The nine people worked in Timor Leste without work visas so they were deported to Indonesia.
Kupang, E Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA) - The Timor Leste immigration authorities have deported nine Indonesian nationals for working illegally in the country, the Atambua Immigration Office in Belu District, East Nusa Tenggara, has informed.

"The nine people worked in Timor Leste without work visas so they were deported to Indonesia," chief of the Atambua Immigration Office, K.A. Halim, said on Saturday.



Six of the nine Indonesian nationals came from Medan (North Sumatra), and one each from Padang (West Sumatra), Cikarang (West Java), and Bandar Lampung (Lampung).



The Timor Leste immigration authorities have prohibited the nine workers from entering the country again for about two years, he informed.


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He said the immigration office has also deported two Indonesian nationals from Malaka district, East Nusa Tenggara, for illegal entry.



The Indonesian nationals were deported via the Mota'ain cross-border checkpoint in Belu district on Friday (July 22, 2022).



Before they were allowed to return to their hometowns in Indonesia, the Atambua Immigration Office interviewed them intensively to determine the reasons why they violated the immigration rules.



Halim advised them that if they want to work overseas sometime in the future they must apply for work visas.


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"We told (them) that working illegally overseas will only harm them because the state does not guarantee them. On the other hand, they can also embarrass the nation," he added.



He said his office is still studying the case to check whether an irresponsible person sent them to work illegally in the neighboring country.



"They hold Indonesian passports which were not issued by the Atambua Immigration Office. We will study the case to see whether an irresponsible person or mafia was involved in the dispatch of the illegal Indonesian migrant workers," he added.


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Translator: Aloysius Lewokeda, Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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