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An Australian woman was unable to board a flight for her dream holiday to Bali due to a small tear in her passport.
Elyse Elmer was due to fly to Bali from Sydney but was prevented from boarding the plane by officials.
“So in Australia, at the counter, they refused to let me get on the flight,” Elmer explained in a video posted on social media.
“I cried in front of everyone. That little tear was enough for them to be denied entry.
He then rushed home to apply for an emergency passport. He arrived just two days later, allowing him to finally leave for Denpasar.
Elmer was one of dozens of Australians turned away with minor damage to their travel documents in recent years.
Elyse Elmer (pictured), has revealed the minor flaw in her passport that led to her being refused entry onto a plane bound for Bali for a holiday.
His passport had a small tear on the spine of the “photo page” (as shown in the picture).
Indonesia has some of the strictest passport rules in the world, and if your passport is torn or damaged, you may have trouble traveling there.
These rules came into force in 2019 and empower Indonesian authorities to detain travelers and impose fines of more than $4,700 on airlines that allow passengers with damaged passports to board flights.
In 2019, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney said that the general rule for what constitutes a damaged passport is when the system cannot read its data.
He added that the final decision rests with immigration officials.
“Criteria for a damaged passport include tears, ink stains and water damage, so you’d better take good care of your passport.”
Other Australian travelers on social media described being denied entry to Indonesia due to wrinkles and small scratches on their passport.
One said: “They changed my flight later that night and I paid $600 for an emergency passport.”
“This is a common occurrence when traveling to Bali,” a second user wrote, adding that “all damage is considered suspicious no matter what.”
Others blamed Elmer for not checking his passport before traveling abroad.
“I’m pretty sure even your passport says it needs to be in good condition before you travel,” one user wrote.
“In fact, the airport staff were protecting you,” wrote another.
‘You would have been stopped, then turned away, and then you would have had to try to find a return flight as soon as possible; Indonesia requires a perfect, undamaged passport with at least six months until expiration.’