Some ethnic Chinese ponder migration

By Sri Lestari

JAKARTA (JP): The current economic crisis and the May riots has motivated many Chinese-Indonesians to migrate. One indication of the growing interest in migration is reflected in the increasing number of ads offering immigration services appearing almost every day in local papers.

The most aggressive advertisers offer immigration services for migration to the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In general, there are three common categories in applying for residency: skilled workers, entrepreneurs and investors. A points system is used to assess a skilled worker. The points depend on a combination of factors, i.e. education background, working experience, age and language fluency. Qualifications for entrepreneur and investor categories mostly depend on the management and money-generating capabilities of the applicant. The amount of investment required varies from US$70,000 to $1,000,000 with various investment arrangements. The simplest and cheapest method is to participate in the annual U.S. lottery to obtain a U.S. green card. It is very easy but there is very little possibility of winning the lottery.

Most people who chose to migrate do so due to a feeling of insecurity in regards to both their personal safety and assets.

"The Indonesian government has guaranteed that there will be no more riots, but who knows? Is it capable of protecting the people, including the ethnic Chinese?" said Natalia, who is of Chinese descent. Her family's properties were destroyed during the May riots in Jakarta.

She plans to file her application to migrate at the Canadian Embassy in Hong Kong and has hired a lawyer to assist her in the application.

Buntoro, a Chinese-Indonesian businessman who lives in Surakarta, also wants to leave the country.

"I want to secure my assets," said Buntoro, who hopes to qualify as an investor. "But I haven't hired any lawyer and haven't decided which country to migrate to because there are various options. I need more time to review each arrangement to minimize the risks."

Desperate people often act quickly and sometimes make the wrong decision. There are many immigration consultants who might take advantage of such people. Through the Internet, a U.S. consultant is encouraging Chinese-Indonesian ladies to apply for asylum in the U.S., saying there is currently a window of opportunity. He says that the U.S. government is aware of the situation faced by Chinese-Indonesians who feel insecure over the claims of mass rape and there is therefore every possibility of obtaining asylum in the U.S. within six months. He charges US$3,000 to handle the application.

The INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) office, however, states that the consultant has provided false information. In fact, the immigration office has blacklisted him.

Therefore, those who have made up their minds to seek the assistance of a lawyer should be prudent.

"Be careful in choosing the right lawyer. I contacted more than 10 lawyers and compared their fees, responsiveness and how complete the information was that they provided so that I wouldn't waste time by communicating back and forth," Natalia said.

"After I had picked one of them, I contacted the Canadian Bar Association in Canada to confirm whether the lawyer whom I intended to hire was a member of the association. Also, I contacted a friend in Canada to check whether the office is there."

She has to pay her lawyer $2,000, a low fee compared to what is being offered by similar services in Jakarta. "It's a full money back guarantee," she said.

But hiring a lawyer does not mean expediting the process. As Natalia mentioned, "I hired a lawyer just in case I have to appeal and need a lawyer to represent me. In fact, it is faster to file your own application if your documents are quite straight forward."

She added, "Hiring one which has a representative office here will be more expensive as you have to pay the local commission, I guess. I deal directly with lawyers in Canada through the Internet."

Sudibyo Wongso, who recently went to a seminar on immigration, said his friend had to pay $6,000 in lawyer's fees. Wongso refused to hire the same lawyer as he suspected his professionalism. He said his friend did not sign a contract.

"I believe that a contract is very important. You have to review and scrutinize and think about any loopholes in it. Also, if the fee is not refundable, you should not accept it. This should be clearly stated in the contract," he said.

Seminars on immigration are often held by consultants to lure prospective clients. Ethnic Chinese are their main target. ` "Since the May riots, the number of Chinese-Indonesians who intend to migrate has increased significantly. We have been contacted by hundreds of prospective migrants. Most of them want to invest their money in Australia," said an employee of an immigration agency specializing in providing immigration services to Australia.

It is difficult to estimated how many people have filed immigration applications, but the growing number of ads offering such services gives some indication. It is obvious that there is a growing interest in migration and, unfortunately, those who are qualified will take their skills as well as their assets out of the country. The only way to stop them is to restore their confidence in the security in the country -- something that may prove hard to do in the near future.