Jakarta. Indonesian immigration authorities have said Israeli nationals living and running businesses in Bali may have entered the country either through a special visa approval process or by using passports from other countries if they hold multiple citizenships.

The explanation from the Immigration and Correctional Affairs Ministry comes after the presence of several Israeli nationals in Bali sparked public debate, particularly over Indonesia's strict entry requirements for Israeli passport holders.

Eko Budianto, director of visas and travel documents at the Directorate General of Immigration, said on Wednesday that Israeli nationals are subject to Indonesia's calling visa policy, under which visa applications require approval from multiple government agencies because of security considerations.

"One of them is Israel. The verification and approval do not come from Immigration alone," Eko said at a press briefing in South Jakarta.

Under the calling visa system, applications from nationals of designated countries undergo review and approval involving multiple government institutions. Eko said these include the Immigration Directorate General, the Home Affairs Ministry, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Manpower Ministry, National Police, Attorney General's Office, State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Military Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) and National Narcotics Agency (BNN).

An Israeli passport holder could therefore legally enter Indonesia if the required agencies approve the visa application, Eko said.

A second possibility is that an Israeli national enters Indonesia using a passport from another country because they hold multiple citizenships.

"This is an issue overseas because Israeli nationals sometimes have other citizenships," Eko said.

He said immigration officers checking cases in Bali had found that some Israeli nationals living and operating businesses on the island held multiple citizenships and had not entered Indonesia using Israeli passports.

Instead, some had used travel documents from countries including Portugal, Germany and Greece, Eko said.

"Yesterday, for example, there were Portugal and Germany. They entered using Portuguese or German passports. There was also Greece," he said.

The clarification follows social media posts highlighting the presence of Israeli nationals in Bali and questioning how they were able to live and operate businesses there despite the country's restrictions on Israeli passport holders.

An Instagram post by @shiftmedia.id specifically drew attention to the calling visa requirement for Israeli passport holders, under which entry is subject to special approval from Indonesian authorities before a visa can be issued.

Indonesia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and has long maintained restrictions on Israeli passport holders entering the country. The calling visa mechanism allows authorities to conduct additional screening for nationals of countries considered to pose particular security or other risks.

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