Thinking of Living in Bali? 3

So you've come to Indonesia, fallen in love with it and decided you want to live here long term?

Or you're a foreign man married to an Indonesian woman, but have just discovered that affords you zero rights.

Bottom line, you are not welcome in her country... What to do?

There are several ways to approach this. And strangely enough - none of them require you to be married to an Indonesian.

They are open to anyone.

That is to say - any marriage (by a foreign man to an Indonesian woman) is absolutely meaningless to the Indonesian government.

One is temporary and 3 are more permanent.

The first is what is known as a Sosial Budaya/Family Visit Visa.

This is a visa designed to allow you to soak up the culture or visit family for up to 6 months.

All you need is an Indonesian to sponsor you. Someone willing to submit some papers guaranteeing the government they will be responsible for you.

You don't have to be related. Travel agents are often willing to do this.


And getting this visa at most Indonesian embassies abroad is not too difficult. Note: You must get this while OUTSIDE Indonesia.

You'll need to present a valid return ticket to Indonesia and pay a small fee - about US$40.

And if you are passing through Singapore, there are visa agents who will do all the hard work for you - usually the same day. The fee is about S$200.

They initially grant it for 60 days. Then you'll need to renew it --in country-- every 30 days thereafter.

Simple enough in theory. The trouble is - someone has to go once to drop off the application.

Remember the lines at immigration offices in most countries? This is no different.

If you, your friend or family member do it yourself,
there will be at least one more trip to pick it up. And a fee of Rp250,000 (US$27)

Or again - there are agents who will take care of this for you. Expect fees to start around Rp1,000,000
(US$112)

Be forewarned though - on the last 2 renewals (month 5 & 6), the immigration officials become less and less kind.

They begin requiring supplementary documentation which must be signed off on at the Law Courts. Another government office.

It is not unheard of to be asked for a bribe at this juncture.

A Note about corruption. Indonesia is on the mend. In the last 5 years, it has gone from nearly the bottom of the list, to the middle now.

But it is still unimaginably corrupt by Westerner standards.
Corruption Index:
http://www.worldaudit.org/corruption.htm

If you have an agent doing this for you, your fee is going higher. 

If you or someone you know is doing it yourselves, it may take a half day 5 - 6 days during a 10 day period.

So it should be obvious that this is just a temporary fix while you sort out a more long term solution.

In the next installment: The actual letter (in Indonesian) your sponsor will need to sign. Then the Long Term Solutions. Pros and Cons, Ins and Outs, and the costs.