I've been told numerous times, by people knowledgeable about these things that SPK schools, or any schools for that matter cannot apply for an IMTA for someone on a Spouse sponsored KITAS or KITAP.
It is technically true, as long as the foreign applicant is a holder of a spouse sponsored ITAS/ITAP.
It is easy to understand and this is something which I explained in the past in another forum. It boils down to something which is often overlooked or not well understood. Foreigners sponsored by an Indonesian spouse are NOT
foreign workers (Tenaga Kerja Asing) and therefore can NOT/should NOT be subjected to an IMTA (which means Izin Mempekerjakan Tenaga Asing or
foreign worker employment permit).
UU 13/2003 (The Manpower Law) states the following in its article 1:
"
Tenaga kerja asing adalah warga negara asing pemegang visa dengan maksud bekerja di wilayah Indonesia".
It means that in order to be considered as a TKA you need to have a visa/permit which has been specifically issued for the purpose of working. In order to know what are the visas/permits which are issued for the purpose of working, one needs to refer this time to the Immigration Law (UU 6/2011).
This law clearly states (cf elucidation of art 39 UU 6/2011 and art. 61 UU 6/2011) that visas/permits issued in the frame of family reunion (foreign spouse of WNI who hold an ITAS/ITAP sponsored by their WNI spouse are part of them) are NOT issued for the purpose of working (Source: elucidation of art 39 UU 6/2011) BUT that holders of ITAS/ITAP sponsored by a WNI spouse can do business or work in order to provide for their family.
Though we are not legally considered as Foreign Workers (those concerned by an IMTA), we still have the right to work and infringing on our right or limiting it in a way that ANY of us would be placed in a situation that he/she can not provide for his/her family could have those who have drafted said limit in troubles. .
It is subtle but it is important to understand the above. Nakertrans should NOT (albeit they sometimes do it/have done it) issue an IMTA to school employing foreign spouse sponsored by their Indonesian wife/husband because they can NOT be legally considered TKA. They should request the foreign applicant to be sponsored by the school first.
However it also means that if Nakertrans officially forbids a school to employ a foreign applicant sponsored by his/her WNI spouse, or force them to change sponsor, Nakertrans infringe the rights of said applicant (cf art. 61 UU 6/2011). Changing sponsor, from a spouse to a school is not a benign affair and you loose a lot of Rights. Forcing you to do so in order to work IS a limit to your right to provide for your family while being sponsored by an Indonesian spouse. This is NOT something one should accept. This is also why Nakertrans is uncomfortable to issue a written statement on the matter.
I have read many time that the situation of work for WNA spouse is a "grey area". This is bullshit and it contributes to obfuscate one thing: we have the right to work and no regulation of higher hierarchy than UU 6/2011 forbids us to do so or limit the scope of our right.
So basically, yes, you are right to say that a school cannot apply for an IMTA for someone on a Spouse sponsored KITAS or KITAP. This is not due to the fact that s/he wouldn't have the right to work, but just because this category of people can not be considered as TKA as per art.1 UU 13/2003 and that IMTA concerns ONLY TKA.
The interesting question that, having read the above, one may want to ask is: "Can a foreigner sponsored by a WNI spouse WORK in a school without an IMTA?". Unfortunately, if s/he intends to work as a formal teacher, the answer is also no due to the regulation concerning issuance of Izin Pendidik for foreigners (RPTKA validated by Nakertrans is one of the document to be submitted).
