Interview questions when applying for ITAS as spouse of Indonesian

Bad_azz

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Here is a list of questions my husband and I were asked in January 2014 as part of my application for an ITAS (temporary stay visa) on the basis of being married to an Indonesian citizen. The questions were given to us at the Immigration Office in Bandung (KanIm KlassI). The interviewer read the questions off a computer screen, and then printed out a transcript of the interview that my husband and I had to sign.

It is entirely possible they have amended it in the past couple of years - but it should still serve well as a guide. I hope you find it useful.

(Special thanks to Nimbus for vetting the English translations of the questions.)


1: Apakah saudara dalam keadaan sehat jasmani dan rohani?
Are you physically and mentally healthy?

2: Apakah saudara dapat berbicara bahasa indonesia?
Can you speak Indonesian?

3: Apakah saudara mengerti mengapa diperiksa dan diminta keterangan saat ini?
Do you understand why you are being examined and asked for explanations at this time?

4: Bersedia saudara diperiksa hari ini?
Are you prepared to be examined today?

5: Apakah saudara bersedia memberikan keterangan yang benar dan dapat dipertanggung jawabkan?
Are you prepared to give truthful information and be held responsible for your answers?

6: Apakah saudara sudah pernah dikenakan tindakan administratif keimigrasian atau tersangkut perkara pidana?
Have you ever been subjected to an administrative sanction by Immigration, or have you ever been involved in a criminal case?

7: Jelaskan identitas saudara secara singkat.
Give us a brief biography of yourself.

8: Apa izin tinggal yang saudara miliki saat ini?
What kind of residence permit do you now hold?

9: Apakah alasan saudara mengajukan konversi izin tinggal Kunjungan ke Izin Tinggal Terbatas?
What is the reason you are applying to convert your visitor visa into an ITAP [stay visa]?

10: Dapatkah Saudara menceritakan riwayat hidup saudara di Indonesia secara singkat?
Can you briefly describe the history of your time living in Indonesia?

11: Siapakah yang akan menjadi sponsor saudara apabila permohonan konversi saudara dikabulkan?
Who will be your sponsor if permission is granted to convert your visa status?

12: Dapatkah Saudara menjelaskan Identitas Isteri Saudara secara singkat?
Can you briefly tell us about the identity of your wife? [Presumably if you are female they will ask about your suami (husband) not isteri (wife)]

13: Jelaskan awal mula saudara bertemu dengan *name of spouse*?
Describe how you first met [spouse].

14: Kapan dan dimanakah saudara melakukan pernikahan dengan *name of spouse*?
When and where did you hold the wedding with [spouse]?

15: Apakah saudara melakukan pernikahan tersebut dengan hukum dan ketentuan yang berlaku di *place of marriage*?
Was your marriage carried out in conformance with the laws and regulations of [place of marriage]?

16: Mengapakah Saudara melaksanakan pernikahan di *place of marriage*?
Why did you get married in [place of marriage]?

17: Berdasarkan keterangan Saudara pada poin (16), Apakah saudara telah mendaftarkan penikahan tersebut di Pemerintah Indonesia dan apakah pernikahan saudara tersebut dianggap sah?
Based on the description you gave with respect to question 16, have you already registered your marriage with the Government of Indonesia, and is the marriage considered valid?

18: Darimanakah penghasilan yang saudara dapatkan untuk kehidupan saudara dan keluarga saudara?
What is the source of the income that supports you and your family?

19: Apakah Saudara mempunyai keahlian khusus di bidang pekerjaan tertentu dan Apakah kegiatan Saudara selama berada di Indonesia?
Do you have special expertise in a particular occupation, and what activities have you been doing while you've been in Indonesia?

20: Apakah Saudara mempunyai rencana untuk memiliki keturunan di Indonesia bersama *name of spouse*?
Do you plan to have descendants in Indonesia with [name of your spouse]?

21: Apakah rencana saudara kedepan di Indonesia?
What is you future plan in Indonesia?

22: Apakah ada hal-hal yang ingin saudara sampaikan sehubungan dengan pemeriksaan ini?
Are there any matters you wish to raise in connection with this examination?

23: Bersediakah saudara disumpah bilamana diperlukan sehubungan dengan keterangan / jawaban yang saudara berikan dan apakah saudara mendapat tekanan serta dipengaruhi oleh pemeriksa maupun oleh orang lain dalam pemeriksaan ini?
If required, would you take an oath in connection with the information/answers you have given and whether you were pressured or influenced by the examiner or anyone else in this examination?

