Tangerang, Banten. Indonesian immigration officials at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have blocked the departure of 719 prospective Hajj pilgrims attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia through unofficial and illegal means.

The head of the Soekarno-Hatta Immigration Office, Johanes Fanny Satria Cahya Aprianto, said on Tuesday that the departures were halted between April 23 and May 31, 2025.

“During that period, we intercepted 719 individuals who were trying to leave using nonprocedural methods,” Fanny told reporters.

The Soekarno-Hatta Immigration Office has been overseeing the departure of 55,870 official Hajj pilgrims between May 2 and May 31 from four embarkation points: Pondok Gede in Jakarta, Bekasi in West Java, Bandar Lampung in Lampung, and Tangerang in Banten. But alongside the smooth flow of regular pilgrims, officials also detected a significant number of unauthorized travelers.

According to Fanny, many of the unauthorized travelers were attempting to enter Saudi Arabia using non-Hajj visas, such as work or charitable organization visas. He attributed this surge in illegal attempts to Indonesia’s lengthy Hajj waiting list, which can range from 10 to 40 years.

“These individuals often tried to blend in with official pilgrims,” Fanny said. “They wore similar uniforms, carried identical luggage, and traveled in large groups to appear legitimate.”

Immigration officers had to conduct in-depth interviews and double-check travel documents, especially to confirm whether the travelers had obtained proper Hajj visas. In most cases, they had not.

Some unauthorized travelers also attempted to circumvent scrutiny by using connecting flights to visa-free countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, and presenting themselves as tourists.

“This tactic makes it harder to detect them among the thousands of passengers we process daily,” Fanny said. “There is always a chance some may slip through.”

Fanny urged the public to follow legal procedures and warned that using shortcuts not only violates immigration laws but also puts individuals at risk of deportation and other legal consequences once abroad.