Hello....

[KBVelvet246]

Hello,

I am from the USA, and I am hoping to move to Indonesia. My friend wants to retire there, and I am moving with him. We want to live in Bandung, and we are looking for a nice place to live that doesn't cost a lot. I don't want to live in a one room shack...but we don't need anything extravagant either. Just something comfortable with about 2-3 bedrooms, a western style bathroom, and not a lot of stairs to climb. I would prefer something in a quieter location that you can't hear a lot of street noise. And we would like to keep the rent under $300 per month. Any ideas?

I'm over 55, but not ready to retire just yet. I still have 10 years to go before I can draw on Social Security. I would like to find a part-time English teaching or tutoring job, but I need to learn Bahasa Indonesia first. Is there a good way to do that without spending a fortune on a school? I am also able to write well....so I wonder if there might perhaps be opportunities to do that for money?

I am also an artist. I design & make my own jewelry, and I also paint detailed pictures with oils. Is there any legal way that I can make some money with my jewelry making or art/painting? Perhaps if I sell online?

The topics I am interested in are:
- Visas, Documents and Indonesian bureaucrazy in general
- Healthy Living, Good Food, Safety & Health-related issues, Insurance/Medical options, Medicines, Supplements & Vitamins. And....Can foreigners get on the BPJS/KTN system, etc...
- Good conversation and meeting new people
- Music and culture, politics and life in Indonesia

Does anyone know how one obtains a sponsor in Indonesia? I have heard that we need KITAS visas, but that requires a sponsor. Are there any good, reputable agencies that do that? And how expensive is that? How does that work?

I have lots of questions....and I need some answers....
Thanks for you help.

 

[Puspawarna]

There's a lot of information you need - far more than can be included in one post - but let me get you started. First, don't neglect to use our website as a resource; here's a link to the laws and visas main page: https://www.expatindo.org/law-immigration/. And here is some info posted on the forum about getting a retirement visa: https://forum.expatindo.org/threads/retirement-visa.190/

Next, is your friend an Indonesian, and if so are they the sort of friend you might want to marry? I'm not being a busybody; it's just that you will have a tremendously easier time of it, in terms of visas and your ability to work, if you have an Indonesian spouse. Forum members can give you better advice if they know whether there is any chance of you coming here as a spouse.

It's good that you are thinking about health and insurance up front. I myself am a bit ambivalent about the quality of medical care in Indonesia. Sometimes it is fine, sometimes it is horrifyingly bad. However, that seems to be true even in countries with reputations for excellent care. I would never tell someone healthy not to move here on that basis - heck, I've mostly raised a child here, so obviously I don't think the care is THAT bad. If you or your friend have any kind of chronic condition requiring ongoing medical monitoring/specific drugs, be sure you find out about drug availability as well as doctors/treatment centers tailored to your medical needs.

Working will be quite difficult without an Indonesian spouse, whether as an English teacher, writer, or artist. My comments below apply if you are not married to a local; things are a bit different if you have an Indonesian spouse.

I'm a writer and editor (mostly retired now) who always managed to find work in Indonesia, but: (a) I'm in Jakarta, not Bandung; (b) I have expertise in international development, which has always been a necessary element of my work; (c) in the old days I worked illegally, which I would never do now due to increased scrutiny; and (d) I had a fabulous network in the international development community that always came through for me when I needed a job. In your circumstances, I'd be pessimistic about the chances of being hired locally for a writing job. If you can do freelance on-line writing or editing for international clients, however, that should not present a problem.

Teaching English legally is pretty much impossible unless you have certain credentials (CELTA? I'm not a teacher so I'm not on top of the specifics; another forum member can comment) and five years of experience. Also, teachers are required to retire at a fairly early age - I think it is 60.

The "on line" part of selling your jewelry is not out of the question, though there are other logistical problems. It is generally agreed that working on line is low-risk, if you keep it low key and have clients/customers who transfer money from their account outside of Indonesia to your account outside of Indonesia. But I don't know how that could work when you need to sell physical objects like jewelry.

Okay, that's just a start. Other forum members will have a lot more to say, I'm sure. Best of luck. Indonesia is not without problems, but on the whole it is a marvelous place to be, so I hope you are able to turn your plans into a happy reality.

