Discrimination and immigration laws

I am a Sundanese woman who has been married to a Belgian man since 1995. My husband has been living in Indonesia on a permanent basis since 1992. He studied in Indonesia and speaks Bahasa Indonesia very well. We have two baby sons, born in 1997 and 1999. My husband is now self-employed and is currently providing jobs to around 35 Indonesians in the areas of Kalipucang and Cikatomas, where he invested a little less than Rp 50 million (the level of investment required by BKPM to get a KITAS) and, anyway, he never works on these two farm projects.

He completed his last one-year contract in Jakarta in March 1997 (Blue passport). This was our right to decide to stay in Indonesia. Though I have visited Belgium three times, I would prefer us all to stay here because, among other things, my parents have no other child, and thus grandchildren. Knowing the situation and having become used to our culture, my husband agreed to stay here too. But because he has no fixed and recognized status (only a stay permit), because of discriminative immigration rules, we will all have to go back to Belgium next year.

Try to imagine the psychological burden of dealing several times per month with immigration officers and with other officers of the Ministry of Justice just to prolong a visit visa Kunjungan delivered in Singapore. Though my husband has good contacts with officials and though these same officials regret themselves the current situation of my husband, his status is still only that of a visitor visiting us on a permanent basis.

He is also not recognized as the head of our family, because he is a foreigner. The burden also includes fingerprints -- like people get when they are jailed -- and a trip to Singapore every six months. I am going to also mention that my husband cannot buy a car, land or a house under his own name. Something that myself as an Indonesian, should I have the money, could do in Belgium. Why is it not possible for a foreign man to get a stay permit and a tax member on the grounds that he is married to an Indonesian woman, when an Indonesian man married to a foreign woman can obtain the stay permit for his foreign wife?

Moreover, my two kids are Belgians, since the law wants the children to follow their father's nationality. So, in case of divorce, I have no right to keep my children with me, although I have no intention of divorcing. I just would prefer my children to get access to Indonesian nationality without losing their Belgian nationality. Is that not a normal request since these children are 50 percent Indonesian and 50 percent Belgian and were both born in Bandung? My first son only speaks Indonesian. Why, in the name of God, is it not possible for Indonesia to accept the double nationality concept as Belgium and other developed countries can accept? Are we too proud? I mean, it takes two to get a double nationality, but Indonesia is never part of the tango.

I hope to get a reply from the minister of justice.

ELIS SUMINAR

Bandung