Difficulty contacting new Immigration Office in Banyuwangi .

[Nicho]

Have been trying to contact the new Immigration Office in Banyuwangi , Java for over a month . Emailed and phoned the contact address/phone number on there web page several times . There server won't allow connection to emails from Gmail , there phone rings sometimes with no answer then an automated message , out of service area . Contacted Jember office who said they don't reply to emails or answer phone calls anymore !!!, all contact is by whatsapp or instagram . I contacted them on whatsapp detailing my problem and the help I needed , got an automated reply , Thankyou for contacting Foreign Services Banyuwangi , how can we help you . Resent my first message again and an Instagram message to the main office , no reply from either after 7 days , sent another message yesterday afternoon , got a reply that it was out of working hours and they would contact me when the office reopened today , just gone 12pm "NO REPLY " again . I am trying to contact them regarding my wife/sponsors death and the process / documents required . I understood I had 60 days to notify them . With all the shit of the last month the 60 days is up tomorrow and I face the prospect of having my KITAP cancelled due to no fault of mine and having to go through a tribunal to get it back . Will be contacting the Director Generals Dept in Jakarta if I don't get a reply by 5pm this afternoon and going to the Banyuwangi office "4 hour return drive" tomorrow to sort the shit out !! Just a warning to anyone living in the Banyuwangi area that may will have to deal with / try to contact this New office . Never had a problem with the Jember office and the old system over 12 years . Nothing but "PROBLEMS" with the new evisa system having to download , convert to pdf , reduce files etc and all this whatsapp , instagram crap !!!!

 

[serious_fun]

sorry to read about your loss and the subsequent problems with immigration.

 

[Banana72]

Yikes. Hope you get things sorted out soon!

 

[Balifrog]

Ever thought about asking the help from an agent ?
They sure have ways and contacts that you (and us) don't have...

 

[Nicho]

Ever thought about asking the help from an agent ?
They sure have ways and contacts that you (and us) don't have...

The last agent I used charged me almost 10 mil Rp more than a lot of others for my original Vitas/Kitas 12 years ago , they wouldn't come to my area to arrange documents as he/she deemed it to far away . Sure they have ways /contacts if you/me the client is willing to pay the extra "backdoor" fees . I'll go to the office and sort it myself as I've done with all my other Visa requirements . Just annoyed that they make you use all this new technology then this crap happens .

 

[marcus]

... I understood I had 60 days to notify them . With all the shit of the last month the 60 days is up tomorrow and I face the prospect of having my KITAP cancelled due to no fault of mine ...

From the rules below it seems that your KITAP will not be cancelled but you may be in a different trouble after 60 days (in the Forum since 2008 , I never heard of any foreigner in Court due to the Article 116) .


--------------------------------------------------

Immigration Law (UU no.6 Year 2011) - free translation
Article 62
(1) A KITAP may be terminated because :
a. its holder leaves Indonesia for more than 1 year or don't intend to return to Indonesia;
d. it is revoked by the Minister or a designated Immigration Officer;
e. its holder is deported; or ...
(2) A KITAP may be revoked because its holder :
a. committed a crime against the state as stipulated in laws and regulations;
b. carries out activities which endanger state's security;
c. violates the Integration Statement ;
d. employs foreign workers without work permits;
e. provides false information in the filing of the petition for the KITAP;
f. is subjected to a Immigration Administrative Measure, or ...

-----------------------------

UU no.6 , year 2011 - free translation
Article 71
Each foreigner residing in Indonesia shall:
a. provide all necessary information regarding his/her & family identity , and report any changes in civil status, nationality, occupation, Guarantor, or a change of address to the local Immigration Office; or
.........

Article 116
Each foreigner who does not perform his/her obligations as stipulated in Article 71 shall be punished with a maximum confinement of 3 months or a fine of up to Rp25 million.

-----------------------------

PerMen no.36 Year 2021 - free translation
Article 14
(1) Changes in civil status that must be reported by the Guarantor includes: birth, death, marriage, divorce, child recognition, child validation, adoption of a child, name change, and change of citizenship status.
......

Article 16
Reporting of changes in civil status must be done no later than 60 days after the change in civil status occurs.

