Reported to the police in Bali as a foreigner: summons, rights, travel bans and settlement

By Jeremy Jordan, S.H. — licensed Indonesian advocate (advokat), DPN Indonesia, NIA 25.25.32730 · Reviewed 11 November 2026

First: which role are you in?

A police matter can reach you in three different roles, and your rights and risks differ in each. A witness (saksi) is asked what they know. A suspect (tersangka) is the person the investigator believes committed the offence. A reporting party (pelapor) or complainant (pengadu) is the person who went to the police. It is not unusual for a foreigner to deal with the police first as the reporting party, after losing money to someone they trusted, and only later learn that the other side has filed a report of its own.

Since 2 January 2026 every new criminal case in Indonesia runs under a new Code of Criminal Procedure (UU 20/2025, Article 369; the old code, UU 8/1981, was revoked by Article 362) and a new Criminal Code (UU 1/2023, Article 624). Under the transitional rule, a case that was already under investigation or prosecution on that date is completed under the old code (UU 20/2025, Article 361).

A summons should arrive as a proper written letter that allows a reasonable time and states clearly why you are being called (UU 20/2025, Article 26(2)). Read it for two things before anything else: the role it names you in, and the report it refers to. Attendance is compulsory: a suspect or witness who is summoned must appear before the investigator (Article 28(1)). If you do not come, the investigator summons you once more and may ask the competent officials to bring you in (Article 28(2)); if you give a valid and proper reason for not coming, the investigator may examine you where you live instead (Article 29(1)). The examination of a suspect is recorded on camera (Article 30(1)).

If you are questioned as a suspect: your rights

• An advocate. Before questioning begins, the investigator must tell you of your right to legal assistance (Article 31). Your advocate may accompany you throughout the examination, and if the investigator intimidates you or asks entrapping questions, the advocate may object and the objection is recorded in the minutes (Article 32(1)–(3)).
• To understand the accusation. A suspect has the right to be told clearly, in a language they understand, what they are suspected of (Article 142 letter c).
• An interpreter. A suspect has the right to the help of an interpreter at any time (Article 142 letter f). Where a suspect's statement is not given in Indonesian, the investigator must appoint an interpreter, and the statement must be signed by that interpreter and attached to the case file (Article 34(3)–(4)). In practice: do not sign minutes you have not had translated and understood.
• To give or decline to give a statement about the accusation (Article 142 letter e). Whether to answer, and how, is a decision to take with your advocate, not alone in the interview room.
• Your embassy. A foreign suspect has the right to contact, communicate with and receive visits from their country's representative (Article 142 letter h), and to name a country's representative to be contacted (Article 142 letter i).

Can I leave Indonesia while this is going on?

Not always. For the purposes of the investigation, prosecution or trial, the investigator, the public prosecutor or the judge may impose a temporary ban on a suspect or defendant leaving Indonesia, for reasons that accord with the law, and coordinates with the immigration authority to enforce it (UU 20/2025, Article 141(1)–(2)). The ban lasts at most six months and may be extended once, for at most another six months (Article 141(3)).

If you are named as a suspect and need to travel for work, family or a visa deadline, raise it early. In practice, a visa deadline does not pause the case, so plan the immigration side together with the criminal one.

Settling the case: restorative justice

Restorative justice (keadilan restoratif) is now set out in the procedure code itself, in Articles 79 to 82 of UU 20/2025. It aims to restore the position before the offence, for example through the victim's forgiveness, return of what was taken, payment of medical or psychological costs, compensation for loss, or repair of damage (Article 79(1)). It can be used at the inquiry, the investigation, the prosecution and the trial (Article 79(8)). It may be requested by the suspect or their family or by the victim or their family, or offered by the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor or judge (Article 81(1)), and it must take place without pressure, coercion, intimidation or threats against anyone involved (Article 81(2)).

The settlement is put in a written agreement, which must be carried out within seven days (Article 79(2)–(3)). The report or complaint can be withdrawn only after the person accused has fulfilled the whole agreement; once it has been fully carried out, the case must be stopped and a court determination requested (Article 79(4)–(5)). If the agreement is not carried out in time, the investigator makes a record of it — the parties, the agreement, what was and was not performed, and why — and that record becomes part of the case file as the basis for continuing the criminal process (Article 79(6)–(7)). A settlement that is signed but not paid therefore does not end the case.

Not every case qualifies. Article 80(1) allows the route for offences punishable only by a fine of at most category III or by imprisonment of at most five years, that are a first offence, and/or are not a repeat offence (unless the earlier conviction was a fine or the offence was one of negligence). Article 82 then excludes, among others, offences against state security, public order and decency, terrorism, corruption, sexual violence, offences against life, offences carrying a special minimum sentence, certain offences that are especially dangerous or harmful to the public, and offences punishable by five years or more unless committed through negligence. Read together, an offence whose maximum is exactly five years passes Article 80 but is excluded by Article 82 letter e unless it was committed through negligence, so the route is in practice for offences below five years. Whether a particular charge qualifies is checked against the exact article you are accused under.

Other ways an investigation ends

The investigator may stop an investigation (often called SP3) for reasons listed in Article 24(2) of UU 20/2025, including: there is not enough evidence; what happened is not a criminal offence; the case has lapsed by limitation; the complaint was withdrawn for an offence that can only be prosecuted on complaint; the case was settled through restorative justice; or, for an offence punishable only by a fine of at most category II, the suspect paid the maximum fine. When an investigation is stopped, the investigator must notify the prosecutor, the victim and/or the suspect within one day (Article 24(4)).

If you are the one who reported

The procedure code also gives the reporting party some leverage. If the inquiry or investigation officer does not respond to your report or complaint within 14 days of receiving it, you may report that officer to their superior or to the internal supervisory function (UU 20/2025, Article 23(6)). Where an investigation is stopped following a case review, Article 27 provides for a request to the district court to examine whether the stop was lawful; if the court finds it unlawful, the prosecutor must prosecute. Whether you, as the reporting party, can bring that request is assessed for your case.

A practical point for foreigners who lost money in Bali: a police report and a civil claim for the money are different tools. A criminal case is about punishing the offence; recovering the funds usually needs its own civil strategy alongside it.

What not to do

• Do not pay anyone who offers to make a report or a case go away. This firm does not offer, arrange or pass on any payment to officials, and does not act for anyone who asks it to.
• Do not sign a settlement you cannot perform within seven days: under Article 79(6)–(7) the investigator's record of a failed settlement, including what was not paid, becomes part of the file for continuing the case.
• Do not attend an examination as a suspect without an advocate if you can avoid it, and do not sign minutes in a language you do not read.
• Do not leave Indonesia or let a visa lapse without first checking whether a travel ban or summons is pending.

General information only, not legal advice for your situation. No result is guaranteed. Speak to a lawyer about your specific facts.