This review of the necessary
documents should help to clarify some of the questions newcomers may have
about the various documents required.
Passports
Passports for your family
members are issued by a passport office from your own country. While your
government may allow children to follow on their mother's passports, it is
better to have separate passports for every family member, just in case
separate travel is required.
In order to apply for a KITAS
visa to Indonesia, your passport must be valid for:
- 12 months passport validity remaining to apply for a 6 months KITAS
- 18 months passport validity remaining to apply for a 12 months KITAS
- 30 months passport validity remaining to apply for a 24 months KITAS
If your passport is nearing
expiration, we recommend you renew it to the maximum time allowable before
you begin procedures to apply for an Indonesian work permit and visa. You
do not want to have your
sponsoring office go through all the paperwork of getting your visa and work permit, only to have to repeat the procedure after six months because your passport has expired.
sponsoring office go through all the paperwork of getting your visa and work permit, only to have to repeat the procedure after six months because your passport has expired.
Company
Sponsorship
Company sponsorship is required
as a FIRST STEP in order for a foreigner who wants to work in Indonesia to
be issued a work permit/visa. This sponsorship is required BEFORE a
semi-permanent visa and work permit can be processed.
The Indonesian government has
strict guidelines on what foreign expertise is required for the development
of the country.
National, multinational or joint
venture firms must submit a manpower plan to Depnaker (Article 42 Manpower
Act number 13 year 2003. Foreigners can only get a limited stay
visa/permit and a KITAS card if they already have been issued a TA01
recommendation (from the Manpower Department if the company is a domestic
company; or from BKPM/Investment Board Department if the employing company
is a foreign investment company, a so-called PMA company). A TA-01 is based
on an approved Expatriate Placement Plan (RPTKA).
The IMTA ( Ijin Mempekerjakan
Tenega kerja Asingor "Work Permit" is the authorization given to
a company to employ a foreigner.
If a company wants to employ
foreigners, the company must submit an Expatriate Placement Plan, RPTKA -
Rencana Penempatan Tenaga Kerja Asing- to the Manpower Department if the
employing company is a domestic company; or to the BKPM (Investment
Coordinating Boardif the company is a foreign investment company. In
foreign investment/PMA companies, work permits for senior positions (such
as Directorheld by foreigners are for three years and can be renewed just
before expiration. (Note: Director's positions held by foreigners is only
applicable for foreign investment/PMA companies). Other position slots in
the RPTKA are only for one year and can be renewed annually, usually up to
a fixed number of years.
Based on the approval of the
RPTKA (Expatriate Placement PlanATA-01 is issued, and then a work permit,
Izin Kerja Tenaga Asing (IKTAis issued by the Manpower Ministry (Departemen
Tenaga Kerja or Depnakerafter your arrival and the issuance of the KITAS
card and have paid your annual DPKK.
DPKK
Tax/Fee
Companies employing foreigners
are charged $100/month (US$ 1,200/yearper expatriate employee to
offset the costs of training Indonesian nationals (Article 47 Manpower Act
number 13 year 2003). This tax is administered through the Department of
Manpower. Proof of payment of the Skill & Development Fund (DPKKfee to
the BNI '46 bank for one year in advance, amounting to US $1,200 (non
refundable), and is needed before a Work Permit can be approved.
For positions other than
Directors, a foreigner's expertise must be proven, as government
regulations limit the employment of foreigners in Indonesia to 'experts';
which can contribute to the national development. Due to the high
unemployment rate of nationals, it must be proven that the expertise of a
foreigner can not actually be supplied by a national instead.
A few years ago the manpower
plans were issued for three years, so annual renewals could be completed
relatively quickly. More recently, manpower plans are only approved for one
year. When a company's manpower plan is approved, a certain number of slots
for positions held by foreigners are approved by Depnaker. If a firm wants
to add another foreigner to its staff, they must go back to Depnaker and
revise their manpower plan and wait several months for approval. It is not
always easy for a firm in Indonesia to hire a foreigner and involves
considerable expense and dealing with bureaucracy.
Deportations of foreigners for
'abusing' their work permits is not uncommon. The usual offense is that the
person is working in a position other than what is allowed by the work
permit. If your work permit says you are the Production Director ... and
your business card says you are the Managing Director - those are grounds for
deportation due to abuse of work permit. Another problem is caused when the
declared address of work on the IMTA differs from your actual work
location. If it does not match, this could void the IMTA and put the
employee at risk of a deportation. BEWARE and be cautious about what you
put on your business card - make sure it agrees with your work permit!
One common misconception is that
the IMTA belongs to the expatriate employee, actually they are
issued to the company, NOT to the foreign worker. If a foreign
worker loses his job, he is not entitled to work for any other company
without processing a new IMTA, even if the previous IMTA still has
validity. This very common misconception leads expats to think that they
have a work permit - they don’t - the company has it!
A work permit issued for a
foreigner does NOT entitle their spouse to work as well. A “dependent
spouse” must obtain their own sponsor and work permit in order to work in
Indonesia. This can be done, but depends on the demand for their expertise.
Many working spouses find the transition difficult as they are used to
working. There are, however, many opportunities for worthwhile and
meaningful involvements in community and educational organizations and
opportunities for everyone to hone new skills during their time in
Indonesia.
TA01 Recommendation
After the RPTKA has been
approved, the TA01 recommendation has to be applied for at the Department
of Manpower in order to get a temporary residence visa. The original
approval letter on the TA01 recommendation will be needed to apply for
the VITAS or VBS (Visa Tinggal Terbatas).
The RPTKA & TA01
recommendation are only necessary for foreigners working in Indonesia.
Dependent family members; accompany spouse and children up to 17 years
old will be under the sponsorship of the working spouse. Dependent family
members are only entitled to stay with the working spouse/parent - this
visa does NOT entitle them to work. If a spouse is also working in Indonesia
he/she will have to apply for a separate Work Permit and independent Stay
Permit from their sponsoring company.
Service Visa (DINAS)
Service Visas are given to
foreign citizens bearing service passports, on assignment to Indonesia
for diplomatic purposes. They are working in Indonesia under official
government entities such as UN bodies, aid organizations, etc. Visa Dinas
are directly handled by the Indonesian government department who employes
the expats and they apply direct to the Sekretariat Negara to process the
visa. Private agents are not allowed to handle this type of visa.
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