Belgian Vs RI immigration<\/p>\n
First of all, allow me to thank you for The Jakarta Post
\nwebsite. It is very helpful in keeping up to date with what is
\nhappening in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
It is now more than two months since I arrived in Belgium, the
\ncountry of my husband. So far, we have the normal life of a
\nmiddle-class family in Belgium which is not that different from
\nlife in Australia, the USA or in other European countries.<\/p>\n
I have a kind of ID card (KTP) which was delivered by the
\nBelgian authorities to the village where we have established
\nourselves. And by the beginning of July I will get a Stay Permit,
\nor the equivalent of the U.S. greencard, for a period of four
\nyears. Then, seemingly, I will have to renew it every four years
\nin order to stay (and work if I want to) in Belgium.<\/p>\n
I have had no hassle at all from the Belgian immigration,
\nbecause I am legally married to a Belgian citizen. I wish this
\ncould have been the same for my husband when we were still in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Actually, I have not even seen a Belgian immigration officer.
\nEverything is done by an employee of the city administration and
\nthe city police have checked on me twice. They then follow up
\nwith the ministry, delivering the necessary documents (to the
\nMinistry of the Interior I think). And no malpractice is involved
\nin the process. All this is done in a very gentle way. Nothing to
\ncompare to the hassle my husband (mainly) and my two Belgian kids
\n(mainly the first, because with the second we were experienced)
\nwent through in Indonesia (Jakarta and Bandung). The Bandung
\nimmigration office twice mandated travel to Singapore on my first
\nbaby. This is something that I will never forget. That was
\ninhuman. My baby cried all the way to Singapore in the hands of
\nmy husband. They could have given us the KITAS in Indonesia, but
\nthey did not want to. They argued that they could only deliver it
\nafter my kids had applied in Singapore three or four times for
\nthe Visa Kujungan (visitor's card). But by law that was a lie,
\nhowever, we could do nothing about it.<\/p>\n
In January\/February, the government of Belgium held a special
\noperation to give the opportunity to all illegal immigrants on
\nBelgian soil to legalize their status. More than 40,000 illegals
\nshowed up at the Belgian immigration and it is expected that a
\nmajority of them will be given a chance to stay legally.<\/p>\n
I wish Indonesia would review its overall immigration policy,
\nso as to diminish the hassle, the fees (higher than in Belgium!),
\nand ease the procedures people like my husband go through.<\/p>\n
ELIS SUMINAR<\/p>\n
Tubise, Belgium<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/belgian-vs-ri-immigration-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }