Indonesia, Immigration, and a New Law...

It has been a while since I have bothered to write on any Indonesian laws. I continue to read them regularly, perhaps daily might be a more accurate description. I read for two reasons: to keep up-to-date and to keep my language skills up to speed. However, I figured I might jot down a few points about the new immigration law. I thought that I would do this for no other reason than having a vested interest in the subject matter. But, then again, it is 15 Chapters and 145 Articles long, I can think of a whole lot of other things that I might enjoy more now that I am writing for fun rather than income.

To say that the new Immigration Law was a long time in the making, or a long time in coming, is an understatement in the extreme. The previous immigration law was passed and enacted way back in 1992. Nevertheless, the House of Representatives (DPR) finally got their collective heads around the idea of needing to pass new legislation in this area. So, on 7 April 2011, the DPR passed the Immigration Bill into Law and the rest is history, sort of.

The new law goes some ways towards resolving a number of outstanding issues that directly impact upon foreigners living or wanting to live in Indonesia. However, there are other really critical and substantive issues that will determine whether foreigners opt to live in Indonesia that remain unaddressed, and as such unresolved. A prime example of this is property ownership in Indonesia by foreigners. This is apparently going to be addressed in separate legislation, presumably a revised agrarian law, at some later date. The "some later date" is problematic as it still creates present problems for foreigners and their Indonesian families that might not wait until some later date.

The idea that the new immigration law is solely to satisfy concerned foreigners and their agitating Indonesian spouses who lobbied for some of these changes is a furphy. The reality is that after 19 years with the same legislation while other laws and regulations were enacted and implemented around it meant that the old immigration law was no longer fit for the purpose it was originally enacted for. Furthermore, there was little point in going about the process in an ad hoc or piecemeal manner making the odd amendment here are there. Common sense dictated that the best, perhaps preferred, approach was to draft and enact a whole new law.

Yet, it must be noted that there are plenty of provisions in the new law which are pro-foreigner, particularly pro-mixed marriage families. However, once again, this is not the sole reason for the new law.

In any event, it must also be noted that the enactment of the law constitutes less than half the process. The proof of the pudding, so to speak, is in the implementing regulations. Quite clearly, the new law will require new implementing regulations in order for the new law to work and to be enforceable. If these provisions are not forthcoming, then the law will be difficult to apply and the 'guarantees' that many think the new law provides will fall by the wayside.

In fact, the statement that all current implementing regulations remain in force while they do not conflict with the new law and until such time as they are repealed and replaced does not provide any increased or enhanced certainty for those individuals that are likely to come under the full force of the law.

For example, a dilemma that presents itself is how much should foreigners be paid. The dilemma is whether foreigners as defined under the new immigration law are the equivalent of expatriates, particularly if they are being sponsored by their Indonesian spouse. The salary ranges for expatriates are set out in explicit terms in Director General of Taxation Decision No. KEP-173/PJ/2002 which requires expatriates (nationalities are listed in the decision) to be paid specific amounts in USD for certain jobs. An example, an Australia Manager in the trade business is to be paid USD 10,756 per month. Funnily enough it sets out that I should have been being paid USD 8,900 per month, but that was certainly not happening!

The guessing game here is one of whether a foreigner recruited locally in Indonesia as opposed to a foreigner recruited in their home country and brought to Indonesia are classified differently in the expatriate sense. Unfortunately, Article 61 and the elucidation is silent on the salary / wage front. However, it would certainly seem to make for an interesting discussion at the immigration office if an Indonesian spouse of limited means was seeking to sponsor a foreign spouse into Indonesia, particularly if they were looking at a small start-up business operation that might not even turn over USD 10,000 per month.

Maybe, this immigration law deal needs to be a series of posts?

Indonesian Nationals and Foreign Spouses...

Whenever I have had an extended break from posting I always feel the need to apologise for my absence. I am not sure why that is. Maybe it is that I really enjoy posting odds and ends on my blog, and the fact that I have been way so irregular in doing that probably bothers me more than it bothers anyone else. But hey, duty or work calls and I have been busy doing the thing that pays my bills.

However, it is Saturday, there is only one week of Term 1 to go before the school holidays kick in, and it has been a particularly lazy Saturday to date. And, aside from a need to mow the front lawn, a lazy Saturday it seems destined to remain. That said, I have installed and set-up a new Canon Pixma MG6150 printer on our wireless home network. For the technologically challenged like me, even in a "move mouse and click" environment it was quite an achievement.

