An Australian woman has warned fellow travellers to triple-check their passports before heading to Indonesia.
Charlotte Rebecca from Melbourne was one week out from flying to Bali when she noticed a “slight” amount of water damage on the back of her passport.
She got a new one before her last trip to the hotspot a year ago, but after receiving an email from Jetstar about her upcoming trip, it prompted her to scan the condition of the document.
It ultimately led to her having to fork out $450 for an express replacement.
“If you’re going to Bali, don’t be like me and check your passport,” she warned viewers in a TikTok.
“So, I am going in exactly one week and I only got a new passport last year because I went to Bali in November — and obviously my passport was going to be OK,” she said.
“I got an email from Jetstar, so I was like, ‘I’m just going to look at my passport’.
“There is a slight amount of water damage on the back and Indonesia is very strict.
It wasn’t something she was willing to risk.
“So I had to go get expressed an emergency passport because I didn’t want to get detained or sent back to Australia and miss my holiday.
“The lady at the Australian Passport Office said it was up to me and that it ‘might be fine’ and ‘depends on who you get’.
“She said when she scanned [the passport] it worked twice and didn’t work once and I was like, ‘I am not taking any risks get me that [new] passport’.”
“So, please check your passport early and don’t get slight water damage.”
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs Indonesia website, if passports are damaged, officials have the right to refuse entry.
“Travellers entering the country should ensure that their passports are not damaged in any way as this will mean no admission at the port of entry.”
And it can happen, according to an Aussie’s recent experience.
Sydneysider Matt Vandenberg was detained as soon as he arrived at Bali Ngurah Rai
International Airport in June over a “tiny tear” in his passport.
The 29-year-old passed Australia’s security checks with zero issues and boarded a routine Jetstar flight, but things took an unexpected turn when he landed in the hotspot.
“So I arrived at DPS, paid my visa, presented my passport, and get brought over to the immigration office who alerted me I have a 1cm tear on my passport page,” Mr Vandenberg tweeted at the time.
“To be fair, he is correct. I had no idea until he bent it all the way back, and it stood out. You couldn’t see it any other way.”
The young Aussie was then brought into an office and told that because of the tiny tear, he wouldn’t be accepted into the country, and his passport was confiscated until he was put on a flight back to Australia.
Meanwhile, British fitness star Emma Doherty was “rejected” from boarding her Sydney to Bali flight over the same reason Charlotte replaced her passport — water damage.
“I travel all the time and it’s never been mentioned to me before,” she said. “But apparently Bali airport are really, really strict and they are known for putting people into a cell if they don’t like your passport,” she claimed.
Ms Doherty warned others heading to the island to triple check their passports for any damage and marks.