Usual legal disclaimer: While every effort has been made to make the above information as accurate as possible, the writer is not a lawyer, nor is this article supposed to be legal advice. Readers are advised to recall that Indonesian laws, regulations, and procedures can change at any time.

Questions/Comments/Corrections? Please add them below!
 
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Here is a list of questions my husband and I were asked in January 2014 as part of my application for an ITAS (temporary stay visa) on the basis of being married to an Indonesian citizen. The questions were given to us at the Immigration Office in Bandung (KanIm KlassI). The interviewer read the questions off a computer screen, and then printed out a transcript of the interview that my husband and I had to sign.

It is entirely possible they have amended it in the past couple of years - but it should still serve well as a guide. I hope you find it useful.

(Special thanks to Nimbus for vetting the English translations of the questions.)

Thank you for posting this, I'm sure it will be quite helpful for many.

Just to clarify - though it seems pretty clear from what I have bolded above - the WNI spouse is allowed to be present together with the foreign spouse at the interview?

And is the Indonesian spouse also allowed to assist in answering or "clarifying" / explaining the WNA's answers (for example, to provide some translation to Bahasa Indonesia if the WNA spouse cannot answer sufficiently in that language, or the interviewer cannot sufficiently understand the WNA's responses in English, etc)?

Basically, are both spouses allowed to participate in answering the questions?
 
Great question, Pak AM. This is one of the advantages of crowd-sourcing information; it never occurred to me to think about that, but it is definitely something people looking for information would want to know.
 
The guys had some very basic English so they pretty much ignored me for most part and directed their questioning at hubby BUT I kept butting in asking what they wanted to know- so hubby did his best translations.
Me being me refused to sign any statement until I had a reasonable grasp of what I was signing. it took me a while to read through the document - they weren't so patient at that; their problem, not mine.

I did pick up on the completely unprofessional comments they made to my husband about riding horses/bule women... and I slapped them down about it- my Indonesia language skills are better in listening mode than speaking mode- but they got the message that it was NOT ok to talk like that.
However I have the patience of a saint now and didn't explode at them- assholes.


& yes to answer that particular question- I had to be there to sign it & I would advise others to be there so they know what is being discussed.As you can see from the questions - it is something you would want to be involved with if you have to sign your name to it, there are some very personal things being asked.
 
The guys had some very basic English so they pretty much ignored me for most part and directed their questioning at hubby BUT I kept butting in asking what they wanted to know- so hubby did his best translations.
Me being me refused to sign any statement until I had a reasonable grasp of what I was signing. it took me a while to read through the document - they weren't so patient at that; their problem, not mine.

Quite reasonable, I think.



my Indonesia language skills are better in listening mode than speaking mode-

Funny, I think it's probably the other way around for me ... when listening, I can make out some of the words and sometimes enough to grasp the general vein of the conversation or specific bits, but I generally tend to get lost because I can't process as fast as people are speaking. When I'm doing the speaking, I can pretty much slow it down to the rate at which I'm able to mentally process the words, when needed ... no matter how s-l-o-w that makes my speech. But yes, I can imagine how you might be able to pick out particularly offensive bits of their chit chat with your hubby.


& yes to answer that particular question- I had to be there to sign it & I would advise others to be there so they know what is being discussed.As you can see from the questions - it is something you would want to be involved with if you have to sign your name to it, there are some very personal things being asked.

Absolutely so, and I would definitely want to have some input, if not all of it, as far as the answers went. On the other hand, having "penatur asli bahasa Indonesia" at my side probably wouldn't hurt, since we are both "on the same side", so to speak. At least I hope so ...:spy:
 
All I can say is they really must be underworked in Bandung. In Bali I have only once been asked "kerja dimana??" (where do you work ??) apart from that I've never been questioned in the Immigration office here.
 
All I can say is they really must be underworked in Bandung. In Bali I have only once been asked "kerja dimana??" (where do you work ??) apart from that I've never been questioned in the Immigration office here.

.. or over staffed :D

nah, quite a few people have had full interviews for their ITAS application that I know of.
Credit where its due tho, on the whole KanIm Bandung has been pretty much by the book (if you ignore the blatant sexism).
 
We were never interviewed for my kitas nor for my kitap, no house visit, not even any questions at immigration. Don't know if we just looked "trustworthy" or they were too busy at the time, but I remember for the kitap, the guy at immigration told my wife they were waiving the house visit and interview.
 
