Scammers and dodgy middlemen sell Indonesians a way to win 'war' for an Australian visa

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Fraudsters and intermediaries claiming to have access to Indonesian immigration officials have been scamming workers eager to come to Australia.

There are tens of thousands of young Indonesians who are keen to apply for a Work and Holiday Visa (WHV) but there are only 5,000 up for grabs per year.

As part of the requirements of the WHV application, they need to supply Australian officials with a referral letter known as an SDUWHV from Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration.

Competition for the letters is fierce and the online application process has come to be known in Indonesia as a "war" — but for the right amount of money, people have been promised a way to win.

The ABC has been told that middlemen have claimed to be able to arrange for SDUWHV letters to be supplied by immigration officials for a fee of up to $5,500.

Scammers have also seen how lucrative it can be to exploit the process.

SDUWHV letters are meant to be free but require applicants to have $5,000 in savings and submit documents such as ID, education levels and English language certification.

Success for a price

One of the young Indonesians hoping to move to Australia on a WHV is Agus (not his real name).

He worked for seven years to save $5,000, in between finishing his university studies and paying for his siblings to go to school.

On October 15, online applications for the SDUWHV opened and Agus was at his computer ready to lodge the required documents.

But the system was down and he was unable to obtain the letter.

Agus was then offered help from someone who claimed they could use their connections into the immigration department to arrange the letter — for a price.

"He asked for 60 million rupiah ($5,500) but I told him I don't have that much money," he said.

"Then he lowered the price to 45 million rupiah ($4,100), but I really didn't have that amount and didn't want to get the letter that way."

The ABC has heard a recorded conversation between Agus and the person who said they could arrange an SDUWHV for him.

The middleman also claimed that only 40 per cent of the SDUWHV quota in the online "war" was genuinely up for grabs.

The majority had already been reserved for those who had paid.

In the conversation, the middleman said that the immigration office would provide the referral letter after payment was made.

"On the day of the war, I panicked and called him to ask why the war was so messy," Agus said.

"He said: 'What are you doing the war for? Everything has been set up, the names have been selected.'

"Just send your passport and I will crosscheck with the person who is connected to someone in the immigration office."

To convince Agus to use his services, the middleman sent him a list of 125 people who he claimed had successfully obtained the letter through him.

The ABC has contacted about half of the people on the list and tracked two who appeared to be living in Australia.

The six who replied to the ABC's inquiries said they failed to get the SDUWHV.

The ABC also contacted the middleman.

When asked what services or assistance he provided to those seeking an SDUWHV, he said he only offered "moral support and encouragement" and claimed to know nothing about any insider involvement.

Agus said he felt "lost" after failing to get his letter of recommendation despite his hard work of saving and trying to apply through the correct channels.

"I feel betrayed by my own country," he said.

Agus said the online SDUWHV application process needed to be overhauled. 

"The immigration office has killed thousands of young people's dreams of working in Australia," he said.

Scammers target hopeful applicants

Linda said she paid an "agent" $2,000 for an SDUWHV before WHV applications opened last year.

In January she found out she was not successful because, according to the refusal letter from Home Affairs, she had "given a bogus document".

"I got scared, confused, and did not know what to do," she told the ABC.

She went back to the person who had sold her the SDUWHV and asked him what to do.

"He replied: 'It's OK — this is normal,'" Linda said.

She wanted to apply for a WHV again in May but got a notification from Home Affairs that her application might be rejected.

Linda, who requested a pseudonym, said she was intimidated and verbally abused after confronting the scammer who had sold her the fake SDUWHV.

The ABC has spoken with other victims of this scam.

"We were threatened not to report to the police if we wanted our money back," one victim said.

No oversight of applications

Besides Indonesia, WHV applicants from Ecuador, Greece, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mongolia, Peru, Poland, San Marino, Slovenia, Thailand and Türkiye are also required to provide a government support letter.

