moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from USA

[kauaibobby]

My 12 year old son are moving to Bali in the beginning of 2008.
Wondering about getting a social visa, or should i just get a tourist visa and figure out the visa stuff once I get to Bali.
I'm a retired fireman 51 years old, don't you need to be 55 to get a retirement visa ?
What should I do in USA before leave for Bali........International drivers license, shots, banks, visas, etc.
I know I'm asking a lot or maybe it's just a little to some of you.
Hope to meet you all soon.
Bob

 

[Bert Vierstra]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

Welcome Bob,

I first arrived on a tourist visa, and then went to Singapore to get a Social Visa, and after that got a Kitas.

It is all possible to do it before you come though.

All your other questions, yes

Taking your 12 year old son? He must be excited...

 

[Guest]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

Welcome to the forum Bob!

A bit of tedious visa rigmarole aside I'm sure you and your lucky son will have a great time in Bali.

Enjoy!

 

[kauaibobby]

RE: Bert and Allen , thank you for your reply

How does one go about getting a social visa in USA if i dont even know anyone in Bali. Except for the few of you on this site, of course.
I see a lot of people looking for places to rent.
Is long term rental hard to find ? and what month would it get more difficult to find a rental.
Just wondering if we didn't get there until April, is that to late to find a nice place to rent.
Hopefully we will be there a lot sooner.
sooner the better.
You all seem so very helpful.
Thank you very much for all your help and advice.
Bob

 

[matsaleh]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

Welcome to the forum Bob. You can apply for a 60 day tourist visa at the Indonesian Embassy in your home state. You would then need to find a local sponsor in Bali and fly to Singapore to make arrangements for the 6 month (180 day) Sosial Budaya.

If you don't have an Indonesian sponsor, I'd suggest you contact the company in the link below. From their website, it looks like they may be able to provide a sponsor for you, but I can't make any guarantees, as I've only used them for visa extensions.

http://www.mas-travel.com/visa/sosial_budaya.htm

Good luck with your move.
8)

 

[dahlia]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

Godd friends of us just applied Sos Bud visa (for 6 mo) from Indonesian consular office in San Francisco. They paid $50 per person. They will be arriving in Bali end of Nov.
Depend on which part of CA you live, you can apply the visa to one of these consular offices.

The adress for Indonesian Consular in CA :

3457 Wilshirre Blvd
LA, CA 90010
Ph . 213 383-5126
Fx. 213 487 3971
http://www.kjri-la.net

1111 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
Ph. 415 474 9571
Fx. 415 441 4320
http://www.kjrisfo.net

Good luck.

Thanks
Nanik

 

[FreoGirl]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

You are right Dalia you can apply at the consulate in the US, but your good friends would have had a sponsor and sponsorship letter, which Bob doesn't have. That being the case, Bob needs to arrive on a tourist visa then go to somewhere like Singapore to arrange a social visa - once he has found a sponsor.

Bob, rentals are not difficult to find - it depends on your budget and the area you want to live of course - but there is generally plenty of choice. Doesn't matter what time of year. It is cheaper to rent long term - where you pay 12 months rent up front.

Welcome to the forum!

Freogirl

 

[kauaibobby]

RE:I live real close to San Francisco

Matsaleh, Dahlia and Freogirl thank you for all your help and hope to meet you all soon.
I retired as a fireman from San Francisco Fire Department last year.
How can I get a sponser (a letter of invitation from a social organization) before we leave for Bali to take to the consulate in San Francisco.
The only friends I have are you friendly people here on this forum.
Well hope to meet you all soon.
My son Beau and me ( Bob )

 

[Guest]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

How can I get a sponser (a letter of invitation from a social organization) before we leave for Bali to take to the consulate in San Francisco.

Bob, a sponsor can also be any Indonesian citizen that is willing to provide a sponsorship letter i.e. sign a document to say they vouch for you. Understandably only someone that knows you personally would normally be willing to do that.

It might be possible to find a sponsor via one of the visa agencies while you are still in the U.S. You would then be able to obtain a social visa before ever coming to Bali.

Sorry I can't give you any more help than that. If you contact one of the many visa agents and pay a fee you might be able to arrange something. The legalities of the various options are somewhat vague. Bali IDE (see the link "VISA Indonesia" at the top of this page) is one such agency.

BTW if you look at the location of the poster (at the top of each post) you will see that, of all the people that have posted in this string, only Bert is currently in Indonesia.

