Director General of Immigration Hendarsam Marantoko announced the entry ban at a press conference in Jakarta on July 24.

"There should not be a state within a state. We consider this running club to be functioning as a 'state within a state'," Hendarsam said, as quoted by Antara.

The two men, identified by authorities only by their initials, ran Entourage Bali, the group behind a "Bali Silent Disco" run in Canggu, a coastal area of Badung Regency.

JAS, 35, held a limited stay permit, known locally as an ITAS, for employment. HQV, 37, held an investor ITAS.

Immigration records place their departure on the night of July 23, on a KLM flight from Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to Singapore, according to Kompas.

The ban was imposed because the two had already left Indonesian territory, Hendarsam said.

Foreign nationals may not organize events in Indonesia and can take part only as official crew for productions featuring international performers, he said. The pair's activities did not match the permits they held.

Screenshots circulating on social media appeared to show Indonesian applicants rejected from the group's WhatsApp community after disclosing their nationality, while a foreign applicant was approved immediately.

Jakarta Globe reported the allegations began with a post on X and spread as other Indonesians described similar experiences.

Ni Luh Djelantik, who represents Bali in Indonesia's Regional Representative Council, filed a formal complaint with immigration authorities and police.

Some of the group's activities may also have lacked permits, she said publicly, according to The Bali Times.

Entourage Bali said in a July 24 statement that it had never intended to discriminate and that its community, built for digital nomads, includes Indonesian members.

"We have made errors in the automated approval process for our WhatsApp groups and non-running events," the statement read. "A bias was created that some (and not all) +62 numbers, Indonesians, were incorrectly rejected."

Indonesian mobile numbers carry the +62 prefix.

The group said its runs are normally open to anyone without registration and that ticketing was introduced for the Silent Disco Run because capacity was limited.

Indonesians made up the largest single nationality at that event, close to a quarter of ticket holders, it said, as reported by Kumparan. All events and activities have been paused.

Hendarsam has instructed the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office to summon everyone connected to the event, from the organizers to its commercial sponsors, Tempo reported.

The office has already called in PT SIG, the company that acted as immigration guarantor for the two men's stay permits, to account for their activities and whether those matched the permits issued.

Sponsors found to have breached immigration rules will face action, Hendarsam said.

Badung Police said on July 24 they were gathering evidence and would question the organizers, though no formal public complaint had been lodged, kumparan reported.

The regency's public order agency told The Bali Times it had never received a request for a recommendation to use public roads for the event.