Lithuanian national deported from Bali, banned five years over visa misuse

Denpasar — Indonesian immigration authorities have deported a Lithuanian national identified as BR and imposed a five-year entry ban after finding he misused a business visit visa to run paid content creation and digital marketing activities linked to a Bali-based travel brand called The Bali Dream, according to the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office and the Directorate General of Immigration.

Ngurah Rai Immigration said BR is a Lithuanian passport holder born in Israel and believed to be the owner of the @the.bali.dream social media account used to promote travel services in Bali.

According to an official release by the Directorate General of Immigration, BR entered Indonesia on 7 May 2026 using a business visit visa and later worked as a paid content creator while carrying out digital marketing activities for The Bali Dream.

Immigration officials concluded that these paid activities did not match the conditions attached to his visa and therefore constituted misuse of his residence permit, according to the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office.

Timeline of the case

Immigration authorities linked the case to information circulating on social media about foreign nationals allegedly involved in managing a Bali travel agency.

Using immigration and travel data, officials first examined two individuals identified as SG and AC, described as holding German passports and recorded as being born in Israel, who were found to have left Indonesia on 11 August 2025.

The inquiry then turned to The Bali Dream, a travel service offering itinerary planning, honeymoon trips and visa assistance for Israeli passport holders, where investigators found that the agency’s website and business WhatsApp contact number were associated with BR.

Based on immigration records, BR’s entry on 7 May 2026 with a business visit visa and subsequent paid digital work for The Bali Dream led Ngurah Rai Immigration to determine that he had misused his stay permit.

As a result, the office imposed immigration administrative sanctions in the form of deportation and a five-year ban on re-entering Indonesia, effective from 13 August 2026.

Officials said BR was removed from Indonesia on a flight from Denpasar to Bangkok and then continued his journey via Frankfurt to Vilnius.

Visa misuse and paid digital work

In its public account of the case, the Directorate General of Immigration stated that BR carried out activities as the owner and paid content creator of The Bali Dream while also managing the agency’s digital marketing.

Authorities said BR did not hold a work permit in Indonesia and was operating without a physical business office in the country, while using a visa type intended for business visits rather than ongoing paid work.

The case highlights that entering Indonesia on a business visit visa does not amount to a general authorisation to perform paid services or run commercial content and marketing operations from within the country.

Immigration advisers say foreign nationals planning to carry out professional content creation or digital marketing in Indonesia should ensure their visa category explicitly covers those activities and obtain any additional permits required under immigration and labour rules.

Key case details

• Nationality: Lithuanian passport holder, born in Israel
• Social media account: linked by authorities to @the.bali.dream
• Visa type: business visit visa
• Entry into Indonesia: 7 May 2026
• Deportation: 13 August 2026, via Bangkok and Frankfurt to Vilnius
• Sanction: five-year ban on entering Indonesia, subject to possible extension

Immigration scrutiny of travel-related content

The Directorate General of Immigration has separately introduced a Content Creator Visit Visa (C5A) for foreign nationals who wish to create content for their personal social media accounts while travelling in Indonesia, but this visa does not authorise journalistic work, commercial film production, employment with local companies or earning income in Indonesia without special permission.

Immigration officials have recently stressed that foreign visitors engaged in content creation, marketing or other commercial digital activities should hold the correct visa category and comply with Indonesian immigration regulations or risk sanctions including deportation and multi-year entry bans.

Sources

• Directorate General of Immigration – press release on Ngurah Rai Immigration deporting owner of The Bali Dream account
• SatyaNews.ID – Ngurah Rai Immigration deports Lithuanian national for visa misuse
• Bizindo – What happens when your Indonesian visa doesn’t match your activities
• Dialeksis.com – Kasus The Bali Dream, Imigrasi Ngurah Rai Deportasi WNA Lithuania
• Channel NewsAsia – Bali tightens scrutiny of foreign content creators, prompting visa questions