Legally yours: Legal aspects of marrying 'out'

Legally yours: Legal aspects of marrying 'out'

JAKARTA (JP): Andrini Movita was overjoyed when she married
her French fiance here last June.

The couple flew to her husband's hometown in St. Hillaire,
Limoges. It was not only for a honeymoon but, more importantly,
to formally register their marriage.

"In Jakarta, we had registered our marriage at the KUA
(Islamic Marriage Register Office), but I don't know about the
benefits. Do you think that I am adequately protected by
Indonesian law?" the executive secretary at an Indonesian-British
joint venture said.

"If something happens and he abandons me, what could I do?
Where should I lodge my complaint?"

Like many Indonesians who have married foreigners, Movita is
uneasy about the protection afforded by Indonesian marriage laws
and regulations.

Lawyer and women's activist Nursyahbani Kantjasungkana
acknowledged that laws and regulations on marriage and
citizenship were an intricate web.

"I don't know how to explain but they are really...
really complicated and confusing, even to lawyers and legal
officers like myself, let alone the layman."

Cross-cultural marriages bear legal consequences which include
marriage registration, citizenship for both spouses and their
children, child custody, inheritance, tax and immigration
problems, said Nursyahbani, chairwoman of the Indonesian Women's
Coalition.

"The problem is only a few Indonesians marrying foreigners are
aware of these existing regulations."

In the existing marriage law, there are no specific
regulations on cross-cultural marriage.

Under the Indonesian law, any marriage is legal if it is
carried out under the authority of a religious affairs office --
be it KUA or churches. The state (in this case, the civil
registration office) only registers their marriage but does not
authorize it.

"Couples with different religions would face difficulties in
getting married under this law," she said, adding that many of
them prefer to get married in foreign countries.

Problems of citizenship and child custody could also be a
giant headache for cross-cultural couples.

Under the 1958 law on naturalization, foreign male nationals
can start the naturalization process after five years of
continuous residence, or 10 years of noncontinuous residence.
However, they first must have a limited stay work permit (KITAS)
for five years in one company, in an executive position, before
they can obtain the required permanent residence (KITAP).

Children of such marriages automatically adopt their father's
nationality.

A foreign woman who marries an Indonesian man could attain
Indonesian citizenship, if she wishes, after a year. Their
offspring will have Indonesian citizenship or their mother's
nationality if she applies for foreign citizenship for her
children.

Foreign men with Indonesian spouses must undergo the lengthy
naturalization process.

Selective policy

Director general of immigration M. Mudakir and other
immigration officials contend the policy is in line with the
government's view of the husband as the breadwinner of the
family.

"Technically, a foreigner who comes to Indonesia to reside
must have a sponsor, and a wife cannot be the sponsor. However, a
husband can because he is the head of the family," Mudakir said.

He termed it a "selective policy" in ensuring that foreign
male heads of households were contributing to the country's
development.

"If a foreign woman comes here as a wife (of an Indonesian),
then her presence is governed by the law on citizenship, but if
she is not here as a wife but as a worker, then she comes under
immigration regulations," said the head of the unit for screening
of citizenship and nationality, Harsono Widodo.

"As a country which is not (a destination) for immigration, we
have to be very selective. We already have 202 million people who
need to be taken care of. Imagine, your home is already full of
unemployed people, and then more with no jobs arrive from
outside."

With the government's definition of the man as the head of
family (despite the fact that millions of Indonesian women
support their households alone) it is up to foreign men to find a
work sponsor.

"The people we want here are those who will work, who will
invest and contribute to the country," Mudakir said. "We are not
like the Netherlands, where even the unemployed receive
assistance. Obviously we cannot do that."

Nursyahbani and other Indonesian lawyers consider the laws
sexist and discriminatory, showing the New Order's patriarchal
view of gender.

She said laws were contradictory, such as the citizenship law,
No. 62/1958, which contradicts Law No.7/l984 on the Ratification
of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discriminations Against Women. She contended it violates
children's rights although Indonesia also ratified the UN
Convention on Children's Rights.

"Many problems of conflicting laws appear in cross-cultural
marriages when they divorce," she said.

Under the law on custody, the divorced mother is the
custodian of under-age children. But if their father is a
foreigner, the children automatically adopt the father's
nationality.

The immigration office will deport the children unless the
mother renews their permits to stay in Indonesia once in two
years -- and they must be processed in a foreign country.

Nursyahbani said that the present laws concerning cross-
cultural marriages must be altered for changing times.

"The existing laws are very inhumane and costly. Can you
imagine how much money a mother must spend to renew a permit for
her 'foreign' children."

Nursyahbani advised cross-cultural couples to use a safeguard.

"To protect women and children, they must prepare prenuptial
agreements authorized by Indonesian law and the respective
foreign authorities."

She also advised people planning to marry foreigners to learn
all about regulations to prevent any possible legal problems. She
recommended they seek legal counsel in the event of problems.

Movita, like many others, is not interested in studying laws
-- she wants practical solutions.

She said she would move to France when her husband's work
contract ended in Indonesia. She said she would consider applying
for French residency and, eventually, French citizenship.

"It's not that I'm not nationalistic, but I will decide what's
best for us, in a practical way." (brc/sim/raw)