Tourist Allegedly Sent Home From Bali Airport Because His Passport Had A Small Tear
He said the tear was not visible until the officers bent the passport back.
By Tamara Jayne — 28 Jun 2023, 05:39 PM
It's important to have all your documents in order when entering a country, as different immigration systems will have their own set of rules and regulations
On 6 June, a tourist who headed to Bali shared his ordeal when he entered the country and was allegedly sent home because of a small tear in his passport.
Matt Vandenberg was heading to Bali for a friend's wedding when he was stopped at the Denpasar International Airport.
After presenting his passport to immigration, he was pulled aside to the office and informed that he had a 1cm tear in his passport.
According to Vanderberg, the immigration officers were right but he had no idea it was there until they bent the passport all the way back and the tear stood out
"You couldn't see it any other way," he wrote in a Twitter thread that has since gone viral.
Vanderberg went on to say that because of the passport tear, he was not allowed into the country and his passport was confiscated until he got on a flight back home to Australia.
"I'm not disputing the tear — but it wasn't even noticeable until you bent it back (and immigration officers in Sydney were fine when they scanned it)," he wrote.
Taking the whole experience in stride, he said that he had two officers with him throughout the day who were extremely nice and felt very sorry for him
"[To] be fair, they are the nicest people who could have stuck by my side, feel very, very, very sorry for me — rules are rules," he wrote.
Vanderberg went on to share that he was flying back home that night itself and had an emergency meeting the following morning regarding his passport issue.
"Probably a good warning for people travelling to Indonesia – they do not mess around!" he added.
In follow-up tweets, he shared the rest of his journey, heading back to Sydney, getting an emergency passport, then heading back to Bali on 9 June.
"I spent 12 hours in the air, including a red-eye flight (a flight that departs at night and arrives the next morning) and 17 hours in the airport. I am feeling pretty drained," he said.
He told news.com.au that the whole ordeal cost him around AUD1,500 (RM4,600), including the original travel expenses.
If you're heading to Bali or travelling soon, here's your reminder to check the state of your passport!
You can read his full Twitter thread below:
