This is a report on a recent successful spouse sponsored Electronic Itas process (via online Vitas) in Bali.
A.
Online Process - Day one: To register for the online process your spouse needs to create a profile on the imigrasi website (
https://visaonline.imigrasi.go.id/online/index.xhtml?i=0) by uploading his/her KTP, KK and birth certificate. You are advised to register with a gmail address (?) and have to create a user name. The next day you will receive an online password which you use with the username you created, to start an application. Then, you fill in the applicant (your) data form and upload the required documents (all in jpeg format and less than 400kb in size), which are: bank book/statement with minimum balance of USD 1,500 or equivalent, your passport data page and cover, your marriage certificate (in our case buku nikah), and a request letter and guarantee letter (Pernyataan dan Jamian and Surat Permohonan, both signed by your spouse under Rp 6000 meterai - we used the examples from this website to prepare these letters - thank you Expat Indo!). That's it. Btw, the daily limit on Vitas applications is now 650, and whilst following the process I never saw this filled up, so no need to rush first thing in the morning to complete the application (eg, on the day I applied at 3pm there were still 125 slots). Also note that the type of visa you are applying for is an ‘admission visa’ under category 317 for ‘penyatuan keluarga’ – family reunification, and the period requested should be for twelve months (ie 1 year) even though there is an option for two years (which applies to a different Itas category), Also, note that there is a question on the applicant data page where you need to describe the activities the visa applicant (you) will undertake in Indonesia and gives examples of attending meetings, etc. (i.e., what sounds like work). As the visa online website specifically refers to the spouse sponsored C317 visa as ‘tidak untuk bekerja’ (not for work), we took the example language as a possible red flag and typed only ‘Penyatuan Keluarga’ (family reunification). Also, unlike previous reports/experiences, there is no longer a request in the online application for an NPWP or embassy letter acknowledging the marriage (but the latter document will be required later on when you visit immigration).
The next day (day three) we received an email request to pay the nonrefundable application fee of Rp. 100k at a Post Office or Bank. We did so at BCA. The banks are linked to the immigration system so once your billing code number is input by the teller, your name will pop up on the system. You will receive a printed receipt with your name and billing code on it confirming payment.
Two to three business days later, you will hopefully receive an approval email, with a pdf attachment referred to as a ‘telex visa’ which should be printed out and taken to the overseas Indonesian embassy you selected during the application process, in our case Singapore.
B:
In Singapore – Visit the Indonesian embassy in the morning (before 12 noon). Be dressed properly (no shorts or singlets – however if you forget, security at the front can lend you a spare shirt and/or trousers that they keep on hand for knuckleheads). Also, you can demonstrate that you are really squared away, as well as save time, by downloading and completing the visa application form from the embassy’s website (
https://www.kemlu.go.id/singapore/id/Documents/VISAform.pdf) and having a passport photo on white background sized 3.5x4.5cm
before going to the embassy. Note in paragraph five of the embassy application that you want to request a single entry for a period of 12 months for a temporary stay visa to ‘join family’, and in paragraph seven of the visa application form the ‘telex no.’ is the one on your pdf email attachment that starts with IMI… and the ‘name of reference’ is your spouse. The tiger lady gatekeeper will check your documents and give you a Q number – once it’s called, submit your passport, ‘telex’ letter, photo, photocopy of stamped embarkation card from Singapore immigration and completed visa application form and you will be given a receipt which you should take to the cashier near the building entrance (just to the left as you would exit). Pay S$160 in cash and you’ll be given another slip for collection of your passport with the Vitas sticker the next day (after 2pm). Collection takes all of five minutes.
C.
Back in Indonesia – Make sure that Immigration at the airport sees your Vitas and gives you the correct twelve month entry stamp. At home, visit the imigrasi online reporting site (
https://izintinggal.imigrasi.go.id/IT-online/pelaporan_vitas.xhtml) and report your entry by entering your passport number and visa number (it is the one that begins IMI… ). You will receive an acknowledgment online and by the next business day you should receive an email telling you to report to your local immigration office (in my case Denpasar, Bali) within 30 days of your entry. Print out a copy of this email as you will have to submit it to immigration when you physically report.
