Work permits for foreigners issued by several agencies

Work permits for foreigners issued by several agencies

By Johannes Simbolon

JAKARTA (JP): Work permits for foreigners are issued by a
number of government offices.

According to Hermanto R., spokesman for the Ministry of
Manpower, the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications
provides permits for those working in the tourism industry, the
Investment Coordinating Body provides permits for those working
in joint-investment and foreign investment enterprises, the
Nusantara Bonded Zone management provides for people working for
businesses in the zone, the Batam Island Authority provides for
people working on the island, while the Manpower Office of Riau
issues permits for those working on Bintan island.

All permits for those working in fields not covered by the
above five agencies are provided by the Ministry of Manpower.

A permit is issued in the following way:

A company wanting to employ foreign workers must file a
Foreign Workers Employment Plan with one of the above-mentioned
offices. The plan provides the details on the number of foreign
workers, their nationalities, future positions, salary level,
length of stay, and who will be the recipient of the transfer of
technology.

"The names of the Indonesian counterparts and their
educational backgrounds must be mentioned clearly there," said
Hermanto.

The plan is filed with related government agencies. Mining
companies, for example, consult the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The related agencies will assess the plan in reference to
negative lists.

The negative lists outline which jobs are closed to foreign
workers and the maximum period a foreigner can be assigned to do
it.

Each office issues a negative list regarding all sectors under
its supervision.

If the negative list bars the job to foreigners, the agency
will reject the request. If the number of requested foreign
workers is considered too high, or their length of stay exceeds
the limit, the offices suggest a change in plan.

After the plan is approved, the agencies send TA O1 forms to
the immigration office to obtain visas for the foreign workers.
The immigration office checks with the Indonesian intelligence
body to determine if any of the foreigners is blacklisted.

Once the intelligence body gives the nod, the immigration
office sends a telex to the Indonesian embassies in the country
of origin of the foreign workers, telling them to issue the work
visas.

The workers may come to Indonesia once they receive their work
visas. Upon arrival, they must report to the immigration office
for their temporary-stay permit and to the agencies which issue
their work permits.

There is supposedly no charge for the services, except for
foreigner's tax.

According to a 1990 Minister of Manpower regulation on foreign
worker placement, if a foreigner continues working here after his
permit expires, his employers, on his behalf, must pay US$150
each month for a "training program fee".

"The fee goes to each of the related agencies to be used in
the training programs they run to develop the skills of
Indonesian workers," said Hermanto.

The training program fee from the foreigners, he said, adds to
the fund allocated by the government.

The training program fee, however, was nullified by a 1995
presidential decree on foreign workers. It was replaced with a
monthly "foreign worker fee". The amount of fee to be paid is
conspicuously not specified in the decree.

The presidential decree has yet to be enforced. A Ministry of
Manpower decree on the original decree's implementation must be
issued first.

"Hopefully, the ministerial decree will be issued this year,"
said H.J. Iskandarsyah, the Ministry of Manpower's director
general for manpower placement affairs.