Expats residing in Indonesia told to register themselves

Expats residing in Indonesia told to register themselves

JAKARTA (JP): All expatriates residing in Indonesia will be
required to register at local immigration offices between Aug. 10
and Oct. 10.

The Immigration Office announced on Monday that registration
would be mandatory for all overseas nationals living in Indonesia
for more than three months.

These will include those foreigners who have been residing in
the country without proper permits.

Staff working for diplomatic missions, as well as their
dependents, are exempted from registering. These include those
accredited to international organizations.

Registration will be free, the Immigration Office claims, with
foreigners only being required to fill out a registration form
and to present copies of their personal documents and up-to-date
passport photos.

Director of Information at the Immigration Office, Hamsuk S.
Wijaya, told journalists on Monday that the registration process
was part of his office's periodic census of foreigners living in
the country. It was last conducted in 1992.

"The registration of foreign citizens is (usually) held once
every five years," Hamsuk said pointing to the fact that this
would actually be the first such registration process since the
introduction of Immigration Law No. 9 in 1992.

"Besides ascertaining the number of foreigners who currently
live here, the registration process is also aimed at giving
better protection and services to them," he said.

Hamsuk said that the Immigration Office plans to build a
centralized database by issuing a Foreigner's Identification
Number (NIOA).

Each expatriate during their registration will receive an
identification number which would in the future be used as a
reference for various other purposes.

"Foreigners can come to their local immigration office or
other designated places. It will be free of charge," Hamsuk
promised.

Those registering will have to fill out a form and present
their immigration documents such as a passport, a permanent
resident's card (KITAP), temporary resident's card (KITAS), a
foreigner's registration book, along with five 4x6 passport
photographs.

According to Hamsuk, those who do not have the necessary
documents, apart from a passport, can still register by filling
out the form and presenting their passport-sized photographs.

While it was recommended that expats personally come to the
immigration office, anyone who had "reasonable reasons" would not
have to appear in person provided that his or her representative
or agent was provided with a power of attorney signifying that he
was representing the expatriate in question.

Hamsuk stressed that registration was mandatory and those
neglecting to do so could face sanctions.

Article 51 of Law No. 9 states that a one-year jail sentence
and a Rp 5 million fine could be imposed.

Hamsuk further said that based on his office's data, the
number of foreigners in the country had declined over the past
five years.

"Compared to the number of foreigners in 1999 when there were
4,089,540 here, the number of foreigners in 2000 was only
3,256,854," Hamsuk said, while adding that there were over 4.7
million foreigners here in 1996.

"Many foreigners are worried about whether this country is
safe enough for investment or conducting business. Meanwhile, in
the tourism field, we all know that some countries have warned
their citizens about entering our country for security reasons,"
Hamsuk said.

He also revealed that as many as 2,000 foreigners in the
country were in some sort of legal difficulty, including those
arrested in drugs cases.(tso)