Kitas to Kitap

yantiharun1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
101
I am in the process of converting my Kitas to 5 yr. Kitap.
Does it normally takes more than 30 days to obtain approval from Dir. Jen. Imigrasi? They've given me a whatsapp no. to follow up the status of completion, however, every time they always have the same answer which is still pending approval from Dir. Jen. Imigrasi. After going through the paperwork requirements, paid the fee and interview with them, is it still possible you are not going to get the approval?
Please share if anyone have similar experience? Thank you!
 
I am currently at 2 months waiting for KITAS to KITAP. Doing the paperwork, paying the fee and having the interview do not guarantee an approval. At this point, I'm afraid that the only advice I have is to just wait.
 
Mine also took a long time. Definitely more than thirty days. You can end up in a situation where your KITAS is expired and you don't know if you will get a KITAP or have to leave the country... It was very stressful. Good luck.
 
Option 1: Immigration is overwhelmed with visa applications.
Option 2: Immigration is waiting for something something that wasn't required before the pandemic.
 
Mine also took a long time. Definitely more than thirty days. You can end up in a situation where your KITAS is expired and you don't know if you will get a KITAP or have to leave the country... It was very stressful. Good luck.
Thanks for the response. Did you get your Kitap finally? Well, at this time you can't go anywhere anyway without a passport!
 
Last edited:
I am currently at 2 months waiting for KITAS to KITAP. Doing the paperwork, paying the fee and having the interview do not guarantee an approval. At this point, I'm afraid that the only advice I have is to just wait.
Well, another waiting game I guess...
 
Thanks for the response. Did you get your Kitap finally? Well, at this time you can't go anywhere anyway without a passport!
Sure. Just looking at it. The KITAS was set to expire on 03/09 (September). The converted KITAP was also set to expire on 03/09, five years later. But, the date stamp in the passport for both the KITAP and MERP is 17/10. That was my previous KITAP. It has been more that five years and I have renewed with a similar result, valid until 03/09, stamped at 22/10.

So, they just backdate to the expiry date of your previous document.
 
Option 1: Immigration is overwhelmed with visa applications.
Option 2: Immigration is waiting for something something that wasn't required before the pandemic.
Something tells me it's not Option 1. The immigration offices are deserted when I have been in there lately.
 
I vaguely remember mine took a while (maybe two weeks? but i am not sure)...Covid is the number one excuse for any kind of delays. Too many WFH (Work From Home) employees which sometimes equals to Not working...so not much you can do besides wait and try to follow up once in a while.
 
Hi,

I can't contribute much to this, since I never had big problems with this kind of stuff so far. It took almost 3 months to finish my kitap and from what I know it is seldom finished within one month. A lot of delay is caused by covid, at least that's an welcomed excuse and then indonesian bureaucracy. God knows what takes them so long sometimes 😉. Then usually if your documents are complete, there shouldn't be a problem with anything. Maybe you need to be a little bit more patient, i know it sucks but I think nothing negative will happen.
 
Looking at converting my Kitas to Kitap in May/June . Told by the officer at Jember Immigration to start the application at least 6 months before Kitas expiry due to the Covid restrictions /changes . Took near 3 months to renew my last Kitas ,normally 3-5 days , so I'll get 3 months out of this Kitas before I've got to hand it back in with the Kitap Application !!!! Also told I'll need a "Letter of Recognition" from the Australian Embassy in Surabaya stating my marriage which took place in Indonesia is recognized in Australia .Something I've never needed or been asked for when renewing my Kitas . The Australian Government states in the Laws /by Laws that all overseas marriages are recognized in Australia as long as they were performed under the laws of the country in which it occured and that you have valid proof . Why aren't the Indonesian authorities aware of this or is it just another money making process . Cost 768,000 rupiah for the letter ! Also told I have to take the application to the Kantor Wilayah in Surabaya myself " 14 hour return trip by car from where I live " when I've heard others say the office sends it by internal mail ! Supposedly one Indonesian wide system came into place early last year to simplify everything . I think each office made there own interpretation of it , deleted what they wanted and added more to make life just that little bit more difficult for the foriegner !!
 
Also told I'll need a "Letter of Recognition" from the Australian Embassy in Surabaya stating my marriage which took place in Indonesia is recognized in Australia .Something I've never needed or been asked for when renewing my Kitas .

Thanks for reminding me of this requirement, I should get it from my embassy as well.
Do you know whether the embassy letter has to be "new", does it "expire" if you get it too early?

I think this has been a requirement before, it rings a bell...
The measure is certainly useful to as an additional "legitimacy check" of your marriage as many embassies will only issue such a letter if you also registered your marriage in your home country (subject to registration procedure, doc checks etc.). It is also a certain control mechanism to ensure that you are not already married in your home country and only using a local (maybe "fake") marriage to obtain visa status. This might appear far-fetched for WNA from more developed countriesm but there are a lot of people who would opt for economic migration to Indonesia if given the option.
 
Thanks for reminding me of this requirement, I should get it from my embassy as well.
Do you know whether the embassy letter has to be "new", does it "expire" if you get it too early?

I think this has been a requirement before, it rings a bell...
The measure is certainly useful to as an additional "legitimacy check" of your marriage as many embassies will only issue such a letter if you also registered your marriage in your home country (subject to registration procedure, doc checks etc.). It is also a certain control mechanism to ensure that you are not already married in your home country and only using a local (maybe "fake") marriage to obtain visa status. This might appear far-fetched for WNA from more developed countriesm but there are a lot of people who would opt for economic migration to Indonesia if given the option.
As far as the US Embassy goes, this paper does not officially exist. They have no interest in registering marriages or checking for existing marriages (those records are kept by individual states and counties). The US Embassy is only willing to act as a witness as you swear a statement to the effect of not having any other existing marriages. If I recall correctly, we provided the statement ourselves. It is in no way a proof of your statement. It is an acknowledgement that you made the statement. Essentially, "Yep, he said that."

