ITAP holder, what if I am not able to return on Indonesian soil within one year?

Fabius77

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I am an ITAP (spouse) holder, I left Indonesia on October 31 last year and due to this Wuhan Coronavirus mess I am not sure I will be able to return to Indonesian soil within one year.

By law then my ITAP should automatically expire. I would like to know if there is any emergency provision regarding this issue due to the current sanitary situation.

And, in case my ITAP will expire, what should I do?
I recall reading that I should go to the Indonesian embassy in my country to notify that my ITAP has expired and procure another kind of visa before entering Indonesia.
Also, would it be possible to apply for another ITAP straight away or do I need to restart the process from ITAS?
 
I asked directly via WA to KanIm Bekasi, and they said the ITAP will remain valid to the date of MERP expiration.
I also asked via WA KanIm Soekarno-Hatta (because they would have to make the call when I show up) but there is no reply yet.
 
I asked directly via WA to KanIm Bekasi, and they said the ITAP will remain valid to the date of MERP expiration.
I also asked via WA KanIm Soekarno-Hatta (because they would have to make the call when I show up) but there is no reply yet.
Even if the KITAP is valid, don't even think of going out of the country with almost expiring MERP. If you did that and happen to return to Indo on some unlucky days....an officer at the airport can make a very big deal out of it and at that point you can't say "Well officer such and such said the ITAP is still valid"....keep both ITAP and MERP valid if you needed to go out of the country.

IF there is some kind of emergency provision...it has to come from imigrasi itself and proven by tweets, official facebook page posts, etc...not our own assumption/logic.
 
Even if the KITAP is valid, don't even think of going out of the country with almost expiring MERP. If you did that and happen to return to Indo on some unlucky days....an officer at the airport can make a very big deal out of it and at that point you can't say "Well officer such and such said the ITAP is still valid"....keep both ITAP and MERP valid if you needed to go out of the country.

IF there is some kind of emergency provision...it has to come from imigrasi itself and proven by tweets, official facebook page posts, etc...not our own assumption/logic.

1 - My MERP will remain valid for along time

2 - The proof is in the conversations I had with immigration offices (also KanIm Soekarno-Hatta confirmed, at least provisionally) though their official contact numbers. Not my bloody assumption.
 
1 - My MERP will remain valid for along time

2 - The proof is in the conversations I had with immigration offices (also KanIm Soekarno-Hatta confirmed, at least provisionally) though their official contact numbers. Not my bloody assumption.
OK assumption is a wrong word my apologies...but what I was trying to say, just be careful...just like anything else when dealing with the government, even when one part of the government/immigration says one thing (even with written proof), another part (airport official, etc) might disagree for whatever reason and you'd probably have to spend some time explaining, etc. But then again...you might not have any issues either.
 
Well, I was a bit abrasive too.

KanIm Soekarno-Hatta confirmed that as long as both ITAP and MERP have not expired yet, it's all right even if I spent more than one consecutive year abroad.
I know this diverges from the letter of the law, so I cannot state for sure that I would encounter no difficulties.
I also know that different officers can give different interpretations, but the immigration office at the airport is the gatekeeper, so if they're OK with something it is unlikely others would give me trouble once I'm in.
 
But the gatekeeper when you return may have a different interpretation to the gatekeeper who gave you your most recent advice.
 
Glad to hear it went off without a hitch!
 
The end of the story is, I re-entered Indonesia a few days ago at Soekarno-Hatta, and there was no problem whatsoever.
I wish I have read this before, save me from unnecessary worry. My spouse also entered Jkt safely few days ago, after more than 1 year away. Airlines check-in staff in the departure country was very strict, even made confirmation call to Jkt Immigration to let board or not. Took long time to get clearance. Our luck maybe, the gatekeeper at Soekarno Hatta didn't even bother, not ask any single question during passport inspection. We renewed our MERP abroad using agent though.
 
Thank you for posting this. I'm in a similar situation (KITAP valid until 2023) but my MERP has expired at the end of 2020. I could not enter Indonesia because of Covid restrictions (my country would not let me out). I plan to go to Indonesia in a few months. I recently heard that it is possible to extend the MERP from abroad. Has anyone had some luck with doing that? What would happen if I landed at Soekharno Hatta (in the current Covid reality) with a valid KITAP but an expired MERP?
 

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