KUALA LUMPUR - The Indonesian government is taking steps to manage a sharp increase in work visa applications for its migrant workers to Turkey.

Deputy Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI), Christina Aryani, held a meeting with Turkiye’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Talip Küçükcan, and a senior foreign affairs official on April 6.

The meeting discussed the rising number of visa applications and the need to ensure a smooth placement process for Indonesian workers.

Christina said the increase has been significant over the past year and requires strategic measures.

“Work visa applications for Indonesian migrant workers to Turkiye have increased quite sharply, nearly doubling compared to the previous period,” she said.

Data shared by the Turkish side showed that applications rose from about 6,700 between November 2024 and April 2025 to around 12,000 in the same period a year later.

About 6,500 of the applications are still being processed.

Christina said the rise must be handled carefully to avoid delays and difficulties for migrant workers.

Indonesia and Turkiye are working together through a joint working group under an existing memorandum of understanding.

“Through this forum, we are working to formulate anticipatory and mitigation steps so that in the future the placement process can run better and current obstacles can be minimised,” she added.

Turkiye also acknowledged the contribution of Indonesian workers, especially in its tourism sector.

The country’s tourism industry recorded about 63.9 million visitors in 2025, generating USD65.2 billion in revenue.

“This shows that the demand for workers in the tourism sector there is quite large, and Indonesian migrant workers have the opportunity to contribute to that sector,” Christina said.

She expressed hope that the discussions would lead to practical solutions for workers awaiting visa approval.

“We hope there will be concrete solutions from this meeting, so that our migrant workers who have been waiting can soon be processed and depart to work in Turkiye safely and through proper procedures,” she said.