So, enough of the beating around the bush, on with the show!

It was with some interest that I read in The Jakarta Globe today an article about a draft bill and changes to the immigration law. I am particularly interested in the changes that will impact significantly on the foreign spouses and children of Indonesian citizens. My interest is personal, I am a foreign spouse and Will is the son of an Indonesian and Non-Indonesian parent.

Perhaps a reality check in the environment of euphoria is needed to start with. I really do not want to be a wet blanket and smother everyone else's fun here or to be the party-pooper, but the argument that the draft bill allows mixed-marriage families to stay together is rather simplistic. The truth of the matter is that the procedures for foreigners married to Indonesians and living in Indonesia are onerous. In fact, they are quite painful at times. They are also very expensive. But, to suggest that they are the sole source of families coming apart as the argument that the current changes will enable families to stay together has that logical fallacy feel to it.

From a personal perspective, the idea that my wife can sponsor me to live in Indonesia is a plus. The fact that Will would now be able to qualify for permanent residency if we opted for only Australian citizenship for him is a plus. Nevertheless, the current laws and regulations allow for Will to be a dual citizen until he is 18 and that seems like the best deal for him. The process of getting Indonesian citizenship for Will though is much easier outside of Indonesia than it is while in Indonesia.

Again, on the personal perspective. It is pleasing to see that the Indonesian government has finally recognised that there are foreigners who marry Indonesians for all the right reasons and establish roots in the country and establish lives there that are not always so easily packed up with the purchase of a ticket to another country. It is also a pleasing development that the draft bill seems to provide for foreign spouses to be sponsored by their Indonesian partner rather than rely on the sponsorship of an employer.

These developments have been a long time in the making. They have been on the table and in discussion for many years. In fact, I had discussions about these very amendments when we were living in Indonesia. We have been back in Australia since 2009. Come to think of it, in about 14 days we would have been back in Australia for 2 whole years. Time flies!

The changes are not enough to warrant an immediate "pack-up and go" for us. But, the truth is that it does, or at least will, make it easier for us to contemplate a move back to Indonesia in the sooner rather than later sense. However, there are no immediate plans for a return for any other reason other than a holiday this year or in the next 3 or 4. Yet, if someone was to offer me a great package deal for a job teaching at a school in Indonesia, then who knows...

Public Service Email Accounts for Personal Affairs: Inappropriate...

What was this bloke thinking? Seriously, a department-wide email to track down a girl! Steve Tucker decided that the girl he met at a party might be the girl of his dreams, but the night ended in a manner he did not like. Presumably, he did not get her contact details or she did not want to hand them over. The girl, who has yet to be identified  by anything other than "Olivia" who is tall and olive skinned, was supposedly staying with a colleague. So, the decision was made to send a department-wide email.

The department, Immigration and Citizenship, email system was utilised in order to track Olivia down.

Funnily enough, Tucker sensed that there would be repercussions for this 'inappropriate' use of the email system, but explained that despite any misgivings about the inappropriateness he felt it was a risk that he had to take. Well, that risk apparently is now being investigated by the relevant internal authorities at the department.

From my very vague recollections of employment law, this is unlikely to see Mr. Tucker fired. He is likely to be reprimanded for the inappropriate use. Let's face it, this is a slap on the wrist offense at best. He has not used the system to bag fellow colleagues or to send porn. He has used the system to track down a girl.

Nevertheless, that said, it would be interesting if DIAC did sack the bloke. I wonder if he would pursue an unfair dismissal claim?

Indonesian Asylum-Seekers Sent Home...

A group of 62 Indonesian asylum-seekers who were intercepted north of Broome of the north-west coast of Australia back in September 2009 have been sent back to Indonesia. The 62 men were moved to the Christmas Island detention / refugee processing centre.

After processing their claims, it has been determined that none of them meet Australia's strict criteria for asylum. According to the Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, there was nothing that these individuals were claiming that would trigger any obligation incumbent on Australia with respect to protection. They also failed to meet any criteria to be classified as refugees under the Refugee Convention.

All of them claimed to hail from Java.

Once again, according to the minister, Australia does not issue protection visas or refugee status to those only seeking "better economic opportunities". The group 'voluntarily' returned to Indonesia.

Australia and Indonesia have a long history with respect to Indonesians seeking asylum or refugee status in Australia. The above cartoon reflects a little of that history, and can be found here.