Immigration Visit 1 - At immigration (Denpasar) – easily found and with ample parking for both cars and motorbikes - enter the building using the left entrance around the corner and turn right to go to the foreigner section. Take a Q number at the machine. When it is called you will be given a folder and several forms for you and your sponsor (spouse) to fill out and sign (bring along a 6000 rp meterei stamp as one of the forms your spouse will sign requires it). If you are unsure what to complete in certain sections of the forms, there are sample forms under the glass on the writing desk. Or you can just ask the officer. For example, the forms ask for your occupation. As you are on a spouse sponsored visa, don’t enter what you do or once did to earn a living – instead enter “Ikut Suami/Istri WNI (as the case may be). Note: if you need to make photocopies, photographs or purchase the meterei, this can be done onsite (out the door and to the right near the canteen). Once completed, you return to the same officer who will ask you to produce the following documents, copies to be placed in the folder you were given:
- The forms you filled out and signed (two for the sponsor, and three for the applicant, including a brief CV).
- Original passport plus photocopy of details page, Vitas sticker page and most recent entry stamp page;
- Photocopy of marriage certificate/ buku nikah (plus be prepared to show the original).
- Photocopy of letter from your embassy recognizing your marriage in Indonesia. If you were not married in Indonesia, then you also have to produce documentation showing that your foreign marriage has been duly registered in Indonesia, as well as the acknowledgement / no objection letter from your country’s embassy in Indonesia.
- Photocopy of your spouse’s KTP and KK (originals must be shown)
- Photocopy of your Surat Domisili (also show original). To get this document, see the helpful guide on the Expat Indo website. In our case, I got the signed Surat Domisili form from the Banjar Klian Dinas where we live, then had to get a police report (Surat Tanda Melaporkan or STM) from the local police station, and finally got the form signed at the Kantor Desa. All in all this took about an hour or so and was no big deal, and was free.
- If your spouse’s KTP/KK address is different than your Surat Domisili, then you must present the original and a photocopy of your spouse’s Surat Domisili, the address of which must match yours.
- Two passport photographs with red background– 3x4cm size.
- Print out of the email you received after you reported online to Immigration of your entry to Indonesia with the Vitas.
- Print out of the email ‘telex’ that you received when your Vitas application was approved – the same one you provided to the Singapore embassy.
Assuming you provided the required documents, you will be given a slip telling you to report three business days later to counter 4 between 8am-2pm (note all counters are closed between 12-1pm) for an interview, photograph and biometric data (fingerprints). Previous posts have reported that sometimes this can be done at the same time as document submission, but at Denpasar immigration the process is pretty formal (there are flow chart signs all over the place showing the process, namely, document submission > three business days later interview and photos > and another three business days later to collect your passport with the Electronic Itas stamp). Make payment for the Itas (1 million), Merp – multiple entry/reentry permit (1 million) and biometric data fee (55k). Official and totally transparent total of 2.055 million. Payment can be made at any post office or bank, or more conveniently at the mobile post office van located just outside the immigration office.
Immigration Visit 2 – You’ll be given a q number at counter 4 and eventually be called into the ‘photo room’. Here you will be interviewed alone. Questions I was asked included where I met my wife, where she was from, where her parents were from, where we were married, where are we living in Bali, am I working in Indonesia and other pretty basic questions. Then they take your photo and biometric prints of each finger. After this session, you will be given a slip to present again at counter 4 in three more business days to collect your stamped passport.
Immigration Visit 3 – Pick up passport with small round stamp that says ITAS online and has your permit number written in it. There is no separate entry / re-entry stamp. Also, the same day as your passport collection you will receive an email with your electronic ITAS permit. You are advised to print this out and keep it with your passport at all times.