In Indonesia, getting an SDUWHV letter is like buying a ticket for a popular concert — first come, first served.

SDUWHV applicants are supposed to apply themselves and the Indonesian government has introduced measures to verify identification during the process.

However, some agents have ignored this requirement and have charged people for the chance to get one without having to log on for the war.

Priscilla paid an "agent" $3,000 to get hers in 2019.

The "agent" also had offered to find her a job and a place to live for an extra cost, which she declined.

Priscilla thought that was the way to secure a WHV and said she felt bad for using a shortcut without doing enough research.

"When I met other WHV holders in Australia, I realised everybody had applied and done the war themselves," she said.

"I literally had no idea.

"The other WHV holders had to put in an effort while we took a shortcut by paying an 'agent.'"

Indonesian Ministry of Immigration's special staff Abdullah Rasyid told the ABC that "any agents or institutions offering SDUWHV war services" should be reported to the ministry.

"Findings, along with evidence, will be followed up to identify those profiting from and committing fraud," he said.

This year's online war for referral letters was so problematic that concerns raised by participants has led to a hearing with Indonesian politicians.

Calls for Australia to manage visa process

I Dewa Nyoman Rai is one of the thousands who signed a petition that brought wider attention to the matter.

He was part of a group that met with members of parliament on November 17 to discuss the issues they had encountered.

"On 15 October, the quota had only been filled by 80 people," Dewa said, referring to the day applications opened.

"On 17 October, the application button was missing, and the website was completely inaccessible until 4pm. However, by then, the quota had suddenly jumped to 4,700."

He said instead of a war where everyone had a chance for an SDUWHV, only some with an "invitation" were able to apply.

"Those who got access were only those who received an email and access [from Immigration]," he said.

Mr Rasyid told the ABC that emails were only sent to applicants who had "successfully entered the filing stage" but were unable to proceed because of "server issues".

More than 3,000 people lodged official complaints with the immigration agency, which has apologised for technical mishaps.

Directorate General of Immigration head Yuldi Yusman has denied allegations about middlemen working between his department and applicants.

"We will do an internal investigation to verify the information so there is no slander against us," he said.

MP Sugiat Santoso said the war system to obtain the referral letter was inappropriate, even though it has been in place for years.

"If the system remains as it is, two possible outcomes could occur: First, if Immigration's IT infrastructure is inadequate for this war, the system may fail," he said.

"Second, it [the quota] can be easily traded because there is no systemic oversight."

Another MP, Mafirion, said next year Indonesia should not be involved in the process at all.

"We ask the Australian Embassy to handle it," he said.

"That is the best way because they are the ones who issue the visa … so let it be like applying for an Australian visa in general, people can apply directly to them, and they decide who is eligible and who is not."

Mr Rasyid, from the Ministry of Immigration, told the ABC the SDUWHV letter system was in place at the request of the Australian Embassy, as was the quota of 5,000 that are issued.

The MPs also urged anyone who has knowledge of any misconduct related to the letter obtainment process to report it to police.

ANU migration expert Alan Gamlen said Australia processed WHV applications for some countries.

"But given Indonesia's size and its lower wage levels relative to Australia, demand could easily overwhelm Australian processing capacity," Professor Gamlen told the ABC.

"Requiring a letter of support effectively delegates the first stage of screening to Indonesia, which likely saves Australia significant time and resources."

He said Indonesia could look at replacing the SDUWHV process with a random ballot or by having a wealth threshold.

In a statement to the ABC, the Department of Home Affairs said it took allegations of misconduct seriously.

"The department is working with the Indonesian Directorate General of Immigration to encourage visa applicants to report any allegations of wrongdoing, including scam agents engaging in immigration fraud and exploiting visa applicants," a spokesperson said.

When asked about whether Australia should step in to handle the process, the department said "the government monitors work holiday maker activity to assess whether any changes to process would be appropriate for partner countries, including Indonesia".