Foreign Students and Visa Fraud -- Australia

The Australian government is set to crack down on visa fraud by foreign students and those that assist them in getting the necessary visas to study in Australia. The visa fraud that the government is targeting relates to whether prospective students have sufficient financial reserves to support them through the course of their studies.

It is expected that prospective students will need at least AUD 12,000 for living expenses for each year they intend to study plus any applicable tuition fees.

The main targets of this crackdown are going to be prospective students from India, Mauritius, Nepal, Brazil, Zimbabwe, and Pakistan. The crackdown is to be launched immediately. In essence, the crackdown means that applications from prospective students from any of the listed countries are going to be subject to enhanced scrutiny and have restrictions placed on their ability to lodge applications online, according to Immigration Minister Chris Evans.

Applications by prospective students has increased by some 20% over the last 12 months and some 28,000 applications were rejected.

The most obvious signs of potential fraud are, apparently, large one-off transfers of cash to the bank account of the prospective student and enrollment in lesser known institutions. The government has been unequivocal in stating that legitimate students need not fear any additional scrutiny of their applications. A legitimate application will still be approved irrespective of where the applicant comes from.

The international student industry in Australia is worth some AUD 15.5 billion per year.

I wonder how much the increased scrutiny will impact the bottom line?

Shah Rukh Khan -- US Immigration Hassles -- The Daily Show...

Here is Jon Stewart's take on the Shah Rukh Khan incident. I wrote about this previously here. In that post I alluded to the fact that it might have been a beat up, but Jon Stewart is a much more famous funny man than I ever will be, so here he is with The Daily Show interpretation.

Enjoy!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Shah Rukh Khan Detained at Newark
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

Shah Rukh Khan -- US Immigration Hassles...

This post sort of fits in with an earlier post I did on the racial conflicts happening in Australia that garnered considerable media coverage in India. If for no other reason than it highlights that problems of racial profiling and racial conflict are not unique to any one country in the world. And, it does not matter whether you are just an ordinary person going about your normal affairs or a world wide star going about your normal affairs.

This is the case for Shah Rukh Khan or Shahrukh Khan, an Indian, a Bollywood legend and owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders Cricket Team, and I would have reckoned pretty much known the world over, at least wherever there are films. This I figured would have included the US.

It seems that Khan came in for some special attention by US immigration authorities as he was passing through Newark airport in New Jersey. Khan was on his way to Chicago for a parade to mark Indian Independence Day. Khan has gone on the record to say he felt angry and humiliated. I am guessing that there would be plenty of Indians and other citizens of the world saying, "welcome to the real world in America".

This sort of detention and harassment of certain travelers is not exclusive to Indians. It gets just about everybody. A number of years ago I was traveling with a group of students to the US from Indonesia. The males in the group were all detained and taken off to side rooms for "special" interviews and then interrogated about their intentions and reasons for travel. These interviews lasted for a couple of hours as I recall. I, on the other hand, just fronted up at the immigration counter, flipped out the passport, smiled a little, and off-loaded my fingerprints and was done.

Eventually, Khan was allowed to make a call to the Indian Consulate and they were able to clear up the matter. I am not so sure that an Indian with a lesser public profile might have been able to get the same sort of assurances from their consulate.

Funnily enough, in that perversely sad way, Khan had just finished shooting a film, "My Name is Khan," about racial profiling of Muslim men. I am sure this experience will lend an air of greater reality to the film when it is finally released. Some might even argue that this story is a bit of a beat-up designed to help promote the movie. Perhaps the incident can even become a movie in its own right with Khan playing the lead role, and lots of suitably attired and dancing customs officials bopping (dancing for others but I am not a dancer myself, but just a simple bopper) away in the usual Bollywood fashion.

The incident is certain to get the cyber world buzzing and Indians are sure to be flooding sites with comments about it. And, why not?

Priyanka Chopra, a colleague of Khan's was quick to tweet her feelings on the matter: "Shocking, disturbing n downright disgraceful. It's such behavior that fuels hatred and racism. SRK's a world figure for God's sake. Get Real!!" She has a point on the hatred and racism, but probably not so on the shocking, disturbing, and disgraceful front. Life for certain travelers to the US are pretty much that which Khan has endured.

The Indian Information Minister, Ambika Soni, has upped the ante by suggesting that this is a regular occurrence for Indians; being detained after being racially or religiously profiled. Specifically, Soni said that there had been no definitive statement that Khan had been detained on religious grounds, but "there have been too many instances like these in the US concerning Indians." Fuel on the fire for sure.

