The 2006 law on citizenship was the first step. Which allowed the children of mixed marriage couples to adopt dual citizenship, at least for the first 18 years of their lives. A big step forward at the sight of two years, children who make annual races visa in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur with passports and papers in one hand and pampers the other.
In 2011, a new immigration also introduces a welcome relief for those in mixed marriages, allowing an Indonesian citizen to sponsor their partner legally married on a temporary or permanent residence visa (KITAS and KITAP). These changes came about through the patient work behind the scenes by organizations like Srikandi and Alliansi Pelangi Antar Bangsa, both looking to have an Indonesian laws that directly impact on mixed marriages.
A recent seminar organized by Srikandi seemed to help explain the recent law changes with the officials of the Directorate of Immigration and the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, with two departments providing slideshow presentations on how they have dealt with us! Despite being promoted as dealing with the transfer of a KITAS a KITAP, verily, he has covered a wide range of areas.
Under the provisions of the Keimigrasian Nomor 6/2011 (the Immigration Act) Undang Undang, a KITAP for a stay of five years with unlimited extensions (Section 59 I & II) is available at abroad after 2 (two) years marriage "(Article 60 II). More and more foreigners have taken advantage of the new law to pass the KITAP, and if the experiences of posters on living in Indonesia Forum is a guide, most take for themselves the change, trooping up the Kantor time prohibiting Imigrasi with the necessary documents and a copy of the law that the moral support.
The process itself is easy - on paper! If a partner is already sponsoring a KITAS the following documents are needed to get the ball rolling.
The official cost is Rp.3,055,000 for KITAP, including biometric images and Rp.200,000 for SKLD. If you are doing yourself and the officials try to ask for more money, you can politely show them Peraturan Permintah RI Nomor 38 tahun 2009 is available for download from the Secretary of State website.
Once you have all the documents for the next step is to visit your local Imigrasi Kantor (KanIm) and this is where the fun begins! Officials, he may not be aware of the new regulations, or pretend they are not aware of the new regulations. They may even be aware of the regulations, but decide to put their own value on them! Or they can direct you to one of their friends who decide the official prices are too high.
After statuskim seksi accepted all the paperwork is in place, you are to see the waskadkim seksi verify that you are who you say you are, your sponsor is who they say they are and you have not been a bad person. If this person is happy, you return to the first statuskim seksi who will write a letter of recommendation to kakanim sign and return it to the statuskim seksi who then said DitJenIm (Directorate of Immigration) process KITAP can begin. You can then take the letter to Kanwil you and all documents.
If the DitJenIm is happy with the documents and recommendations, they will send a letter, or you can save yourself the Kanwil that instructs the KanIm issuing the KITAP. It is not until this point that you actually pay money!
How long it takes is an enigma and varies from city to city, but it can be done with patience and determination.
Among many other interesting points raised during the seminar, it was a gentleman of DitJenIm who said that anyone who has a wife or sponsoring their KITAS KITAP receive their much faster work permit as before. However, it is indicative of how the bureaucracy in Indonesia moves the other speaker of the workforce and Transmigration seemed less exuberant about it.
Indeed, the tone between the two speakers was different. Immigration talked about changes in the laws of 2006 and 2011, while the workforce seemed quagmire in the old laws.
Peter Beilby spent 10 years working with immigration Indonesia and feels, while there is still confusion regarding recent changes, at least the government, "trying to make the process easier. " Now, an Indonesian citizen himself, Beilby recalls how, when he started to read the immigration offices, they were places of laziness and lethargy. He described today as a "hive of activity", and aside reputation, things are slowly better for those of us who want to call home in Indonesia.
For those on the outside, facing the bureaucracy can be a nightmare, while for the profane keeping track of the law and its implementation is on a par with reading the Aramaic. The questions are not helped by disinformation and misinformation in the national media.
But it is possible. The law and board Visas to Indonesia Forum Salon (www.livinginindoinesianforum.org) is a delight for a treasure seeker of information and potential problems with the competent expatriates share their experiences while its mother site, www.expat.or .id, provides concise advice.
The two organizations mentioned above, and Srikandi Alliansi Pelangi Antar Bangsa are also able to offer advice, but they are existing voluntary organizations on the fees of members. I'm sure they would also welcome people as members!