LIVING IN INDONESIA

Hi Foreign People, for those who would like to come over to Indonesia and in a need to  all immigration application forms,it is to inform you that Effective from February 4th 2013, the map (folder) including all immigration application forms (Paspor RI, Izin Tinggal, Izin Masuk Kembali,etc.) MUST be given FREE of charge by the immigration officers in all Immigration offices across the Indonesian archipelago, As per a Memorandum (Surat Ederan) signed on January 25th, 2013 by the Director General of Immigration, Bambang Irawan, SE, The so called 'map' was until now charged for - from anything in between a few thousand rupiah to up to IDR 25.000. For years, many Indonesian citizens and foreigners alike have been complaining about this dubious charge. It is now officially forbidden for an Immigration officer to charge anything for the folder or the forms. any experience so far about that ? please share 

GREAT PEOPLE, You may have been in Indonesia and came across finding some situation that you did not  know when you interact with Indonesia people. the following is a little knowledge to equip you mingling with local people. hope It will develop your confidence in speaking Bahasa, SALUTATION In most polite situations, use the honorific ‘Mas’ or ‘Pak’ or ‘Bu’ or ‘Mbak’ (pronounced emba) before a person’s name. ‘Mas’ (sir or brother) is a friendly term for contemporary males; ‘Pak’ is formal for males of position; ‘Bu’ is for a married female; ‘Mbak’ is for young unmarried females, e.g. Mas Bayu (young male); Pak Mulyawan (male, formal); Bu Kartini (married female); Mbak Elita (Ms. Elita). While for married females the honorific ‘Ibu’ does not often change. You might also hear ‘Bapak’ (father) when a young person speaks to a male who is clearly older or has higher position, which can also be the case with Ibu for females, e.g. a middle-aged per...

Great People, An executive search, Monroe consulting group are releasing their annual Indonesia recruitment market report  for 2015.  It contains  22 page report telling about the information gathered from extensive surveys of both employers and employees. The report highlights the challenges being faced by employers and the expectations of candidates when considering a change of employer. it's very important for you who are willing to try to have employment opportunity in Indonesia,  just check it out the report below. This report is provided FREE of charge and available to download from their website now:   https://www.monroeconsulting. com/indonesia/recruitment- market-reports Some of the survey highlights include: Employee salary increases from current employers are slowing down. - 14% of Indonesian professionals did not receive any increase in salary in 2014, compared to the previous year when less than 1%...

Great people, Trust you have known The Bali Nine,  It is the name given to a group of Nine Australians convicted for smuggling 8,3 kg of heroin valued at around 3,1 million us Dollars from Indonesia to Australia. The ring leaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death and were executed on last 29 April 2015. That’s more than 8 kg of heroin… Do you know how 8 kg of heroin can do to a bunch of teens? Face getting older, bad attitude towards their parents, dropout from school, criminal behaviors, lets say stealing to get their hands on money to buy some more then worst case scenario they die. Forget about spiritual blessing and thousands of people bringing flowers and speaking of their good deeds on social media, they die a horrid death from overdose, have you seen a friend die due to overdose? Well I have, it sure looks uglier than a bullet straight to the heart. I am sorry for the loss of the life to those that were executed. I rea...

Great People, Good to know the employment trend within 2015 in Indonesia, one of the leading recruitment firm in the world , Robert Walter,  had been interviewed by The Jakarta post, and here is the news in details. Specialist professional recruitment firm Robert Walters has found in its latest Global Salary Survey that Indonesian companies looking to attract key bilingual candidates will have to meet salary expectations, offer quality training programs and present opportunities for international exposure. “A good command of written and spoken English is a qualification job seekers looking to join multinationals in Indonesia must possess,” Robert Walters Indonesia director Rob Bryson told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview. “As more companies work toward increased cohesion among business units, professionals who understand the business partnering role of their function are highly sought after. Indonesia’s positive economic market conditions and the entrance of m...

Great people, Just got a BREAKING NEWS from Reuters, This News has clarified  my previous post in regards with Expats Requires to Pass Bahasa Indonesia Exam, Hoax or Not  ? I Personally disagree with the Bahasa Indonesia Exam for Foreigner, it is a such  stupid protectionist policy. Indonesia is not ready for ASEAN Economy Community but is ashamed to admit it. lol.. BREAKING NEWS Indonesia will withdraw a plan that would force foreign workers to take local language proficiency exams after protests from investors, two government officials said. Manpower Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri earlier this month told reporters the government would require existing and prospective foreigners to pass Indonesian language tests to work in the country, a move seen by many foreign investors as protectionist. Currently, foreigners do not have to speak Indonesian to receive a work permit for Southeast Asia's largest economy. "Coordinating ministers agree...

Great people, Indonesia government really wants to boost the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia. Not enough with a free plan for a tourist visa from 4 countries, the government eventually add up 30 more countries. According to the Tourism Minister, With an additional 30 countries, , Indonesia has given visa-free facilities to 45 countries. Still less than Thailand and  Malaysia. for your information, Thailand offers Visa free travel to 56 countries , while Malaysia offers it to 164 Countries. The following are some countries exempted from Visa ; China Japan South Korea United states Canada New Zealand Mexico Russia England France  Germany Netherlands Italy Spain Switzerland Belgium Sweden Austria Denmark Norway Finland Poland Hungary Republic Qatar United  Arab Emirates  Kuwait Bahrain Oman South Africa well, Indonesia did not include Australia  in the list of visa free countries due to reciprocity reason. ...

Great people, Many of us heard of TOEFL as a means of English Proficiency Test but how many people have heard of  ITFL? I believe not many people notice, even me, just already heard this abbreviation when this issue went viral on immigration office. lol..Poor Dien!!!, What is ITFL actually?... well, apparently,  it stands for The Indonesia Test as Foreign Language which is more or less aimed at foreign people to master Indonesian language. Now, what  if I were to tell you that Expats would have to complete the Indonesian test as Foreign language,  Would you believe me? Barely, I can  hear you saying, "you must be kidding me", well I swear, I am not. It is our Manpower Ministry, who said that the Government immediately would impose Indonesia language test for expat who will work in the Indonesia. It is supposed to be implemented immediately if Ministerial Decree (PERMENAKERTRANS) no 12/ 2013 which is undergoing rapid reform is accomplishe...

This might be a good news for you buddy, through out this year 2015, our government has decided that 19  national holidays will be yours to enjoy long weekend and holiday. yups... while living In Indonesia, take your time to make good use of these holidays.  In addition to that, the collective leaves are  also set up to create long weekend as the  leaves are falling usually on Monday or Friday before or after a national holidays.       This Policy benefited to either People or Government, people may take a much needed break to improve their mental health, to revamp their relationships, to recapture their childhood, to gain self confidence, to find creative inspiration, above all to be more productive, while the government intends this policy help promote domestic tourism. So would you like to escape from the hectic life?... take your vacation and maximize your e...

Hi Buddy, Welcome back… curently I am going to present you a listing of Foreign Embassies and Consulates in Indonesia. I Believe as a foreign resident in Indonesia, You will certainly have need to keep in touch with your embassy for various reasons, such as : • Pasport renewal or the issuance of other official documents • current Tax Information asisstance • Provision of business related information • Provision of emergency information • Coordination of community events days in your culture Regarding the terms of Embassy and Consulate, Often, Those terms are used together, whereas the two are very different. An Embassy is permanent diplomatic mission which is generally located in a country’s capital city. While a Consulate is a smaller version of an embassy and is generally located in the larger tourist cities of a country but not the capital. The Embassy is responsible for representing the home country abroad and handling major diplomatic issues such as preserving t...