Thinking of Living in Bali? 2

Indonesia is different from most countries when it comes to its visa and immigration policies.

It is VERY easy to get in as a tourist. Just show up at the airport, pay US$25 and voila - you're good to go for a month.

They've even recently changed the law. It's now possible to extend --in country--
for another month. Two months in all with only minimal hassle.


BUT - the whole story changes IF you want to live here. I have a theory about why I'll share toward the end of this post.

Anyway - just to give a flavor of the medieval mentality you'll encounter - let's say you marry an Indonesian.



In almost any other country, as soon as the authorities are satisfied the marriage is legit,  the foreign spouse is given a residency permit which usually allows one the right to live, work and engage in any legal business.

Not so in Indonesia.

Here if you are a foreign woman, married to an Indonesian man - all is well. He can sponsor you and you're legal-spegal.

But, if the marriage is between a foreign man an and Indonesia woman --- well --- let's just say they place a different value on women to men.

A woman can NOT sponsor a foreign husband. As unbelievable as it sounds, that's the law.

This is why most Indonesian women who marry foreigners choose to live abroad.

By the way - Singapore - which shares a similar Malay culture to Indonesia, abolished a similar law in the early 90's. Singaporian women are now on an equal footing with men.

The reason: The Singapore government realised it was losing many of its best and brightest women because of that law.



There are a number of ways to work around this problem, but they are a headache to say the least.

Now my theory about why? Actually this came straight from the proverbial horse's mouth. A government official recently admitted the reason is because they are afraid all the foreign men will come and take away all the high paying jobs. Go figure.

Next time: Ways to work around the problem...