 

[Nicho]

From the rules below it seems that your KITAP will not be cancelled but you may be in a different trouble after 60 days .


--------------------------------------------------

Immigration Law (UU no.6 Year 2011) - free translation
Article 62
(1) A KITAP may be terminated because :
a. its holder leaves Indonesia for more than 1 year or don't intend to return to Indonesia;
d. it is revoked by the Minister or a designated Immigration Officer;
e. its holder is deported; or ...
(2) A KITAP may be revoked because its holder :
a. committed a crime against the state as stipulated in laws and regulations;
b. carries out activities which endanger state's security;
c. violates the Integration Statement ;
d. employs foreign workers without work permits;
e. provides false information in the filing of the petition for the KITAP;
f. is subjected to a Immigration Administrative Measure, or ...

-----------------------------

UU no.6 , year 2011 - free translation
Article 71
Each foreigner residing in Indonesia shall:
a. provide all necessary information regarding his/her & family identity , and report any changes in civil status, nationality, occupation, Guarantor, or a change of address to the local Immigration Office; or
.........

Article 116
Each foreigner who does not perform his/her obligations as stipulated in Article 71 shall be punished with a maximum confinement of 3 months or a fine of up to Rp25 million.

-----------------------------

PerMen no.36 Year 2021 - free translation
Article 14
(1) Changes in civil status that must be reported by the Guarantor includes: birth, death, marriage, divorce, child recognition, child validation, adoption of a child, name change, and change of citizenship status.
......

Article 16
Reporting of changes in civil status must be done no later than 60 days after the change in civil status occurs.

Yes that's where i originally saw the 60 day requirement . I originally contacted the Jember office at the end of March which I had dealt with previously , they advised me to contact the new Banyuwangi office which I did shortly after with no reply to any form of contact I tried . I will be waiting on the door step when they open in the morning . I was married longer than the ten years they mention which only requires a new sponsor / penjiman with no changes to the type of visa , still comes under " family " as my brother in law will be my new sponsor . I've got records of how and when I tried to contact them in case they try to cancel my visa .

 

[Balifrog]

Yes that's where i originally saw the 60 day requirement . I originally contacted the Jember office at the end of March which I had dealt with previously , they advised me to contact the new Banyuwangi office which I did shortly after with no reply to any form of contact I tried . I will be waiting on the door step when they open in the morning . I was married longer than the ten years they mention which only requires a new sponsor / penjiman with no changes to the type of visa , still comes under " family " as my brother in law will be my new sponsor . I've got records of how and when I tried to contact them in case they try to cancel my visa .

Good luck !

F.Y.I., I am on a retirement visa, so using an agency as sponsor is mandatory. And yes, the prices have increased steeply over the last 8 years.

 

[marcus]

... I was married longer than the ten years they mention which only requires a new sponsor / penjiman ...

As I showed you last month in post no.13 @ https://www.expatindo.org/community...-sponsor-after-spouses-death-or-divorce.8328/ , your case's rule is Article 160 (PP no.40 of 2023) , which does not mention how long the foreigner should have been married .

The 10 years of marriage is related to one of the cases of foreigners who divorce their Indonesian spouses , and as I showed you in post no.16 (same thread) , in both cases (death & divorce after 10 years) the foreigner does not need to present a new sponsor anymore . Divorce before the 10 years still requires a new sponsor .

 

[Nicho]

Good luck !

F.Y.I., I am on a retirement visa, so using an agency as sponsor is mandatory. And yes, the prices have increased steeply over the last 8 years.

Yes , the immigration dept fees have near doubled over the 12 years I've been here , I'd imagine agent fees have followed suit , while the service has declined "no face to face communication " with the introduction of all the new technology , AI , whatsapp , instagram etc . They've made it hard for the elderly expat with limited experience , knowledge of all the new technology who grew up talking to people rather than texting , using Apps , computers etc . Hard to teach an old dinosaur new tricks.

 

[Nicho]

As I showed you last month in post no.13 @ https://www.expatindo.org/community...-sponsor-after-spouses-death-or-divorce.8328/ , your case's rule is Article 160 (PP no.40 of 2023) , which does not mention how long the foreigner should have been married .

