Visa and work permit

Visa and work permit

I came to Indonesia in July 1994 to get married. For that
purpose, the Indonesia Consulate in New York gave me a social
visit visa. The Consul told me that once I was married, it would
be no problem for me to get permanent residence so that I could
stay in Indonesia with my wife. He also said that I would be able
to get a work permit. This turned out not to be the case.

After I was married, I went to the immigration office in
Bandung. I was told that with the visa I had, I would not be able
to stay for more than six months. I was also told that the only
way I could get a work permit is if I left and got a business
visa. To do that, I would have to get an Indonesian business to
sponsor me. The immigration office also informed me that our
children would indeed have to follow my citizenship and would not
be Indonesian citizens.

I found a company in Bandung that was willing to give me a
letter for the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. With that
letter, I was granted a business visa. When I returned to
Indonesia the company refused to help me to get a work permit and
refused to help me extend my visa. I had to leave Indonesia again
so that I would not overstay my visa.

My wife and I were hoping to make our life here in Indonesia,
but this appears to be impossible. Now we will probably have to
leave Indonesia. All of this has happened because an Indonesian
Consular official gave me wrong information. The government
should thoroughly teach its employees the law to prevent
situations like this from happening.

I have been told that one of the principles of Indonesian
Pancasila is social justice. There is no social justice in laws
that break up families simply because the husband is not an
Indonesian citizen.

KEVIN J. DUNPHY

Bandung, West Java