RI immigration policy

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has openly criticized the new U.S. immigration policy requiring Indonesian males to register with immigration authorities in that country. He called the policy discriminatory and unacceptable. However, as far as I am concerned Indonesia's immigration policy is worse.

In May 2002 I traveled eight times to the Embassy in The Hague to get a visa for my third trip to Indonesia. I had an invitation letter and I handed over all the required documents. I was required to register with the Immigration Office in Indonesia before Sept. 6, 2002 (I arrived in Indonesia on June 16).

On Aug. 27 I was in the immigration office to lengthen my visa. The highest ranked officer told me that I was illegal in the country and had to pay more than Rp 2,500,000. I was totally surprised and embarrassed.

I was training 25 school managers in Jakarta in policy planning, marketing and management skills for free and the embassy (in The Hague) provides first the wrong information and then the government takes my money. In any case I had to pay the money or leave the country.

After Aug. 27 I had to return to the Immigration Office several times. I have stamps in my passport on Aug. 28, Sept. 6, Sept. 10, Oct. 10, Oct. 12 and Oct. 15. And sometimes I had to come back two or three times for one stamp. And every time I had to wait hours and hours.

Every time I had to fill in the same data, I had to make dozens of copies for myself and others, every time I needed new sponsor letters and copies of tickets, passport photos, identity cards and so on. In October the immigration office again required new passport photos and fingerprints. And I had to go not only to the immigration office in Jatinegara several times, but to the immigration office in Central Jakarta too.

My assistant also gets more and more confused about the intentions of a disordered organization. And every time I had to pay money. This four months of bureaucracy cost me more than Rp 6 million, more than 70 hours of hard work and a full file.

I did not give up. On Oct. 20 I returned to the Netherlands and I wrote a letter to the ambassador. He did not provide me with a visa. I have now a Short Visit Pass.

On Jan. 26 thousands of Indonesian students visited the Holland Education Fair 2003 in Jakarta, organized by The Netherlands Education Center. All our universities and common families are willing to do their utmost to help the young people here. Can the government not accept that there are Dutch citizens like me in this country?

HARRY RENDERS, Jakarta