REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MATARAM -- At least 37 foreign nationals have been deported from the West Nusa Tenggara Province over the past ten months for violating immigration laws, including those married to Indonesians, stated a local immigration officer.

"The misuse of social visit visa is the dominant issue with regard to immigration violation," Head of the Supervision and Law Enforcement Division of the Mataram-based Immigration Office Indra Iskandar stated here on Tuesday (11/11).

He pointed out that visa violators were mainly from Australia and Malaysia. He further added that number of people deported this year increased from 22 recorded in the previous year.

According to Iskandar, many of the immigration violators were foreign nationals who got married to Indonesians as they did not have proper immigration documents while visiting or staying with their spouses in the country.

"Many of them get married to Indonesian migrant workers coming from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara Province," he noted.

One of the cases that the Mataram immigration officers are currently handling with the local police is related to Malaysians visiting their spouses without proper documents, he added.