KITAP Renewal

Good morning all and hope all is well. Here is my update as of 02/20/2020:

History:
  1. KITAP still valid until this December 2020
  2. MERP was expired in January 2020
  3. Current location USA and did not renew my MERP on my last trip to Indonesia
  4. I never been outside Indonesia more than a year
  5. KJRI LA willing to take my KITAP and furnished a letter stating that I surrender my KITAP (they assumed this letter should be sufficient in case Imigrasi Jakarta asked about MERP status) or if I need to renew my MERP while abroad I will need approval from Dirjen Imigrasi Jakarta
Objective:
  1. How to renew MERP while abroad
  2. How to go back to Indonesia with valid KITAP and expired MERP
Updates:
After months of slow searching (yet intensified lately due to my upcoming trip to Indo), I managed to get in touch with someone from Dirjen Imigrasi Jakarta and she said that she can provide approval from Dirjen Imigrasi to obtain IMK (Ijin Masuk Kembali) which I think the same with Re-Entry Permit where she will send the approval by TELEX to KJRI LA and I need to go there or send my passport to obtain the stamp that will valid for 30 days, then upon arrival in Indonesia, I can apply for the MERP again.

This is quiet a hazzle to be honest because my goal is just go to Indonesia for short trip/vacation and at the same time surrendering my KITAP and at the same time I try not to get into trouble when entering Indonesia with expired MERP.

Does anyone here have experience returning to Indonesia with expired MERP?

I will be more than happy to surrender my KITAP upon arrival and obtain VOA rather than going to Dirjen and KJRI LA


Thanks again all
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Bonaldi

This is an interesting case. A MERP allows you to travel back and forth Indonesia within the validity of it. If the MERP somehow expired when you lived overseas, does it actually prevent you from entering the country (if your KITAP is still valid). Does the law prevent you from entering the country as a tourist (Visa on Arrival) and then renew it in Indonesia again?
 
Does anyone here have experience returning to Indonesia with expired MERP?

I don't have personal experience with this however I know someone who entered on expired KITAS and MERP (didn't EPO). They were given a dressing down at the airport immigration, but eventually were allowed to enter with a VOA. I don't know if this is standard procedure, or if they got lucky.
 
I got my “infinite” KITAP last week. This is the second KITAP renewal. Cost was just under 12 Juta, including two year MERP. Fees paid upfront, not near completion, like previously.

Bandung imigrasi, which is usually great, was really dragging their feet.

First they made us change our address, as we had moved down the same street, 3.5 years ago, but we had notified them already. Then they said we had to wait for the home inspection. Never happened after more than a week, so we went in again, just to be told they didn’t need to do it.

My wife had done all the legwork, taking the documents to the Jakarta office, and staying in town until they were finished.

They never answered whatsapp messages. Never notified us that anything was ready. We had to keep going to check.

Finally, went in for the final fingerprints and photo. Usually takes 4 days after that to get the KITAP card, and MERP stamped in your passport. They stated that Jakarta had to OK it, and many people at that office were in home Covid quarantine.

We just went to Jakarta, so we’d be close to the airport. After two weeks, wife went to the Jakarta office, and they said it was all done on their end, and sent her a letter via whatsapp. Wife went to Bandung for a dental appointment. Stopped at imigrasi, and they just got upset and said to stop coming by, and said “it will be ready when it’s ready”.

I had already rescheduled doctor's appointments twice in the US, and was running out of some critical medications. I had originally hoped to vote by mail in the US elections, but knew not to risk it, so voted by email, thankfully.

My wife had her brother check at the end of the week for my KITAP, and it was done. All the dates in the passport listed the previous Tuesday as the completion date. E-Kitap, green card.

A week later I got an email from imigrasi saying it was completed. We were already back in the US.
 
I am in the process of converting my Kitas to 5 yr Kitap. I was told to expect someone from the immigration office to contact me to set up an interview. What is the purpose of this interview and what sort of questions they usually ask when they visit your residence. Any information will be greatly appreciated.
 
They asked us about: employment and whether or not we actually lived in the house (they asked this several times). They asked to immediately see original copies of documents (perhaps another angle on finding out if it was our actual residence). They took a photo and they left. It was 10-15 minutes, max.

I really felt like the main emphasis was on checking that I actually live at that location.

They only saw the one room at the front of the house. They said they would go and visit the neighbors, but the neighbors said they didn't.