I see what you are saying about the government trying to control immigration and I am not a big supporter of polygamy, but I don't really like how much of an interest they take in my personal life. There is another thread here about people not being able to get their own KK until they are married... because gov reckons you need a patriarch/matriarch? Fine, you wanna get married, who is converting? You are? Good, you can just go and change all your government issued documents, 'cause we definitely need to have your correct religion written down on all of it. Marriage not working out? You want to get a divorce? Ok, you just need to prove to a judge (in between his criminal cases, in front of all spectators) that you have a good reason. Of course, if he disagrees, no divorce.

Yeah, I don't see the need or use of any of it. There isn't a single bit of it that would prevent a determined and capable person from doing whatever they wanted. Meanwhile, everyone and their dog can tell you how to get a fake KTP, rendering all the government's mountains of paperwork pointless.
 
The British Embassy refused to give a letter, but they stamped a signed declaration I made that I am legally married. It was accepted by immigration.
 
Thanks for reminding me of this requirement, I should get it from my embassy as well.
Do you know whether the embassy letter has to be "new", does it "expire" if you get it too early?

I think this has been a requirement before, it rings a bell...
The measure is certainly useful to as an additional "legitimacy check" of your marriage as many embassies will only issue such a letter if you also registered your marriage in your home country (subject to registration procedure, doc checks etc.). It is also a certain control mechanism to ensure that you are not already married in your home country and only using a local (maybe "fake") marriage to obtain visa status. This might appear far-fetched for WNA from more developed countriesm but there are a lot of people who would opt for economic migration to Indonesia if given the option.
The Australian embassy have a standard Letter of Recognition from the reply I got when I enquired about it , 768,000 rupiah which may change with the value of the dollar at the time of application . I'm sure the letter has no expiry , same as the "Letter of No Impedament" which you require and should have got from your embassy before you can even get married in Indonesia and from my understanding was the legitimacy check / proof that your not still/already married in your home country The female officer was adamant that I had to have it "Letter of Recognition " even after I showed her the Australian law/by law stating all overseas marriages are recognized in Australia as long as they were performed under the laws of the country where it was performed and that you have legitamate proof being Surat or Buku Nikah , and that you can't register an overseas marriage in Australia . Other guys on here have gotten the letter then been told it's not required !! Each Immigration office has there own interpretation of the rules from what I've observed and each officer you talk to seems to have there own interpretation of the laws again . Gets very frustrating when you get different stories of different officers in the same office ! As everyone says , bite your tongue and be patient ,they'll only make it more difficult the more you complain ! And check with your Embassy about the letter of recognition and the Immigration office you intend lodging your application at about what documents they require . And get the name of whoever you talk to , the time and date incase the shit hits the fan when you do apply and get a different officer again !!
 
The Australian embassy have a standard Letter of Recognition from the reply I got when I enquired about it , 768,000 rupiah which may change with the value of the dollar at the time of application . I'm sure the letter has no expiry , same as the "Letter of No Impedament" which you require and should have got from your embassy before you can even get married in Indonesia and from my understanding was the legitimacy check / proof that your not still/already married in your home country The female officer was adamant that I had to have it "Letter of Recognition " even after I showed her the Australian law/by law stating all overseas marriages are recognized in Australia as long as they were performed under the laws of the country where it was performed and that you have legitamate proof being Surat or Buku Nikah , and that you can't register an overseas marriage in Australia . Other guys on here have gotten the letter then been told it's not required !! Each Immigration office has there own interpretation of the rules from what I've observed and each officer you talk to seems to have there own interpretation of the laws again . Gets very frustrating when you get different stories of different officers in the same office ! As everyone says , bite your tongue and be patient ,they'll only make it more difficult the more you complain ! And check with your Embassy about the letter of recognition and the Immigration office you intend lodging your application at about what documents they require . And get the name of whoever you talk to , the time and date incase the shit hits the fan when you do apply and get a different officer again !!
And be aware that it could take several months after you apply before you actually get the Kitap . I was told to be safe , due to the Covid restrictions and all visa / immigration application having to go through the Ministry of Law and Human Rights before they go to the Director General , apply 6 months before your Kitas expires !! 3 months to renew my Kitas which usually takes 3-5 days and having to apply for the Kitap 6 months before Kitas expiry I only get 3 months out of my Kitas and can't do anything , go anywhere because they'll have my passport for the duration of the application process !!
 
We tried to renew my 2nd Kitap (unlimited) last year, and the earliest they’d let us start in Bandung was 3 months before expiry. This was in July.
 
We tried to renew my 2nd Kitap (unlimited) last year, and the earliest they’d let us start in Bandung was 3 months before expiry. This was in July.
I believe 90 days is always the rule for an extension, but 'alih status' from Kitas to Kitap should be possible at any time, even the day after receiving a Kitas, assuming all Kitap qualifications are met.
 
We tried to renew my 2nd Kitap (unlimited) last year, and the earliest they’d let us start in Bandung was 3 months before expiry. This was in July.
Different offices different rules . told me a minimum of 6 months before expiry !!
 

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Follow Us

Latest Expat Indo Articles

Latest Tweets by Expat Indo

Latest Activity

New posts Latest threads

Online Now

No members online now.

Newest Members

Forum Statistics

Threads
5,966
Messages
97,385
Members
3,035
Latest member
Les 819
Back
Top Bottom