 

[steveandpenny]

Welcome kb. What part of the states are you from might I ask. Me and my wife are from Calif and been here for 2 years now and loving it. We live up in manado area in North sulawsia.
Hope you don' mind but I've got a few questions for you. Have you spent any time here in Indonesia? What kind of visa are you looking for (working visa , retirement visa, tourist visa) seeing each one is a whole different ball of wax.
Is your freind from the states also and are they going to have the same type of visa ?
Legally you can' work here at all without a work visa , that includes part time. If you work online you have better set up a address in the states to operate in or you can also run into trouble.
Since we don' live in java I have no idea if you can rent a house for 300 dollars a month and be what you want.
My advice is come over on a 30 or 60 day visa and check it out frist. Indonesia is a big and diverse country. Figure out your needs and wants and go from there.
Each island is it' own culture and has it' own dialects, it is a amazing place.

Hope I am not scarring you off lol.. I will pm you and give you our email addess.
We will try and help you any way we can.
I' sure a ot of people here will help you along.

 

[steveandpenny]

Opps puspawarna beat me too it lol

 

[harryopal1]

KB, good luck with your proposed adventure. Have you or your friend been to Bandung of late? My wife is from Bandung and have other relatives there. It seems Bandung's traffic is becoming increasingly difficult so I guess a lot depends on which part of Bandung you plan to live and if commuting is to be a daily experience.

If you google rumah sewa Bandung it will pull up a list of agencies including OLX or you can go straight to this link:
http://olx.co.id/properti/rumah/disewakan-rumah/bandung-kota/

From this you will begin to get some idea as to what you might get for whatever you hope to spend.

 

[harryopal1]

I forgot to add that the pages will come up in Bahasa Indonesia but if you right click on the page you will be given an option for translation.

 

[Smallworld]

Hi and welcome,

Does anyone know how one obtains a sponsor in Indonesia? I have heard that we need KITAS visas, but that requires a sponsor. Are there any good, reputable agencies that do that? And how expensive is that? How does that work?

You will need to apply for kitas via agent and he will be your sponsor. It costs around 5-10 jt, more or less perhaps..... depends from the agent. How does that work.....you go to the agent, say to him what you want and he will give you price, you give him all necessary documents and after xx days he will contact you and say this and that day you have to go to immigration office sign this and that, take photo, finger prints ect. ect...... after few extra days you will get your kitas the agent will come and give you your passport, you pay and the process is done. I think for more details you can search this forum or main website.

As for rent: Just a quick note that no one above mentioned is that you may be required to pay rental in advance for 12 months. 300 USD is doable in Bandung.

Selling online jewellery in my opinion is a bit risky. As for selling paintings you can do via selling directly to shop owners (cash only) eg in JL. Braga
Again is it risky or not you have to juge yourself. As Steve said

Legally you can' work here at all without a work visa

.

https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalan_Braga

 

[LRB]

I don't know how much of an TESOL/English teaching background you have, but there seem to be quite a lot of opportunities online teaching students who are based in China. I'm currently based in Thailand until April and a lot of people supplement their income here by teaching a couple of hours online. I have a friend who is moving to Russia to be with his Russian wife and he thinks that he will be able to teach online full-time and that it will pay better than the majority of language centre jobs in the small city that she lives in. The only info I have though is a Facebook group which has been established for online teachers based in Thailand (link here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OnlineEnglishTeachingJobsThailand/).

Hope that is potentially useful but be aware that I am unaware of the legal status of internet based foreign workers in Indonesia or how the authorities go about monitoring this kind of work...

 

[Davita]

you will need to apply for kitas via agent and he will be your sponsor. It costs around 5-10 jt, more or less perhaps..... depends from the agent. How does that work.....you go to the agent, say to him what you want and he will give you price, you give him all necessary documents and after xx days he will contact you and say this and that day you have to go to immigration office sign this and that, take photo, finger prints ect. ect...... after few extra days you will get your kitas the agent will come and give you your passport, you pay and the process is done. I think for more details you can search this forum or main website.

Smallworld has forgotten to mention the initial retirement ITAS will require the applicant to leave Indonesia.
The telexed ITAS is sent by Immigration to the RI Embassy/Consul of your choice so you'll need to tell the agent which country you wish it to be sent. I went to Singapore as my RI agent used a Singapore agent to acquire the ITAS in one day.
I went on an early flight, handed the agent there my passport and his fee, and returned that evening...with a bottle of duty-free!!!
On return you give your passport to the agent within 7 days and he will acquire the KITAS/MERP (multi-entry re-entry permit) stamp and the KITAS card (the card may be now achieved on-line......I'm not sure about that).
All future retirement Kitas can be obtained within Indonesia ...no need to leave.