I would have offered them coffee and cake and a tour or something, but the missus (at the time) insisted we give them the cold shoulder so they would leave as soon as possible and not come back. She doesn't like having random people (who are officially there to snoop about) in her house. Fair enough.
 
They asked us about: employment and whether or not we actually lived in the house (they asked this several times). They asked to immediately see original copies of documents (perhaps another angle on finding out if it was our actual residence). They took a photo and they left. It was 10-15 minutes, max.

I really felt like the main emphasis was on checking that I actually live at that location.

They only saw the one room at the front of the house. They said they would go and visit the neighbors, but the neighbors said they didn't.

I would have offered them coffee and cake and a tour or something, but the missus (at the time) insisted we give them the cold shoulder so they would leave as soon as possible and not come back. She doesn't like having random people (who are officially there to snoop about) in her house. Fair enough.
Never had a reason to be rude to the imigrasi people visiting the house. I don’t think they ever spent more than 15 minutes, even when offering snacks and drinks.
 
They asked us about: employment and whether or not we actually lived in the house (they asked this several times). They asked to immediately see original copies of documents (perhaps another angle on finding out if it was our actual residence). They took a photo and they left. It was 10-15 minutes, max.

I really felt like the main emphasis was on checking that I actually live at that location.

They only saw the one room at the front of the house. They said they would go and visit the neighbors, but the neighbors said they didn't.

I would have offered them coffee and cake and a tour or something, but the missus (at the time) insisted we give them the cold shoulder so they would leave as soon as possible and not come back. She doesn't like having random people (who are officially there to snoop about) in her house. Fair enough.
Thanks for the info.
 
It really depends which immigration you deal with. In South Jakarta, they have never done a house visit for me. The KITAP interview (which was at the immigration office) was quite difficult and they focussed on how I would support my wife while "not working" but in the end it worked out OK.
 
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I am in the process of converting my Kitas to 5 yr Kitap. I was told to expect someone from the immigration office to contact me to set up an interview. What is the purpose of this interview and what sort of questions they usually ask when they visit your residence. Any information will be greatly appreciated.
I guess it also depends on whether you are an ex-wni or not. Based on my experience (and some others I heard of) the treatment can be quite different. I know it sounds descriminatory, but they don't seem to care too much if you 'sound and look' Indo (if you know what I mean). All the questions asked were 'basa basi'. In my case less than 5 min.
 
Ya they won't be there long. They will ask general questions, what you do, what does your wife do, how did you meet, etc... Just simple questions. They will take a picture and then leave.

One thing that might cause an issue later on at the directors' office, is if your wife's residence card is not from Jakarta. Just stand your ground and explain that she has moved a fair bit and it is easier to keep her residence where it is.
 
I guess it also depends on whether you are an ex-wni or not. Based on my experience (and some others I heard of) the treatment can be quite different. I know it sounds descriminatory, but they don't seem to care too much if you 'sound and look' Indo (if you know what I mean). All the questions asked were 'basa basi'. In my case less than 5 min.
I am an ex-wni; I've had a pleasant interview today.
 
Ex-WNI too over here...same like Dannyboy my interview was just a formality...they just wanted to make sure that the address is a real address, etc. Took a picture with me and the house as the background. I did make a mistake of forgetting to offer drinks/cookies....can't think of anything else I did wrong..as from that interview it took over three weeks+ for them to write up the 'visit letter' and it was because i managed to catch their head of dept at the office and asked if he could write the letter for me. I think he himself seemed reluctant to write it (like I was not supposed to talk to him directly)...but coincidentally as i was talking to him...a not so tactful guy came over and was joking with him and handed an envelope to him in front of me. The awkward look on his face was quite priceless and after a couple of uhm..uhm..he just said he'll help me with the letter and 'it won't take long'. Yep..no more than less than 10 minutes later, my name was called and I got my 'bukti surat pengawasan' freshly printed and signed.
 
I got my “infinite” KITAP last week. This is the second KITAP renewal. Cost was just under 12 Juta, including two year MERP. Fees paid upfront, not near completion, like previously.

Bandung imigrasi, which is usually great, was really dragging their feet.

First they made us change our address, as we had moved down the same street, 3.5 years ago, but we had notified them already. Then they said we had to wait for the home inspection. Never happened after more than a week, so we went in again, just to be told they didn’t need to do it.

