mister567
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davita
Hi mister...Jeez... I'm sounding like an Indonesian kid.
Welcome to the forum where I'm sure many will offer advice on marrying an Indonesian and taking your bride to the USA...I'm not familiar with that.
When you marry an Indonesian, and wish to stay in the Republic, the best way is to get a Social Budaya Visa with your wife as sponsor and converting that, in Indonesia, to a Kitas, which allows you to stay up to a year and is extendible for another year. During the 2nd year you apply for a Kitap which allows a stay of up to 5 years and, on completion, is extendible for eternity.
davita
If your intended plans to become an American citizen she should know she'll have to renounce her Indonesian citizenship. She will thereafter need a Visa to visit her birth country as Indonesia doesn't permit dual citizenship.
mister567
Thanks for the welcome!
Yes I am tempted to possibly marry and live in Bali for awhile.
Staying there would allow me to travel around in Asia more easily and also allow us to be together while working on her American visa/citizenship.
And would allow us to build a better relationship before we go and do something major like that.
I have never been married and understand there are lots of risks involved especially with bringing someone into a new country and culture.
It's not something I would want to jump into too quickly, so maybe the temporary stay in Asia would be best. BUT I would definitely like to be able to at least bring her home for a visit or two in the meantime.
And the sooner we could get her an American passport, the better, so I can take her traveling with me to nearby countries (she has an Indonesian passport but I assume it's much harder for her to get into places like Australia or New Zealand, which are both places I'd like to visit sometime).
spicyayam
I don't know about the US, only that the process seems complicated. I know someone (US citizen) married to an Indonesian lady and she was refused a tourist visa. Not sure what is up with that. I would suggest contacting a lawyer. I believe it might be easier to apply for a fiance visa and then get married in the US. Anyway, a lawyer might be best to advise.
It certainly makes sense to live here a while in Bali with your fiance before you tie the knot. Get to know the culture here and her family. Many Indonesians put family ahead of everything else. If you get married here, you would need to convert to her religion or her to yours. Most foreigners change to the religion of the Indonesian spouse to keep the family happy.
Legally you can't live together out of wedlock in Indonesia, but Bali is fairly open about this. If your partner is still married, you can potentially be charged with adultery. And believe it or not, it does happen sometimes if a former partner is jealous. Welcome to Indonesia!
Well good luck with everything and let us know how things progress.
davita
spicyayam wrote Legally you can't live together out of wedlock in Indonesia, but Bali is fairly open about this. If your partner is still married, you can potentially be charged with adultery. And believe it or not, it does happen sometimes if a former partner is jealous. Welcome to Indonesia! .
Spicy makes a very good point about other parts of Indonesia like Sumatra and Java, excluding Jakarta. Bali will not be a problem as the culture is totally different...in fact, Balinese joke that they [B]have[/B] to get pregnant before marriage...and that seems to be a prevailing reason for marriage. I've been to 2 Balinese weddings in the last couple of years and both brides were preggars.
spicyayam
Most people use the KITAS for for 2 years and then convert it to a KITAP which is valid for 5 years. As Davita said the 2nd KITAP is valid for life. If you are planning on staying here long term it, it is obviously worth going down this path.
davita
Melati wroteDavita, the kitas ikut keluarga can be for 5 years, extendible every year, I am pretty sure about this because I have this kitas myself and I renew it every year until 5 years.
Yes you can continue extending a KITAS annually for up to 5 years then renew and start again...but why do that?
From a 2nd spouse-sponsored Kitas you are eligible to apply for a permanent residence which lasts 5 years (Kitap)...no need to keep applying every year except for the MERP which, currently, only lasts 2 years.....but that is easy to get.
When that 5 years is complete you can apply for another KITAP which lasts forever.
Melati
Davita, spicyayam, I am not saying what is better or not, I am just saying the information from Davita was not right at the beginning, that is all, the Kitas keluarga can be renew for five years.
Melati
davita wroteHi mister...Jeez... I'm sounding like an Indonesian kid.
Welcome to the forum where I'm sure many will offer advice on marrying an Indonesian and taking your bride to the USA...I'm not familiar with that.
When you marry an Indonesian, and wish to stay in the Republic, the best way is to get a Social Budaya Visa with your wife as sponsor and converting that, in Indonesia, to a Kitas, which allows you to stay up to a year and is extendible for another year. During the 2nd year you apply for a Kitap which allows a stay of up to 5 years and, on completion, is extendible for eternity.
Davita, the kitas ikut keluarga can be for 5 years, extendible every year, I am pretty sure about this because I have this kitas myself and I renew it every year until 5 years.
davita
Melati wroteDavita, spicyayam, I am not saying what is better or not, I am just saying the information from Davita was not right at the beginning, that is all, the Kitas keluarga can be renew for five years.
For the record I try to be concise and not add irrelevant information to my suggestions. I'm aware that a Kitas can be extended yearly up to 5 years but didn't include as it may confuse the OP who was asking about a Sosbud, but then added he's also thinking of marriage and how to stay in Indonesia after marriage.
The local conversion of Sosbud to Kitas to Kitap is the way most achieve that.