 

[Puspawarna]

I would like to find a part-time English teaching or tutoring job, but I need to learn Bahasa Indonesia first.

This part of your post actually has a simple answer: no, you don't need to be a competent Bahasa Indonesia speaker to teach English. There is no expectation at language schools that you would be able to explain anything in Indonesian. (Teaching in an actual elementary school or high school would be different - but that's not gonna happen.)

 

[Bad_azz]

I'm in Bandung & yes, it is feasible to get a property at the price you said.

Depending on the area & what you want/expect for your money- I wouldn't worry too much about the type of toilet because it is easy enough to buy & install a western type one for not that much money, as long as you seek permission from the owner/ certainly I wouldn't have it as a dealbreaker on a house if I liked it & the area.

Hot water is harder to find in the cheaper homes- again, not overly complicated to install.

Central Bandung: there are some apartment buildings areound in the city,but Unless you like innercity living I would advise you avoid it- a; flooding & b; traffic congestion...

If you can find a place in the hills of north Bandung you will have a nicer time of it, cooler climate, nice views & some interesting spots to visit.
You can still be in the hills but within city limits. I would advice this as a point to start searching.

If in the kabupaten (outside the city limits) then things are a bit trickier for things such as getting driving licences & anything related to Catatan Sipil (the civil registry office). The offices are miles out of town.

I would think,the area our member Jaime C (a fellow American) lives in might suit quite well.
& I am sure if there are any places available to rent near him he will know about them.

As already asked- have you been to Indonesia/Bandung before?
How much do you know about the place- it is quite a massive city with malls and airport & immigration office, but it is a long way from any beaches. In fact it is quicker to fly out to bali than to drive down to the nearest beach.

Fire away with any questions you have & I (& the other members) will do our best to answer- but be sure to furnish us with as many details as possible (whilst bearing in mind this is a public website ) to ensure you get the appropriate advice.

Earning money - is it that you want the cash or that you would prefer to have some activities to keep you occupied?

 

[Bad_azz]

btw a one room shack would probably cost around $60 a month

 

[Bad_azz]

...& as for:
Politics, I could take you to visit the local prison- its full of politicians
Music, I know a lot of local musicians, (mainly rock) as my husband is a musician.
Arts, I know a couple of local artists
Life, hmmm well we all take away from that one something different. I can say that it is very rare for me to see any "Westerners" & I am pretty much as immersed in local life as a "whitey" can be, without being on the village council.
Conversation, I can do that & I know quite a few people around the city who are masters at it.

So, give a shout out, or if it is something more private , please private message me & I will do what I can to help.

 

[Balifrog]

Davita 100% correct on the retirement visa process, I am now in the last step of it.
Nobody mentioned the minimum rent amount required (60 M/year) , or minimum monthly pension income ?
Lee B: I have lived long in Thailand, be aware that on line work is very "limit" with regard of immigration ..... from what I understand same applies here.

 

[Davita]

Davita 100% correct on the retirement visa process, I am now in the last step of it.
Nobody mentioned the minimum rent amount required (60 M/year) , or minimum monthly pension income ?

When I gave all my information to the agent he worked all those minor details to comply with the requirements.... and that was before we actually moved to Bali.
We were living in Jakarta while the retirement visa was being processed in Bali.
We had bought a villa in Bali but it was under a nominee structure so we didn't have any information on 'Hak Milik' title...... but the 'Deed of Statement', which said the nominee allows us to stay in the property 'in perpetuity', allowed compliance with the requirement of rent.

 

[steveandpenny]

Davita 100% correct on the retirement visa process, I am now in the last step of it.
Nobody mentioned the minimum rent amount required (60 M/year) , or minimum monthly pension income ?
Lee B: I have lived long in Thailand, be aware that on line work is very "limit" with regard of immigration ..... from what I understand same applies here.

The rent requirement isn' really a issue any agent will fix that paperwork ....so I'm told. Not that I would ever think of having a agent fix that ....mmm

 

[Balifrog]

Years in Asia have tought me that everything can be fixed, arranged, discussed and more.
Personally I prefer to avoid this and later having somebody holding me by the bxxx !

 

[Jaime C]

Our first year in Bandung we rented yearly for about $300 a month. Later years, it went up to $350-375 before we bought our house. For a 3 bedroom, decent house, good area.

$300 might be possible for a smaller place, or less decent neighborhood. Definitely check things out first, don’t decide before coming to Bandung.