Thanks for posting those interview questions! I might need to prepare for that in the future, so good to know beforehand. And yes, I will try to remember giving an update here then ;)

Interesting that they mostly asked your husband, as several of the questions are clearly meant for the foreign spouse alone and do not make any sense asking an Indonesian citizen (2 / 6 / 8 / 9 / 11).

How much do they want to hear on question 12, the "identitas" of your spouse? That is just a rather crude check of knowing their basic biodata / CV, I assume? Did they check that up in any way beyond looking at his KTP?

Oh, and there might be two words missing in the Indonesian transcript for No. 17 (just to make this look perfect for the archives here):

17: Berdasarkan keterangan Saudara pada poin (16), Apakah saudara telah mendaftarkan pernikahan tersebut di Pemerintah indonesia dan apakah pernikahan saudara tersebut dianggap sah?
 
They weren't my typos as I copied it directly from their document :p
 
They weren't my typos as I copied it directly from their document :p

The original material they provided had even more typos in it - I fixed a few already. But I didn't catch everything.
 
My interview questionsfor my KITAP

How long have you been in Indonesia. 4 years
Do you like Indonesia. Yes
Where do you work in Indonesia. Retired, don't work
Do you own property. No, can not.
Do you speak Indonesian. Only a little.

OK, everything looks good.
 
Thanks! I didn't even want to get picky about small typos, but that Indonesian sentence just didn't work without an object for the transitive verb and that extra preposition.

They weren't my typos as I copied it directly from their document :p
I believe you ;) there is also supporting evidence for that:

14: dimanakah = di manakah
18: Darimanakah = Dari manakah
21: kedepan = ke depan


Joining these words instead of writing them separately is a mistake rarely made by non-native speakers of Indonesian - but still fairly often seen in texts by Indonesian speakers of the language. Definitely looks like something that was written in some Indonesian government office (outside Kemdikbud) :p
 
Here is a list of questions my husband and I were asked in January 2014 as part of my application for an ITAS (temporary stay visa) on the basis of being married to an Indonesian citizen. The questions were given to us at the Immigration Office in Bandung (KanIm KlassI). The interviewer read the questions off a computer screen, and then printed out a transcript of the interview that my husband and I had to sign.

It is entirely possible they have amended it in the past couple of years - but it should still serve well as a guide. I hope you find it useful.

(Special thanks to Nimbus for vetting the English translations of the questions.)


1: Apakah saudara dalam keadaan sehat jasmani dan rohani?
Are you physically and mentally healthy?

2: Apakah saudara dapat berbicara bahasa indonesia?
Can you speak Indonesian?

3: Apakah saudara mengerti mengapa diperiksa dan diminta keterangan saat ini?
Do you understand why you are being examined and asked for explanations at this time?

4: Bersedia saudara diperiksa hari ini?
Are you prepared to be examined today?

5: Apakah saudara bersedia memberikan keterangan yang benar dan dapat dipertanggung jawabkan?
Are you prepared to give truthful information and be held responsible for your answers?

6: Apakah saudara sudah pernah dikenakan tindakan administratif keimigrasian atau tersangkut perkara pidana?
Have you ever been subjected to an administrative sanction by Immigration, or have you ever been involved in a criminal case?

7: Jelaskan identitas saudara secara singkat.
Give us a brief biography of yourself.

8: Apa izin tinggal yang saudara miliki saat ini?
What kind of residence permit do you now hold?

9: Apakah alasan saudara mengajukan konversi izin tinggal Kunjungan ke Izin Tinggal Terbatas?
What is the reason you are applying to convert your visitor visa into an ITAP [stay visa]?

10: Dapatkah Saudara menceritakan riwayat hidup saudara di Indonesia secara singkat?
Can you briefly describe the history of your time living in Indonesia?

11: Siapakah yang akan menjadi sponsor saudara apabila permohonan konversi saudara dikabulkan?
Who will be your sponsor if permission is granted to convert your visa status?

12: Dapatkah Saudara menjelaskan Identitas Isteri Saudara secara singkat?
Can you briefly tell us about the identity of your wife? [Presumably if you are female they will ask about your suami (husband) not isteri (wife)]

13: Jelaskan awal mula saudara bertemu dengan name of spouse?

Describe how you first met [spouse].

14: Kapan dan dimanakah saudara melakukan pernikahan dengan name of spouse?
When and where did you hold the wedding with [spouse]?

