JAKARTA, Aug 16 — Indonesian immigration has identified three main smuggling routes for its migrant workers: from Medan to Malaysia and Singapore, from Surabaya to Vietnam via Malaysia and Brunei, and from Jakarta to Thailand and Cambodia.

The Directorate General of Immigration highlighted several ways that workers often use to bypass legal procedures, including special job placement schemes, umrah and hajj programmes, overseas internships, and marriage.

In response, it has tightened passport controls and enhanced immigration oversight, resulting in delays in issuing 18,604 passports and postponing 14,930 migrant workers’ departures to date.

"Economic pressures and social factors are driving many Indonesians to use non-procedural routes to work abroad,” it stated in a statement.

The directorate also reported that many Indonesians are falling victim to online human trafficking scams, and it is difficult to distinguish between victims and perpetrators as some are involved in the fraud.

These issues were discussed at the Asean Immigration Intelligence Forum in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on August 13, as part of the ongoing 27th Asean Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions meeting which is being held from August 13 to 16.

The directorate is calling for future forums to concentrate on data exchange related to wanted individuals, terrorists, human traffickers, and smugglers. — Bernama