My wife had done all the legwork, taking the documents to the Jakarta office, and staying in town until they were finished.

They never answered whatsapp messages. Never notified us that anything was ready. We had to keep going to check.

Finally, went in for the final fingerprints and photo. Usually takes 4 days after that to get the KITAP card, and MERP stamped in your passport. They stated that Jakarta had to OK it, and many people at that office were in home Covid quarantine.

We just went to Jakarta, so we’d be close to the airport. After two weeks, wife went to the Jakarta office, and they said it was all done on their end, and sent her a letter via whatsapp. Wife went to Bandung for a dental appointment. Stopped at imigrasi, and they just got upset and said to stop coming by, and said “it will be ready when it’s ready”.

I had already rescheduled doctor's appointments twice in the US, and was running out of some critical medications. I had originally hoped to vote by mail in the US elections, but knew not to risk it, so voted by email, thankfully.

My wife had her brother check at the end of the week for my KITAP, and it was done. All the dates in the passport listed the previous Tuesday as the completion date. E-Kitap, green card.

A week later I got an email from imigrasi saying it was completed. We were already back in the US.

Greetings,

I am up for my KITAP renewal and I am interested in going for the unlimited KITAP. The agent i used for my for my first KITAP is now asking for an exorbitant amount (50 Juta) for something that, officially, is around the 10 Juta range.

I have decided to process my KITAP extension on my own. Does anyone have firsthand knowledge of processing a KITAP renewal and what to expect? I have read the requirements from the immigrasi website but as we all know, things on the ground my not always be as straightforward.

Any additional information would be great.
 
Greetings,

I am up for my KITAP renewal and I am interested in going for the unlimited KITAP. The agent i used for my for my first KITAP is now asking for an exorbitant amount (50 Juta) for something that, officially, is around the 10 Juta range.

I have decided to process my KITAP extension on my own. Does anyone have firsthand knowledge of processing a KITAP renewal and what to expect? I have read the requirements from the immigrasi website but as we all know, things on the ground my not always be as straightforward.

Any additional information would be great.
They asked for all the same papers I needed for the initial KITAP. Most of that was just sorting through old stuff and making new copies. I'd make a list, but I'd just be copying from elsewhere on this forum (my memory would leave you short a few).

The Surat Domisili was out of date, so I made a new one. The wife (at the time) had to go and get another letter from the intelligence branch of the police, since that was also expired (this is about the sponsor, not the wna). I also had to go and swear out another statement at my embassy saying that I was still married, I believe. You'll need the KTP-OA and Surat Keluarga that you got after you got your KITAP (I've heard of agents failing to provide these, so just check that they are the new and up-to-date versions).

The home interview questions were a bit more aggressive/meaningful than others I recall, but still not difficult. Exactly the questions you should be able to answer if you qualify for the KITAP. They seemed to think that if they asked about it enough times, then I would tell them I didn't actually live in my house. Also, and this was inconvenient, they asked to see the originals of all documents during the interview. These documents were actually stored in a safe at the in-laws, so we waited for them to be delivered. This caused another round of "you can tell us of you don't live here, it's okay". The vibes were generally more serious and less friendly, but part of that is probably that my ex prefers not to offer hospitality to unwanted gov officials.
 
My wife did everything. Other than me going to get fingerprinted and photo taken, I didn’t have to do anything at imigrasi.

My wife did go to Jakarta to deliver the packets to speed things up. This was during some peak Covid infections, and it was a pretty big hassle, at times.

We waited 2 weeks for the home visit, but it never came. When my wife paid yet another visit to the imigrasi office, they said they were skipping it. On previous visits they were always polite. Might have lasted 15 minutes with tea and cookies.
 
Greetings,

I am up for my KITAP renewal and I am interested in going for the unlimited KITAP. The agent i used for my for my first KITAP is now asking for an exorbitant amount (50 Juta) for something that, officially, is around the 10 Juta range.

I have decided to process my KITAP extension on my own. Does anyone have firsthand knowledge of processing a KITAP renewal and what to expect? I have read the requirements from the immigrasi website but as we all know, things on the ground my not always be as straightforward.

Any additional information would be great.

It depends if your KITAP is spouse-sponsored or company-sponsored.

HappyMan and Jaime C replies for the case of spouse-sponsored.
 

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