With a bit of luck this incident might serve as a bit of an eye-opener all round. However, I doubt that it will. When the US turned away Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens, that caused an outcry and some serious questions to be asked about profiling and terrorist lists, but the reality is seemingly that things have not changed; business as usual.

Legal in Jakarta?

Every year the City Population and Civil Registration Agency send their inspectors to do the rounds of businesses employing foreigners in order, supposedly, to check that their paperwork is all squared away.

This "inspection" has also been a traditional annual under the table money spinner as there are invariably a good number of businesses and foreigners who believe they will never get caught and do not bother to get the myriad of paperwork and permits completed.

This year the Agency found 55 of the 241 expats across 62 different companies that they surveyed / inspected did not have their paperwork in order. Assuming that this is an accurate reflection of the numbers and not just the ones being reported, then this is a rate of more than 1 in 5 without the right paperwork and therefore technically working illegally in Indonesia. Stupid.

The simple reality is that all the countries that I have ever visited or worked in have had in place strict regulations governing foreign or expat labor. To expect that Indonesia is any different is naive and to assume that everything remains "fixable" is not good risk management.

The Agency seems to have been generous this year as it did not impose the sanctions it could have done on the illegal workers, but rather gave them a grace period to get their paperwork in order.

According to Agency data there are some 49,000 foreigners with work visas and a further 5,000 who would be classified as permanent residents (five continuous years or more) living and working in Jakarta. I have got to say that I can imagine that it is that many but I also have to say that I have never seen more than a hundred or so gathered in any one place at one time (usually a business networking meeting). So, I wonder where they all are and what they are doing?

But, back to the point. I really do not see what is so hard with understanding that as guests in this country we are required to comply with the prevailing laws and regulations. Admittedly, immigration is a bureaucratic challenge but it is a challenge that can be overcome. It is interesting to me that many of my colleagues talk about corruption in Indonesia but have no problem with paying 50K here or 20K there to get some forms to fill in that are free or 30k for some fella to snap their photo and take a set of fingerprints.

If you keep feeding the monster ...

Denmark -- Immigration Challenges -- Muslims

This is not my normal or usual style to cut and paste a whole article by someone else.

However, I found this article to be interesting and a good read! Therefore, I just cut and pasted the whole thing and then formatted it for this entry (substance wise it remains as written by Leslie Sacks). The article is about Denmark and the immigration challenges that they have encountered with respect to immigration by Muslims.

The article deals with the challenges of tolerance, integration, assimilation, and multiculturalism! If you have found me and read this far I would encourage you to read the article. It will not take you long...

Leslie Sacks

Denmark, long the liberal, open society that welcomed immigrants, has done an about face. After being the symbolic envy of Universalists, of Socialists, of cultural liberalism, Denmark today has the strictest immigration policy in Europe.

The Muslim population in Denmark, constituting a mere 4% of the total, refuses to integrate, consumes 40% of the welfare, and constitutes a majority of the country’s convicted rapists. The Danes now acknowledge that their core values of personal liberty, free speech, equality for women and tolerance of other ethnic groups are incompatible with Islam as they know it.

Muslim leaders openly advocate introducing Islamic law in Denmark. Danes at the forefront of advocating free speech and Western values are subject to fatwas and increasingly violent attacks from the Muslim population.

This haven of tolerance and openness has opted for survival and rationality. For citizenship, the country now requires of new immigrants:

- 3 years of language classes

- tests on Denmark’s history, culture and language

- 7 years of residency prior to application

- proven job opportunities and commitment to work

New mosques will not be allowed to be built in Copenhagen. Assimilation will be actively promoted. The country that once courageously and righteously saved their 7,000 Jews from the Nazi death camps now is accused of racism.

America is no stranger to accusations of profiling, political incorrectness and racism. Yet Muslims worldwide still beat down our doors to gain immigration status to the U.S. - they tellingly do not do likewise to the majority of UN nations habitually accusing the U.S. of racism. When did Cuba or Russia, Syria or even Saudi Arabia, those bastions of tolerance and freedom, last receive a deluge of immigrant applications?

So we in the U.S. spend our time being sued by aggressive Imams testing nervous airlines. Open season has been declared on the West by demanding Islamist organizations hoping to force the government and our municipalities to kowtow into passive submission. We now clearly need footbaths in every university restroom. We also need two taxi lines at every airport - one for those with short skirts, dogs or alcoholic beverages and one for Shari’a-compliant Americans.

