New visa policy

Since many officials at the Ministry of Justice have explained that the decision to review the visa policy was based on the principle of reciprocity, I would like to express the hope that this principle will be applied fairly.

This means for Belgian citizens living in Indonesia and married to Indonesian women: * The right to get a foreign ID from the local villages where they live. * The right to extend their visa locally at the village level. * No corruption, collusion or nepotism involved in any of the visa procedures (the most difficult part, indeed). * More humane and simpler procedures, and of course without any discrimination (no fingerprinting, no need for a bunch of the same pictures every month, no need to go four times per month to various offices for visit visa holders, etc. to push us to join the local "visa agent" mafia). * The right to apply for a new visa without having to leave the country. * The right to apply for Indonesian citizenship after three years in Indonesia and through an accelerated procedure of two months maximum for those married to an Indonesian citizen (be it a woman or man). * The right for a foreigner to buy land, a car and a house privately in Indonesia and to start any kind of business in any sector of activity. * The right for an Indonesian mother married to a foreigner to give Indonesian citizenship to her children from their birth and/or to pass on at her death her possessions to her non- Indonesian national children or husband. * The right for any foreigner married to an Indonesian citizen to get a stay permit for a normal fee -- here it is no more than 36 euro and it is managed by the village administration -- and with no special tax attached except for a foreigner earning money in the formal sector, as is also the case for any other Indonesian citizen.

In any case, the new policy will certainly not benefit the Indonesian people or the national tourist industry,

YVAN MAGAIN Tubize, Belgium