Job Discussion Forums

Fishy · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 138

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/foreign-spouses-granted-more-residency-rights/434168

This is brilliant news for those of us married to Indonesians. We can now work for whoever we like whenever we like, do not need sponsorship, and we get permanent residency. This is a huge step forward in making things easier for people living in Indonesia long-term.

Zorobabel · Joined: 13 Feb 2006 Posts: 82

Very good news. Sadly I left Indonesia for a year before coming back in 2010, so I will have to wait another 2 years before I'm eligible for permanent residency (3-year residency requirement). Nonetheless, it is truly a leap forward for us mixed couples, and it makes settling in Indonesia for the long term completely viable now.

chezal · Joined: 25 Feb 2009 Posts: 146

rayman · Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427

More info would be much appreciated Chezal. I'm getting mixed reports as to whether this law has been enacted yet. Could you shed some more light in this regard?

Cheers

chezal · Joined: 25 Feb 2009 Posts: 146

The law hasn't been enacted just yet. It got passed on the 5thapril but is yet to be sign by SBY. It will be sign by SBY within 30 days thus being truly passed. It could take up to 1 year to come fully into force. After it's been signed you'll be able to access the full Indonesian version of the law online.

Briefly somethings the new law includes are as follows:
Foreigner married to WNI granted Kitas in the first 2 years of marriage. ---

Those married for more 2 years automatical change to Kitap. The official fee for making a Kitap is 3million rupiah.

Kitap is for life and doesn't need to be renewed but just checked every 5 years. This check will be free of charge.

Those in mixed marriages will no longer require a sponsor.
You will have the right to work.
Children of mixed marriages even if they chose foreign citizenship will have the right to indefinite right to remain and allowed to work.

rayman · Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427

Thanks Chezal. If this goes all the way through without any major alterations, it would be a 180 degree about face from the Indonesian government on the issue. It was only a couple of years ago proposals were being made to 'charge' foreigners US$50 000 to marry an Indonesian citizen. It would be interesting to know the reasons behind the extremely positive change of heart.

benbobaggins · Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 60 Location: Jakarta

Hi,

I was wondering if you clear up some thing for me...

I, like many probably, have been married for more than two years, but have been on a one year KITAS provided by the school, renewed every year.

I have also left on EPO once a year for Xmas, but not needed to leave to Singapore to renew as its the same company for 3 years, 4 with new contract signed last week.

So, my query is:

Do I ask my school to do a KITAP? And I pay the difference? Or, is it better to do myself? If the school does it, will it be their name - like current KITAS?

Cheers for any advice.

chezal · Joined: 25 Feb 2009 Posts: 146

@ ben I have also been wondering the same thing. When I recieve more information I will post it here.
However if in accordance with the new law even if your school
helped to process you kitap it wouldn't be in their name. This is due to spouses of mixed marriage no longer requiring a sponsor.

I think this new law will benefit teachers working here as it will provide good bargaining power. This will save them a lot of money in processing a Kitas for you every year. Therefore hopefully = bigger salary Smile

rayman · Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427

Employers would also be more willing to hire part timers. So it's supportive of those who wish to work 2 jobs or would like to go into semi retirement. One would think it would also make those on a KITAP, as opposed to KITAS much more attractive to (stingy) employers, given the costs they would save. Also possibly less complicated and cheaper for foreigners to open up a private business.

benbobaggins · Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 60 Location: Jakarta

Interesting - I thought as much.

Would this also negate the 'English Degree' stiulation as well - as teachers won't need to be registered for KITAS??

Anyway, any updates, please post...

Very Happy

aku_tonpa · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 63

I agree that employing someone with a KITAP appears to be the better move for employers wishing to save some money. However, does this mean any Tom, Dick or Harry can be employed as a teacher as long as they have the KITAP? Will some schools opt for this cheaper option rather than consider the ability of the teacher?

Another thing. Some employers use the cost of a KITAS as a means of introducing heavy penalties in contracts. We have all read about teachers who wish to break their contract, but won't/cannot because of these penalties. Would it be correct to assume that if a teacher is hired with a KITAP (no costs incurred by the school?), it would be easier to break the contract?

It will be interesting to see how some schools adapt to this and whether paying for a KITAS actually has it benefits.

rayman · Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427

I'd imagine schools that would only look at the cheapest option without consideration for teacher qualifications would already be conducting that type of practice now. I don't believe introducing the KITAP would introduce that sort of behaviour. I know a couple of Dutch guys that dropped out of high school and teaching in an EF now. There's always a way around it.

In saying that, if you have 2 teachers of equal experience and qualifications, but one with a KITAP - I imagine the KITAP applicant would be at a big advantage for all but the very best of international schools.

Personally, I couldn't really see any way that paying for a KITAS would be more beneficial than having a KITAP.

phis · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 250

I would like to introduce another angle that might not have been considered yet...

I know from personal experience (I wasn't the person involved, but rather the DOS who had to try to negotiate 'reasonable' contracts for people in this situation) that, in the past, if the spouse of an Indonesian citizen managed to get citizenship themselves, they were then considered to be Indonesian for employment purposes and only qualified for an Indonesian level salary and benefits.

As well as receiving a much lower salary, they were no longer entitled to other benefits such as free housing, airfares, etc. In addition, medical insurance consisted of the basic group insurance for employees (that is required by Indonesian law), and was nowhere near the package offered to foreign employees. It definitely didn't run to private rooms in hospital and/or treatment in Malaysia should the illness be serious. The cost of repatriation to the home country in case of serious illness/death was definitely not included.

The above policy also applied to anyone who was the offspring of a mixed marriage involving one parent being Indonesian, even if the applicant had spent most of their life living in an English speaking country and held a passport from that country.

Being the cynic that I am, I have a sneaking suspicion that employers will try to implement the same policy for anyone obtaining a KITAP under the new regulations. I honestly don't see said employers willingly passing on any savings to their employees in the form of higher salaries above those paid to foreign workers with a KITAS. Just imagine the uproar there would be when foreign teachers with high qualifications found out that relatively 'unqualified' teachers were earning more than them just because they had married an Indonesian citizen and had a KITAP!!

The employers way around having to pay higher salaries will probably be to stress the above points, and then to add an additional payment on top of the basic Indonesian salary, as a gesture of 'goodwill'! (This is what happened in the cases I had to negotiate. However hard I tried, I couldn't get the employers to agree that the applicants were still foreign teachers!) Anyway, whatever figure is agreed to, it will still be nowhere near the salary paid to 'foreign workers'; a category to which you will no longer belong!

I hope I am wrong about all this, but.......

eddie honda · Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 59

kitap is a long term resedency visa tho... it is not the same as being an indo citizen... your passport would still be foreign so therefore you should be foreign too...

there is also ZERO chance of employers passing on any savings to the teachers.. as mentioned previously, if anything they will use the chance to skank u out of your flights home... indonesian employers are not exactly renowned for their generous nature or the looseness of their purse strings... mata duitan aja...

Zorobabel · Joined: 13 Feb 2006 Posts: 82

I'm really interested in this law. I'm starting a new job in a few months, and they want me to do a visa run and work with a business visa (cough) for a month. So if this law is signed within 30 days, it could be possible for me to start processing a KITAP immediately, I assume. I hate visa runs, so I'm going to be on the ball with this one. I'll let you know what I find out.