and protect the host's own reputation by association. It also signals respect for local regulations, which matters to the growing segment of travelers who want to visit responsibly.
Details in this post were first reported by ABC News, with reporting by Indonesia correspondent Tim Swanston and Ake Prihantari. This post is published by the Qontaktly travel blog.
First reported by Bali Travel.