Di bagian imigrasi, petugas meminta paspor saya.

No. In di bagian imigrasi, di is a preposition meaning in / at / on, so it is written separately from the following word.

• di bagian imigrasi = in the immigration section / at immigration

This is different from the passive prefix di-, which is attached to a verb:

• diminta = is asked for / was requested
• dibuka = is opened

A useful rule:

• di
  • place/location → usually written separately
• di-
  • verb → written together

Bagian literally means part, section, or department.

So bagian imigrasi is literally something like:

• the immigration section
• the immigration department
• in context, simply immigration

Indonesian often uses a noun like bagian where English might just use one word naturally.

Yes, very often you can.

• Di imigrasi, petugas meminta paspor saya.

This sounds natural and is probably what many speakers would say in everyday conversation.

Di bagian imigrasi is a bit more explicit, like saying at the immigration section/counter/area. It is not wrong at all; it just sounds slightly more specific or formal.

Petugas means officer, official, staff member, or attendant, depending on context.

In this sentence, it most naturally means something like:

• the officer
• the immigration officer
• the staff member

By itself, petugas does not automatically mean a government official only. It can also refer to staff working in many settings. Context tells you what kind of officer/staff person is meant.

Indonesian often leaves out words like a/an because Indonesian does not have articles like English.

So:

• petugas can mean the officer, an officer, or simply officer/staff, depending on context.

You could say:

• seorang petugas meminta paspor saya

This would mean an officer asked for my passport and sounds more explicitly indefinite. But in normal Indonesian, leaving out seorang is very common and natural.

Here meminta means to ask for, to request, or to ask someone for something.

• petugas meminta paspor saya = the officer asked for my passport

Minta is the base form used a lot in everyday speech, while meminta is the meN- verb form and usually sounds a bit more neutral, complete, or formal.

Compare:

• Saya minta air. = I want / ask for water.
• Saya meminta air. = also I ask(ed) for water, but a bit more formal/written

In conversation, minta is extremely common.

The verb is built like this:

• base/root: minta = ask for
• derived verb: meminta

The prefix meN- is a very common Indonesian verb-forming prefix. It often creates an active verb.

With roots beginning with certain consonants, the prefix changes shape. With minta, it becomes mem-, giving meminta.

You do not need to over-analyze it every time, but it helps to recognize that:

• minta and meminta are closely related
• meminta is the standard active verb form

Because possession in Indonesian usually works as:

• noun + possessor

So:

• paspor saya = my passport
• rumah saya = my house
• nama saya = my name

This is the opposite of English word order. English puts the possessor first (my passport), but Indonesian usually puts it after the noun (passport my).

Yes. Saya can mean:

• I as a subject
• me as an object
• my after a noun

Its function depends on position in the sentence.

Examples:

• Saya datang. = I came.
• Dia melihat saya. = He/She saw me.
• paspor saya = my passport

So in paspor saya, saya is a possessive meaning my.

Indonesian has no direct equivalent of English articles like a/an/the in most sentences.

That means a noun like petugas can mean:

• an officer
• the officer
• just officer

And paspor saya already means my passport, so no article is needed.

Whether English should use a or the is decided from context when translating.

It is not strictly necessary, but it is very normal and helpful.

The phrase Di bagian imigrasi is an introductory location phrase. A comma makes the sentence easier to read:

• Di bagian imigrasi, petugas meminta paspor saya.

Without the comma, it is still understandable:

• Di bagian imigrasi petugas meminta paspor saya.

In careful writing, the comma is usually better here.

Yes. Those are passive versions.

Active:

• Petugas meminta paspor saya. = The officer asked for my passport.

Passive:

• Paspor saya diminta petugas.
• Paspor saya diminta oleh petugas.

These mean roughly:

• My passport was asked for by the officer
• more naturally in English, The officer asked for my passport

Notes:

• oleh = by
• oleh is often optional when the agent is clear

The active sentence is usually the most straightforward here.

Yes, and that would make the meaning more explicit.

• Di bagian imigrasi, petugas imigrasi meminta paspor saya.

This means the immigration officer asked for my passport.

Using just petugas is natural because the location di bagian imigrasi already makes it obvious what kind of officer is meant.

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So meminta by itself does not specifically mean:

• asks
• asked
• is asking

The time is understood from context.

In this sentence, English will often translate it as asked for because the situation sounds like a completed event, but Indonesian itself does not mark that directly.

If you want to make time clearer, you can add time words:

• tadi = earlier / a while ago
• kemarin = yesterday
• sekarang = now

Example:

• Di bagian imigrasi, petugas tadi meminta paspor saya.
• Di bagian imigrasi, petugas sedang meminta paspor saya. = ...is asking for my passport

It sounds neutral to somewhat formal, and it is perfectly natural.

Why:

• saya is more neutral/formal than aku
• meminta is a bit more formal than plain minta
• bagian imigrasi sounds slightly more official than just imigrasi

A more casual version might be:

• Di imigrasi, petugas minta paspor saya.

Both are correct; they just differ slightly in style.