Wearing a photocopy of your passport, KITAS or KITAP in Indonesia can not be good enough if you do not want to be treated like a criminal by agents overzealous immigration.
It's just after 9:01 p.m. Tuesday. Two teams of immigration and military officers, most of them in plain clothes, descended on the backpacker strip Jakarta, Jalan Jaksa. They are looking for foreigners who do not carry a passport or residence permit. Many TV crews were brought along to film the raid.
screenshot of the media coverage of an immigration raid in Jalan Jaksa, Jakarta, where an American and a Nigerian were arrested. This screenshot shows immigration officer Haristyo Utomo force detained an American expatriate.
The agents began entering cafes and cheap bars in the street, demanding to see the original documents. Television crews get action when an American male without his passport shouts, "What the F is this?" As almost dragged away by four officers.
When the bewildered man cries for his brother to come, an immigration officer in uniform appointed diminutive but aggressive Haristyo Utomo leapt forward and wrapped her arms around the neck of the American, pulling his head down the rear. Another officer shouts, "Shut up! Shut up! Stop shouting! "
There are more action when a burly Nigerian attempted to flee but was caught by officers. When an officer takes his wallet, he protests to be put in a vise by Utomo and Haristyo . fired on the floor fired up on adrenaline, Haristyo maintains its grip and shouts: "You want to fight Huh Huh You want to fight me"
Nigerian answers: "? No, no. I'm fighting. "He was then handcuffed by officers led by the central bureau chief of Jakarta immigration control immigration, vodka Yosa Anggara, which discusses later proudly with reporters.
The media coverage of the raid Jaksa was incompetent at best and at worst racist. "Many foreign citizens went on a drunken rampage when immigration officials raided Jalan Jaksa," said RTV Kompas Daily reported that the American had to be retained to prevent his escape. - Although ' he does not try to escape. other reports have claimed that illegal aliens were drunk and out of control.
the Jakarta portal of the online news network mode Coconuts.co said the Nigerian " resisted and tried to escape all the time. "Coconuts wrong Kompas quoted saying that Nigeria shouted" You want to fight? " When officers tried to handcuff him. Not true. Kompas report correctly stated that it was the official who asked a fight.
Foreigners arrested on Jaksa had just been enjoying beers with friends. Ironically, the Haristyo pugnacious in his profile on Badoo dating network online, lists his interests as "beer with friends" and "freedom".
agent aggressive immigration involved in Jalan Jaksa raid Haristyo Utomo, on the profile online dating lists his interests as "beer with friends" and "freedom"
An Australian working as consultant in Jakarta responded to May 5 RAID saying. "I always carry a photocopy of my passport to avoid this kind of thing" Many expatriates feel the same way :. a photocopy will avoid trouble
The fact is, some of those arrested during the raid were wearing copies of their passports. John (not his real name), a British pensioner in his 60s, was with some friends in a bar Jaksa when the raid took place.
"The officers were all wearing smart casual. I thought they had come to watch football. Then they began to demand to see passports. They were threatening and abusive."
John, who was in Indonesia on a tourist visa, showed them a laminate, photocopying color of the main data page of the passport. It was considered insufficient. another man at the table was a copy of his license long-term stay (KITAP). It was also not good enough. the two men and six foreigners have been grouped into two vehicles and taken to the fourth floor of the immigration office Kemayoran Central Jakarta. most were quickly released after friends and spouses arrived with their passports.
Nigeria and John were not so lucky. Nigeria had overstayed, while John was not allowed to collect his passport from his rented house. A inmate recalls the Nigerian was taken to a separate room. Shouting was heard, and a group of officers burst into the room. There was a lot more noise, then silence.
John said the officers continued to ask who "sponsor" him. He was eventually told to get a lift because an interpreter for the British embassy was waiting downstairs. It was a ruse. John was locked in a cell and told he would be released the next morning. But nothing happened, he called an Indonesian friend to pick up the key to her home and bring her passport. The friend, Adam (not his real name), arrived at immigration after work at 17:30 Wednesday and was informed briefly the office had closed for the day. When he insisted on seeing John, he was told the agent with the keys of the cells had already gone home. If this is true, then the immigration endangered the lives of prisoners in case of fire or other disaster.
