spicyayam

Well-Known Member
Jan 12, 2009
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After reading through this article I get the feeling there are going to be a lot less foreigners working in Indonesia with these new requirements. The Indonesian language requirements don't seem to be implemented yet, which will only complicate things further. The additional requirements also make it easier for immigration to deport foreigners for any breach in their visa, even if they do their best to follow the "rules".

The amount of time recommended for a working visa has changed from one year to six months for advisor positions in the service, trading, and consulting sectors.

The first step to getting a KITAS starts with your sponsor company. They will need to obtain an IMTA (Izin Mempekerjakan Tenaga Kerja Asing) from the department of Manpower, which will authorise the company to hire foreign employees. This document will dictate the number of foreigners that the company is permitted to hire along with the number of job titles that it is permitted to assign. So if a company can hire five employees with two titles, the intake might officially be four engineers and one director, for example. In recent years, local companies have found the IMTA increasingly difficult to obtain, according to a group of human resource officers who prefer to remain anonymous.

it’s more complicated, as many foreigners are hired as Tenaga Ahli or “experts,” Immigration and Manpower are now requesting, or rather demanding, that the employee’s educational background corresponds directly with the scope of the sponsoring company. This means that to work as an engineer in Indonesia you must have an engineering degree. The government is also asking applicants to prove they have prior work experience—ideally five years—in their prospective position. This is all to be confirmed by a competence certificate or a letter of reference from a previous employer.

The application to secure your VTT must now also include details of a Tenaga Pendamping or Indonesian working companion. The idea behind this is that you are to train a junior Indonesian colleague throughout the course of your time in Indonesia with the view that they will eventually be able to replace you (in a professional capacity, of course). Practically, this is a notion which companies must at least pay lip service to in order to submit an application. Once all that, plus a mandatory HIV test, is in hand, it is up to the Jakarta immigration office to grant you a VTT.
 

Mark

Well-Known Member
Apr 19, 2004
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Nothing much unusual in all this. For example, try getting a work visa as a non-EU citizen in Spain or Greece these days... All countries with high unemployment or underemployment are either very protectionist of their labor markets or are in the process of becoming more so.
 

davita

Well-Known Member
Mar 13, 2012
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I wonder if this is Indonesia's attempt to protect its basic labour market when the ASEAN countries create Asean Economic Community (AEC) at the end of this year. AEC is proposed to have free movement of goods and services which could include labour and capital and, by the way, free sky for airlines.

My thinking is Indonesia is nowhere near prepared for AEC, but scared to duck...so maybe they put restrictions now, that can be bartered later.

Just a thought...link...http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-10.pdf
 
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Gurkha

Guest
I feel that this may be a storm in a coconut shell. The vast majority of the unemployed are the lower wage earners, not those in Management - and this is the crux of the entire issue. Indonesia is about 20 years behind the rest of the world in Management and Engineering and until the government can change that, the private sector will continue to hire expats to do jobs that the locals just cannot manage - whatever the cost!
 
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Gurkha

Guest
"Just a thought...link...http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-10.pdf"
I just feel that Indonesia is not ready for the AEC integration.

Why?
1. Administrative inertia
2. Vested interests, especially in the extractive and power industries.
 

davita

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Mar 13, 2012
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From Jakarta Post today...

"Vice President Jusuf Kalla has told people not to worry about free trade pacts such as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), saying that the government will ensure that people benefit from the deals.
“Don’t worry about [trade] openness. It should be treated as a challenge, not as a hassle,” he said in a speech on Tuesday.
He addressed people’s concerns over potential job competition in Indonesia once the AEC became effective on Jan. 1, 2016, saying that competition would not be an issue as wages were lower in Indonesia compared to other ASEAN member states for certain professions.
“Don’t worry about foreign workers taking jobs. When a foreign businessperson comes here, 100 new job opportunities open up,” Kalla added.
Kalla was referring to the single market vision of the AEC, which includes the free flow of skilled labor, in addition to the free flow of goods, services and capital, among others.
The Vice President took a jab at people who questioned the country’s readiness for the AEC and controversy surrounding Indonesia’s intention to join the TPP.
“We always say that we are not ready. But when will we be ready if we don’t join it? […] If we need to be ready before we compete, when will we compete? We compete as we get ready,” he said."