15: Apakah saudara melakukan pernikahan tersebut dengan hukum dan ketentuan yang berlaku di place of marriage?
Was your marriage carried out in conformance with the laws and regulations of [place of marriage]?

16: Mengapakah Saudara melaksanakan pernikahan di place of marriage?
Why did you get married in [place of marriage]?

17: Berdasarkan keterangan Saudara pada poin (16), Apakah saudara telah mendaftarkan penikahan tersebut di Pemerintah Indonesia dan apakah pernikahan saudara tersebut dianggap sah?
Based on the description you gave with respect to question 16, have you already registered your marriage with the Government of Indonesia, and is the marriage considered valid?

18: Darimanakah penghasilan yang saudara dapatkan untuk kehidupan saudara dan keluarga saudara?
What is the source of the income that supports you and your family?

19: Apakah Saudara mempunyai keahlian khusus di bidang pekerjaan tertentu dan Apakah kegiatan Saudara selama berada di Indonesia?
Do you have special expertise in a particular occupation, and what activities have you been doing while you've been in Indonesia?

20: Apakah Saudara mempunyai rencana untuk memiliki keturunan di Indonesia bersama name of spouse?
Do you plan to have descendants in Indonesia with [name of your spouse]?

21: Apakah rencana saudara kedepan di Indonesia?
What is you future plan in Indonesia?

22: Apakah ada hal-hal yang ingin saudara sampaikan sehubungan dengan pemeriksaan ini?
Are there any matters you wish to raise in connection with this examination?

23: Bersediakah saudara disumpah bilamana diperlukan sehubungan dengan keterangan / jawaban yang saudara berikan dan apakah saudara mendapat tekanan serta dipengaruhi oleh pemeriksa maupun oleh orang lain dalam pemeriksaan ini?
If required, would you take an oath in connection with the information/answers you have given and whether you were pressured or influenced by the examiner or anyone else in this examination?

Usual legal disclaimer: While every effort has been made to make the above information as accurate as possible, the writer is not a lawyer, nor is this article supposed to be legal advice. Readers are advised to recall that Indonesian laws, regulations, and procedures can change at any time.

Questions/Comments/Corrections? Please add them below!
What stupid questions...crazy backward country//
 
I don't think it's the country. It is in the nature of bureaucracies everywhere.
In the days when Australia still had a white Australia policy but formally denied it, as a means of making things impossible for non white applicants, language tests were given in Gaelic.
 
And is the Indonesian spouse also allowed to assist in answering or "clarifying" / explaining the WNA's answers (for example, to provide some translation to Bahasa Indonesia if the WNA spouse cannot answer sufficiently in that language, or the interviewer cannot sufficiently understand the WNA's responses in English, etc)?

Basically, are both spouses allowed to participate in answering the questions?

Yes definitely, without my wife being there I wouldn't have passed. She knows how to talk to the kampung people in a way they understand and really saved the situation.

If they are going to do these questions again for my upcoming KITAP indefinite renewal, then I'm definitely taking her again.
 
Home interview for Alih Status/Change of status Kitas to Kitap yesterday 17/6/21 . They rang from up the road 10 minutes away after travelling 3-4 hours from Jember . No time for the wife to get home from work 2 hours away . 4 males ,2 officials and 2 trainees . 1 very rude because I couldn't undertand the Javanese he was jibbering at 1,000 words a minute . He got up and went for a walk ,spoke to a few nieghbours . The other official only had basic English skills , luckily I speak and understand Indonesian . Questions ; How long have you been here . Where did you meet your wife , When and where were you married . Do you work ( I said ,as I am not allowed to work on a Kitas Visa my wife has to work to support us ). Where do you get money/income other than your wifes wages (Investments and proceeds from property here , Had to supply documents to prove investments ,reciepts from crop sales . How many times have the imigration officers been to the house to interview you . Finished , thankyou and left .
 
Confirmation email on monday saying the results of my interview were Positive and the application can move on to the next step , Kantor Wilyaha, Surabaya and Director General, Jakarta . Recieved the bill yesterday from The Immigration Office for payment of Alih Status Kitas to Kitap . 6,750.000rp! All the imigration web pages show a total cost of 5,505.000rp for the 5 year electronic Kitap , 2 year Merp and the Biometrics . Anyone recently been through the process ? Just curious as to what others have paid . Have sent them a reply email regarding the extra 1,245.000rp in costs above what there web pages show . Will post there reply !!!!
 

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