The 10 years of marriage is related to one of the cases of foreigners who divorce their Indonesian spouses , and as I showed you in post no.16 (same thread) , in both cases (death & divorce after 10 years) the foreigner does not need to present a new sponsor anymore . Divorce before the 10 years still requires a new sponsor .

It's a shame most Offices either aren't aware of the rule/law changes or choose to ignore them and make there own rules . Seems to be different rules / laws / requirements in every office . The Jember office were adamant the self sponsorship wasn't an option in my case .

 

[Balifrog]

They've made it hard for the elderly expat with limited experience , knowledge of all the new technology who grew up talking to people rather than texting , using Apps , computers etc . Hard to teach an old dinosaur new tricks.

I am 73 years old, but not too bad with computers having used them since the end of the 90's at my job.
But I definitively hate all this "all on line" sh*t.
Sometimes it is easy and user friendly, often (specially in this kind of countries) it is half baked.
I have not travelled anymore since I am retired, because I have travelled all my life (Navy + 33 years international construction) but also because of all the safety sh*t and all this "on line pre application" business.

 

[Balifrog]

It's a shame most Offices either aren't aware of the rule/law changes or choose to ignore them and make there own rules . Seems to be different rules / laws / requirements in every office . The Jember office were adamant the self sponsorship wasn't an option in my case .

I went to that office 8 years ago, I was on a 30 VOA, wanted to extend it. They were hopeless.
Why Jember ? I was for 10 days at my companion's place 30 km South of Jember.
I went back to Bali and I sorted it there, on my own.

 

[snpark]

Couldn't you try again online with a "new" address nearer to a better immi office?

 

[marcus]

... while the service has declined

I disagree . I started to deal with the Indonesian Immigration 26 years ago , it improved a lot . In year 2000 Immigration asked me to go there many times , one of that to just carry my process' file: from one officer to another in a near room (wait until the officer analyse it and sign) then return it back to the original officer .

"no face to face communication "

You are mistaken , all the local Kantor Imigrasi are still there for face-to-face communication , if you need it (I don't need anymore) .

with the introduction of all the new technology , AI , whatsapp , instagram etc .

• The "Mido" chatbot is not good enough , but it is an improvement as before Immigration rarely could be reached by phone/email anyway .
• Whatsapp communication has been perfect to me . Lately all my interactions with my local Kantor Imigrasi have been through it (2 online processes already) .
• Instagram/Facebook/X : not necessary , in my view .

... Hard to teach an old dinosaur new tricks.

I asked : If we don't use our brain , will it shrink ?
Google's AI answered : Yes, the brain absolutely follows a "use it or lose it" rule. When you do not actively engage in learning or challenging thinking, the neural connections between brain cells weaken, which can lead to a decrease in brain tissue volume.

------------------------------

From https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/brain-health/how-aging-brain-affects-thinking#:~:text=As a person gets older,in the brain may decrease.
... Despite the changes in cognition that may come with age, older adults can still ...

• Learn new skills
• Form new memories
• Improve vocabulary and language skills

------------------------------

From Google search :
You can learn new things at any age, with Rachel Wu, PhD

Picking up a new skill as an adult can seem daunting. But research suggests that learning new things as you age may be key to keeping your cognitive skills sharp -- and that middle aged and older adults may be just as good at learning as younger people are.

 

[Balifrog]

Picking up a new skill as an adult can seem daunting. But research suggests that learning new things as you age may be key to keeping your cognitive skills sharp -- and that middle aged and older adults may be just as good at learning as younger people are.

Plenty jobs where you have no choice.
You are obliged ti follow progress , permanently learn and update your skills.
If you don't you will be put on the back burner and a young kid will take your place....

 

[marcus]

It's a shame most Offices either aren't aware of the rule/law changes or choose to ignore them and make there own rules . Seems to be different rules / laws / requirements in every office .

I disagree again .

An Office in a small city may not have experienced officers .

But in 18 years in Bandung's Office I had only 1 rule disagreement with my local Kantor Imigrasi (I was right but the office boss knew the rule and denied its application with an acceptable argument) .

The Jember office were adamant the self sponsorship wasn't an option in my case .

Any person can make mistakes , correcting mistakes should be our obligation .