Scary thought...from such a person. No mention of the US$1200/year that is a requirement in RI but not within other AEC nations. How can free movement of skilled labor be achieved...I think this notion is 'dead in the water.'
AEC was signed many years ago and the original target date for implementation was 2020 then brought forward to 2015...IMO it should go back to the original timetable...and then some!
 

Markit

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Sep 3, 2007
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Karangasem, Bali
From Jakarta Post today...

"Vice President Jusuf Kalla has told people not to worry about free trade pacts such as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), saying that the government will ensure that people benefit from the deals.
“Don’t worry about [trade] openness. It should be treated as a challenge, not as a hassle,” he said in a speech on Tuesday.
He addressed people’s concerns over potential job competition in Indonesia once the AEC became effective on Jan. 1, 2016, saying that competition would not be an issue as wages were lower in Indonesia compared to other ASEAN member states for certain professions.
“Don’t worry about foreign workers taking jobs. When a foreign businessperson comes here, 100 new job opportunities open up,” Kalla added.
Kalla was referring to the single market vision of the AEC, which includes the free flow of skilled labor, in addition to the free flow of goods, services and capital, among others.
The Vice President took a jab at people who questioned the country’s readiness for the AEC and controversy surrounding Indonesia’s intention to join the TPP.
“We always say that we are not ready. But when will we be ready if we don’t join it? […] If we need to be ready before we compete, when will we compete? We compete as we get ready,” he said."


Scary thought...from such a person. No mention of the US$1200/year that is a requirement in RI but not within other AEC nations. How can free movement of skilled labor be achieved...I think this notion is 'dead in the water.'
AEC was signed many years ago and the original target date for implementation was 2020 then brought forward to 2015...IMO it should go back to the original timetable...and then some!

I fail to see any reason to call this scary? It seems to this reader more a reason to be happy as the Vice seems to be embracing the coming change and seeing it as a chance for Indonesia to progress and not thrust up the walls of protectionism that has surrounded the country for decades, first in the "protective" guise of the Dutch overlords then as the "protective" hands of a sequence of dictators.

I read his statements as a call for Indonesia to work harder and innovate to compete with the other members of the AEC and ITT.

Hat off! I say and more of the same please. Who cares about a miserable $1200 that's only 40 boxes of wine. About a 2 weeks supply for Davita.
 

davita

Well-Known Member
Mar 13, 2012
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“We always say that we are not ready. But when will we be ready if we don’t join it? […] If we need to be ready before we compete, when will we compete? We compete as we get ready,” he said."[/I]

When I said 'scary thought' I was referring to the above quote which makes me believe that no thought has gone into this alliance.

I'm all for having a common market of over 600 million but there should be planned leadership, particularly from Indonesia who may be affected more than others. They are being targeted as the consumers, not the manufacturers....so what can they export other than what they dig from the ground.
i.e. Just imagine the Thai vehicle manufacturing plants ramped up production (already 2.5 times the size of RI's) and needing skilled labor...Indonesians could go work there and abandon Indonesian plants and low labor costs...then what? What if RI's infrastructure budget was spent....where to get such skills to build...Vietnam? I don't think the Indonesian education system is built around such technology. Witness the resurfacing of Jl. Sunset in Bali....Penang built a 2nd bridge crossing in less time.

Since this gov't was inaugerated, just over a year ago, there have been more protective regulations put into place, and flip-flopped, since Suharto was king.

The AEC master plan was signed 8 years ago tomorrow to be effective in 6 weeks, and the VP of RI makes the above statement. Sounds like someone is playing Russian Roulette with lives...he'll be OK as he probably owns a condo/bank in Singapore.
I hope he's guessing right and Indonesians can compete in spite of the quality of leadership.....I'll hold my breath.