Yet little spunky Denmark is showing us and everyone the way. They opened their borders and their coffers to welcome Muslims, in a show of remarkable generosity and goodwill. Now, bruised and battered by an unappreciative, increasingly fundamentalist, and sadly uncompromising Muslim community, they are closing their doors and battening down the hatches.

It is only a matter of time before America’s similar generosities and freedoms are likewise pressured. It will not be too long before our remarkable naiveté, our exquisitely refined political correctness, are replaced by realistic pragmatism and a strong commitment to our own cultural survival, to uncompromising freedoms and our non-negotiable security and liberty.

A new found taste for Danish pastries perhaps?

# #

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Leslie Sacks is an art dealer and gallerist in Los Angeles. Before that, he founded and operated Les Art International in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was active in opposing apartheid and in supporting the Johannesburg Jewish community.

Indonesia and Foreign Labor

There are lots of expatriates in Indonesia. However, this is just an impression as I have not yet bothered to enquire of the Indonesian immigration services as to exact numbers but I will over the next couple of days! There are probably many expats who have a horror or perhaps even a funny story related to the trials and tribulations that are working in Indonesia and dealing with Indonesian immigration officials.

However, some of these stories probably relate to the incompetent businesses and companies that often employ them and as often seek to circumvent the applicable rules such as paying the USD 100 per month foreigner tax or employing someone in a different capacity to that which was claimed in the application process.

A recent decision from the Industrial Relations Court had opportunity to canvass some of these issues and the decision that was handed-down apparently does very little to clarify the position of expatriate labor in Indonesia but in fact makes any foreigner employed in Indonesia susceptible to the strong-armed tactics of employers. The applicant in this case is a foreigner and the claim was that more than 30 violations of the Indonesian Employment Law (Law No. 13 of 2003) were committed in the recruiting, hiring, and subsequent firing of this person.

As I said, I have not seen the decision yet and will not comment definitively until I have. But if the grapevine is true to its word, and it usually is, then this is a story I will post more on when I have it. Apparently, the decision is going to be appealed so perhaps there will be more wide-spread media coverage of the nitty gritty details for us to peruse.

The Immigration Experience...

It is that time of year again...the KITAS is about to expire and the fun & games are about to begin. I always hear that Indonesia is working to make the process easier, user friendly, and quick usually this relates to facilitating investment. So, perhaps I need to make a business style capital investment and just maybe the process will be oh so much smoother - it is good to have dreams.



The process is already a little more complicated than years past as I need to get out of the country in the interim period between when my current KITAS expires and the new KITAS is ready. Any long-term resident, and perhaps some new arrivals too, understand that where there is a 'will' there is likely to be someone who can make the 'way'. The official way that this works is there is a temporary KITAS extension period that can be approved by the Head of each Immigration Office and this would seem to be a discretionary power. The unofficial way that this can be worked out I will leave to your imagination.



Immigration Agents, Immigration Officers, and you! The use of an immigration agent to do the leg work and get the job done is standard practice but it really is a case of caveat emptor or buyer beware, simply the buyer needs to be aware. Immigration agents are a dime a dozen but quality is as varied as cost and service levels are not necessarily related to cost. But more important than any of these considerations is honesty! Honesty in the sense of being upfront about the official options that are available rather than take the easy path of making illicit payments to grease the wheels and get the documents required. For some this may be just another cost of doing business in Indonesia or 'just the way it is'. Yet, as a matter of principle if you continue to feed the monster it is just going to get hungrier and greedier each time. This is apart from the fact that it is just plain wrong.

It is amazing what a few calls can do to the person in charge...I needed to extend my KITAS for a month to head overseas for a couple of days...Various quotes saw the fee negotiated through agents to around IDR 3 million for an Entry / Exit permit which usually only sets back the happy traveler IDR 200,000 back down to the legitimate fee of IDR 200,000...congratulations to the immigration office and officers involved, you have done yourselves proud! I do not know whether this good fortune will extend to the full 12-month extension but you cannot win 'em all, right?

The moral of this story is if you can do it yourself, then you probably should...agents only complicate the process for exorbitant fees that I only now realize are exorbitant because I have finally bothered to find out what the official fees are for certain documents...for those of you out there that do not know - the official fees depending on what documents you need will not exceed IDR 1.5 million...the last agent I paid to facilitate the process demanded IDR 4.5 million...even assuming the agent greases the wheels to get the job done (or to spread the good fortune) there is still somewhere between IDR 2 million and IDR 3 million profit...a good income earner if I do say so myself!!!

Updates to follow as I negotiate the process....