Adam returned at 8 am Thursday to be informed ". The man with the key cells has not yet arrived then return to 10 hours" He went back to 9:55, finally collected the key to John, went to the house, found the passport and rushed to 11:30. John was told would be released at 14 hours Friday. Why not earlier? Immigration now had his original passport containing a valid visa, so why keep him incarcerated as a criminal? The official reason: agents wanted to type a letter to John to sign, promising to bring his original passport. Most people can type a single letter in less than an hour. No Central Jakarta Immigration Office. Adam was asked to pay Rp.6 million for the release of John. He refused. John was finally released after three nights behind bars. "I do not know what happened in Nigeria," he said. "There was a lot of Cameroonians in the cell next to mine and they have no one to help them."
The raids Jaksa were part of a scanning by 120 immigration offices across Indonesia from May 5- 7, 1069 foreign net. the goal was to take action against terrorism, drugs and treatment trafficking, and to ensure that foreign compliance with regulations on immigration.
These raids are nothing new, although the objectives in the past were mainly Africans and Chinese. Now everyone is fair game. Korean, Japanese, Middle Easterners, Europeans and Australians have all been caught and several said they had to pay to be released. the officers seem to be particularly fond of apartments raids of foreign women suspected of working as prostitutes.
In light of recent immigration raids, carrying a copy of KITAS and passport is not enough for immigration officials. Expats are invited to bring their original passport and KITAS with them
A perennial question that emerges after these raids is: Did aliens must carry their original passport or a residence permit at all times Indonesia? A moderator on the popular Living in Indonesia - Expat Forum May posted: "Do not have a passport to produce locally are not (and never was) an offense." He cited Article 91 (2) law No. 23 of 2006 on the administration of the population, which states:. "any foreigner who has a permit for limited residence ... traveling homeless certificate will be punishable by a maximum administrative fine of Rp. 100,000 "
in other words, if you are a KITAS (permit short stay) and you're not carrying or a residence certificate, you can be fined for a small quantity.
But it does not mention anything about tourist visas or passports. Instead, we need to look at the Act No.6 of 2011 on immigration. Article 71 (b) of the Act states that any alien present in Indonesia is obliged to. "Show and submit any travel document or residence permit they have the need to do so by an immigration agent active in the interests of immigration control "
violators of Article 71 face a maximum sentence of three months imprisonment or a fine of Rp.25 million. Article 119 stipulates that foreigners entering and / or are in Indonesia without a valid travel document and a visa face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to RP500 million.
So you always have either a passport, KITAS, KITAP or KTP-Asing (residence permit for foreigners). If these be originals or copies? The law does not explicitly say, but given the recent raids, photocopies and analysis are not enough.
[19459026"Makeaphotocopyoftherelevantpagesofyourpassportandacopyofyourarrivalcardforidentificationpurposesandkeeptheoriginalsinasafeplace"] arrival / departure card Indonesia, once mandatory for all foreigners entering and leaving the country, was abandoned in April. A strange movement because it makes it harder for the government to know where foreigners will stay and the purpose of their visit.In this case, it is time for countries such as the United Kingdom to update their travel advice for Indonesia. The UK government advises:
As for raids immigration, comes right down to the attitude of a stranger. Always be polite, friendly and cooperative. Establish a respectful relationship with Indonesian officials and you will find that there is less risk of being treated like a criminal.
Many Indonesian expatriates in the United States suffered a difficult treatment in raids after the 9/11 attacks. Western expatriates in Indonesia are lucky insofar as it is usually easy to find a solution for administrative offenses. Most Indonesian officials are sympathetic to heart, provided that we do not undermine.
To see the video of the immigration raid on Jalan Jaksa, click here.