The rest of us probably wish we were.

 

[kauaibobby]

Matseleh Thank you for the help

I looked at the company you told me about. thankyou.
But i wouldn't send them $ unless i knew for sure they were a reputable company and could get a social visa for me and my son.
Thats what i read about everyone goes to Singapore for visas.
You can stay with us in Bali anytime, although were not ther yet.
But pretty soon.
Bob and Beau

 

[kauaibobby]

Dahlia thank you for your help

I looked up the consulate in San Franciso, and it has all the information on applying for visas.
Very helpful, thank you.
hope to see you in Bali some day, and you can always stay with us.
Beau and Bob

 

[Guest]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

But i wouldn't send them $ unless i knew for sure they were a reputable company and could get a social visa for me and my son.

You can contact them first and get some advice for free. If they say they can get you a visa that means they will - barring any unforseen problems such as a person's name being flagged by the immigration department.

Unfortunately you have to pay the money up front and there are no guarantees. It's the same for people wanting a visa for the U.S. If the U.S. reject your visa application you don't get a refund.

As far as Bali IDE being reputable, you are welcome to search through the previous posts and pm any of the members that have dealt with them.

You can stay with us in Bali anytime, although were not ther yet.

Gee, thanks a lot Bob. A very kind offer!

 

[kauaibobby]

Freogirl thankyou for your help

Yes, I am starting to get the picture about visas.
How I go about getting a sponsor and sponsorship letter before I get there ?
I'm sure there is a way to do that some how.
No problem getting a rental you say, that is great.
We will stay in a hotel to start and look where we want to live from there.
Can't wait to get there.
Hope you come stay with us when your in Bali.
Bye for now
Beau and Bob

 

[kauaibobby]

Allen I will call them tomorrow

And see what they have to say.
Allen your right.
I was wondering how everyone knows so much about Bali and doesn't live there, except for Bert of course. Right Bert.?
Talk to you again soon.
Bob

 

[kauaibobby]

Bert your right I want to do things the easy way.

I don't want to make things compicattttttted.
Your on the north side of Bali.
I here it beautiful up there and not nearly as touristy as the south.
But i love to surf. and the south seems to be where the waves are.
Although i have been scuba diving for many years and there is a airport in the NW corner of Bali.
I want to get an Anphibian plane to fly around in, go surfing, diving, kayaking and so much more.
Hope to meet up with you when i get there.
You sure do help a lot of people out all the time.
Very nice of you.
Talk to you soon.
Bob

 

[Bert Vierstra]

Re: Bert your right I want to do things the easy way.

I want to get an Anphibian plane to fly around in, go surfing, diving, kayaking and so much more.
Hope to meet up with you when i get there.

Would love to have a go on the float plane. 8)

 

[FreoGirl]

Re: Allen I will call them tomorrow

And see what they have to say.
Allen your right.
I was wondering how everyone knows so much about Bali and doesn't live there, except for Bert of course. Right Bert.?
Talk to you again soon.
Bob

Most of us that have replied have either lived in Bali or spent a significant amount of time there. I think we are also mostly married/in relationships with Indonesians, so have quite a connection. Others on this forum might not have lived there yet, but plan to and have done or are doing the research.

Your retirement plan sounds like a GOOD PLAN!

 

[kauaibobby]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

freogirl
I thought you have been there a lot, you seem to know soooooooooooooooooooooo much.
bye for now
Bobby

 

[dahlia]

Re: RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa f

You are right Dalia you can apply at the consulate in the US, but your good friends would have had a sponsor and sponsorship letter, which Bob doesn't have. That being the case, Bob needs to arrive on a tourist visa then go to somewhere like Singapore to arrange a social visa - once he has found a sponsor.

Freogirl

FreoGirl,
Our friend did not have a sponsorship letter and the KJRI in SF did not ask them to provide any.

Tomorrow (Saturday night) they are going to stay with us till they depart on Nov 15th. If Bobby wanted to know more, PM me with your #, maybe they can give you more information.

Thanks

 

[Pa_Yan]

RE: moving to bali soon, what should i do about a visa from

From what I read here and on other sites, there isn't any difference anymore between a social visum and a tourist visum ( 60 days ). You can extend your visum in Bali once you have found a sponsor there. So it seems you can go to Bali on a 60 days visum, find a sponsor, and get an extension. Here's the link from this site
http://www.bali-information.com/expat_f ... hp?t=19190