Mark
OP, if you met a girl, love her and want to get married, just do it. If you want to bring her to the US, it will be a pain in the ass but if you are persistent and patient you can probably succeed eventually, maybe (Don John has made immigration to the US much more difficult). If you want to stay in Indonesia, it shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise, if you would like to buy yourself some time to figure things out and make a considered decision (highly recommended) while staying in Bali, get a social visa. Based on your posts, I'd also recommend that you get a visa agent to help you with this.
hadodi
spicyayam wroteMost people use the KITAS for for 2 years and then convert it to a KITAP which is valid for 5 years. As Davita said the 2nd KITAP is valid for life. If you are planning on staying here long term it, it is obviously worth going down this path.
Mark wroteOP, if you met a girl, love her and want to get married, just do it. If you want to bring her to the US, it will be a pain in the ass but if you are persistent and patient you can probably succeed eventually, maybe (Don John has made immigration to the US much more difficult). If you want to stay in Indonesia, it shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise, if you would like to buy yourself some time to figure things out and make a considered decision (highly recommended) while staying in Bali, get a social visa. Based on your posts, I'd also recommend that you get a visa agent to help you with this.
NO visa agent. You can easily handle by yourself!
hadodi
I am citizen of the EU and decided - to avoid a lot of hazzle - get civil married in Australia (took us 20 minutes in a beautiful national park). Most countries accept this (English written) Marriage Certificate. Here you just get it translated and get the equivalent at the Kantor sibil. With this you can apply (WITHOUT any money eating agent involved) for either a Visa Sosial Budaya or directly for a KITAS SPONSORED BY INDONESIAN WIFE. I had excellent experience at the Kantor Imigrasi Singaraja, not 1 Rp was asked for "handling".. I do not know how it is handled in Denpasar.
mister567
hadodi wroteI am citizen of the EU and decided - to avoid a lot of hazzle - get civil married in Australia (took us 20 minutes in a beautiful national park). Most countries accept this (English written) Marriage Certificate. Here you just get it translated and get the equivalent at the Kantor sibil. With this you can apply (WITHOUT any money eating agent involved) for either a Visa Sosial Budaya or directly for a KITAS SPONSORED BY INDONESIAN WIFE. I had excellent experience at the Kantor Imigrasi Singaraja, not 1 Rp was asked for "handling".. I do not know how it is handled in Denpasar.
But I see two potential problems with that arrangement.
First of all, getting married to her in my home country would require bringing her there first. Which is something I definitely want to do at some point, but it sounds like it's a hassle and I would need some help/research at least.
Secondly, getting married in Asia would give us time to settle down and get to know each other better before she gets thrown into a different culture and country.
mister567
If I live in Bali I could still be employed online with our company in America (web design and such), but how would that work legally?
I assume that's not technically legal, but how could I keep word from getting out?
I'm in my 20s, so if I stay in Bali long term I think it would be obvious that I'm working somehow.
Nydave
The second part of your first post is confusing,if you don`t already know each other well enough then why are you considering marriage at all in either country,getting married is easy,getting out of it is not,
Travel to Bali,spend the necessary time to know each other better,if all works out good between both of you then take it to the next level,seems that right now you are complicating the whole situation,take it one step at a time,
But for Gods sake dont arrive in Bali ,get married and then start getting to know each other,thats Hollywood stuff,where everyone lives happily ever after,
hadodi
mister567 wroteBut I see two potential problems with that arrangement.
First of all, getting married to her in my home country would require bringing her there first. Which is something I definitely want to do at some point, but it sounds like it's a hassle and I would need some help/research at least.
Secondly, getting married in Asia would give us time to settle down and get to know each other better before she gets thrown into a different culture and country.
Not in your country but in AUSTRALIA. I have a guy there who is wedding celebrant, took my Balinese wife over there and finish
davita
But if you marry and then take her back to visit a new country and culture and she hates it....then what?
In Bali tradition the female spouse follows the man. Its a very dire situation for you if you don't know her family, culture and religion. You will be presumed to provide for her and future family and, getting any job, for a foreigner, isn't easy unless supremely qualified.
davita
mister567 wroteIf I live in Bali I could still be employed online with our company in America (web design and such), but how would that work legally?
I assume that's not technically legal, but how could I keep word from getting out?
I'm in my 20s, so if I stay in Bali long term I think it would be obvious that I'm working somehow.
Living in Bali, and doing web-design over internet, is probably not technically legal but the law is to protect Indonesians from having their jobs done by foreigners so, you would not actually be in conflict and, as long as no-one knew no-one would care. You could be a multi-millionaire, retired at age 21, just finding spiritual solace in Bali...and contemplating on the shape of your belly-button....:D
If married to an Indonesian she, technically, is your sponsor so she might have to show some evidence she can support you.
Indonesian law, and application, is all very fuzzy and grey but many, in a similar situation like yourself, manage to live here happily without stress.
If intent is to stay with your Balinese girlfriend, unmarried, you might face other issues and she could only provide sponsorship for a Sosbud.
However, I'd suggest you go that route and avoid long-term problems until you're both sure about marriage ....easy to get into...hard to extricate.
Hadodi is correct that the visas you require are DIY, which can save money. Agents charge what they think they can get.
