Australian Tourist Denied to Enter Bali Over Tiny Passport Tear

Share:

A small tear in a tourist’s passport from Australia has prevented him from entering Bali. Matt Vandenberg (29), claimed he boarded at 6 a.m. Jetstar aircraft from Sydney on Tuesday to attend a friend’s wedding in Bali on Friday, the 2nd of June, 2023. However, the Australian tourist trip abruptly ended when he has turned away at Indonesian airport customs.

Vandenberg said on Twitter, “So I go to DPS, pay my visa, show my passport, and then get pulled over to the immigration office who notifies me I have a 1cm tear on my passport page – to be fair, he’s correct.

The shocked Australian tourist was led into a customs office, where he was informed that the tear was unacceptable and that he would not be permitted to enter the country. 

Vanderberg detained his passport until he could get a flight home that night, despite arguing that Sydney immigration officials “were fine” when they scanned his paperwork.

Despite having two armed police guards with him at all times, the Australian tourist was permitted to roam the airport throughout his 11-hour wait.

The Australian tourist posted a photo of his beaming escorts along with the caption, “To be fair; they are the nicest people you could have stuck by my side, feel very very very sorry for me – rules are rules.”

Vandenberg was able to find humour in his predicament as well.

Australian Tourist Denied to Enter Bali Over Tiny Passport Tear
Source Vandenberg Twitter Account

Vandenberg shared an image of Tom Hanks’ character Viktor Navorski from the movie The Terminal, who is stranded in an airport in the US while putting his face over the actor’s. At the same time, he waited over a torturous 12-hour span.

To still make it back to Bali for his friend’s wedding, he returned to Sydney on Wednesday, the 7th of June morning and filed for an emergency passport.

According to Vandenberg, who spoke to local media in Australia, the entire incident would likely cost him an additional $15,000 on top of his travel costs. 

Vandenberg said, “It’s probably a good caution for anybody heading to Indonesia – they don’t screw around.”

Interested in this topic? Check out our other articles from Social Expat: 

Content Writer

Being in love with writing at a young age, Anasya is eager to play with words and touch hearts. She’s been a content writer for a little over four years and officially be part of Social Expat in March 2023. Her perfectionism drives her to give her best on every project she handles.

Related News

Two United States citizens were involved in Bali road incident that led to a car being vandalised by a crowd in Ketewel, Gianyar, Bali, on Friday, 4 July 2025. The situation escalated after an alleged hit-and-run on Jalan Antasura, Denpasar, triggered a long chase that ended in Sukawati District. The incident began in Denpasar when […]

A tragic incident occurred in South Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, on Saturday afternoon, 5 July 2025, when an elderly farmer, La Noti, aged 61, was found dead inside the stomach of a python measuring approximately eight metres in length. La Noti, a resident of Majapahit Village, Batauga Subdistrict, was last seen leaving home on the […]

United States President Donald Trump has confirmed the imposition of a 32% import tariff on all Indonesian products entering the US market, with the new rate coming into effect on 1 August 2025. The announcement was made through a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday, 7 July (US time), […]

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, erupted twice on Monday, 7 July 2025, causing significant disruption to air travel across multiple airports in the region. The eruption produced an ash column as high as 18,000 metres during the first blast at 11:05 WITA, followed by a second eruption at 19:32 WITA that […]

Expat Property

Indonesia Visas

Expat Event

Business Networking
150,000
Padi Restaurant and Bar
Business Networking
150,000
Social House
Social Networking Event
150,000
OZONE Bar

Indonesia Guide

Just For Fun

Write For Us

Exclusive Promotions

Event Gallery