Australian passport warning to Bali visitors

A small amount of water damage to a passport saw a young holidaymaker stopped from boarding a plane from Sydney to Bali.

Fitness coach Emma Doherty headed to Sydney Airport on June 21, excited for her 10-day solo trip to the Indonesian party island.

But the traveller was barred from boarding her flight and was told by officials that water damage on her passport made it look ‘dodgy’.

Moments after she was kicked off the flight, Ms Doherty spoke out about the incident in a video posted to social media.

‘So I’ve just been rejected on my flight to Bali, and I’m currently stranded in the middle of Sydney Airport,’ Ms Doherty said.

‘No idea what to do or where to go, and I literally just got told that if they’d let me into Bali, the military and the security in the airport would have put me into a cell.

‘Basically, there was a tiny bit of water damage at the bottom of my passport.’

Ms Doherty said the damage was never brought to her attention before.

‘I didn’t even notice it,’ Ms Doherty said. ‘I travel all the time, and it has never been mentioned to me before.

‘Apparently, Bali airport is really, really strict, and they are known for putting people into a cell if they don’t like your passport.’

The devastated traveller said she sat on the airport floor crying for 15 minutes after the ordeal with customs.

She’s now warning others heading to Bali to ‘triple check’ their passports.

‘Obviously, I’m really upset like I’m literally guttered. I’ve just been sat here crying for the last 15 minutes,’ Ms Doherty said.

‘I’m just going to tell myself that everything happens for a reason, and I wasn’t meant to go on that flight today.

‘If you guys are heading to Bali, just make sure you triple check your passport that there is no damage, no marks, no water or anything on your passport because they won’t let you in and if they do, you will end up in a Bali cell.’

Doherty claimed her passport had the tiniest bit of water damage but was told Bali officials would detain her if she entered the tropical island with her passport

The avid-traveller, who moved from the UK to Australia, warned others to ‘triple check’ their passports before heading to Bali 

Social media users admitted they had similar experiences while travelling from Australia to Bali.

‘My partner’s passport page was a little bit ripped and they also didn’t let him board the flight to Bali,’ one person commented. 

‘I had the same. Landed in Bali, had to wait in a cell until I could get a flight out,’ a second person added. 

This happened to me a few years ago! Exact same thing with the water damage too!!! I had to get a brand new passport in 24 hours,’ another person wrote. 

Another person who is based in Bali confirmed travellers with damaged passports are detained when they land at the tropical island.  

‘If you’re coming to Bali… you have to make sure that your passport is in literal mint condition. It is true – you will be detained,’ they wrote.  

The Australian Passport Office website notes normal wear and tear of a passengers  passport should not prevent them from travelling. 

However, serious damage including missing pages, ink blurs, marks and tears or cuts to pages – with particular attention to the photo page – could cause Border Force officers to stop a person from travelling. 

‘Contact with water or other liquids can cause serious damage,’ the Passport Office advises.

‘You must not tear or remove pages from your passport. It is critical that all the details and the photos on the personal data pages are legible and clear, and that there is no evidence of alteration or tampering with any aspect of the booklet.’

Bali introduced strict passport rules in 2019, which allow authorities to detain tourists and fine airlines for allowing passengers to travel with damaged passports (stock image, woman rowing traditional boat towards Ulun Danu Bratan Temple, Bali)

Bali has some of the strictest passport rules when it comes to the travel documents having any tears or water damage.

The laws were introduced in 2019, with Indonesian authorities able to detain travellers and fine airlines more than $4,700 for allowing the passenger to travel with a damaged passport. 

It comes after a Western Australian lawyer was detained in Bali at the start of this year for having a small tear in his passport. 

A very small detail on a prominent Western Australian lawyer’s passport led to him being detained in Bali immediately after he arrived on the Indonesian tourist island.

John Hammond flew to Denpasar airport on February 5 and was going through the immigration process when he was ‘herded off’ by officials who believed his passport was fake. 

‘I was herded off to the bowels of the Denpasar airport when it was put to me that possibly my passport was a fake,’ Mr Hammond told 6PR radio station. 

‘It had a little tear in it about the size of a thumbnail, and that was the reason, I believe, why I was held with security at the back of the airport.

‘I had to read out a statement that I acknowledge that my passport was of poor quality and/or a fake.’

Mr Hammond was eventually let go after being asked to sign a statement claiming he would never return to Bali with a damaged passport. 

Passport damage and the law

Aussie travellers should check their passports (pictured) are in good condition

Normal wear and tear to your passport shouldn’t be a problem. More serious damage can stop you from travelling.

If you’re not sure about the condition of your passport, call the Australian Passport Office on 131 232 or contact your nearest Australian embassy or consulate overseas. 

It’s important that: 

• there are no tears or cuts in the passport pages, especially the photo page
• everything on the photo page is legible and clear
• there are no marks across your photo or in the Machine Readable Zone on the photo page
• no pages have been removed
• there is no alteration or tampering

They may need to see your passport to assess it.

Source: Australian government