Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.

Today's Headlines Foreign Workers

  • Celebrations & Demonstrations: International Workers' Day in Indonesia

    Tuesday 1 May 2018 is a public holiday in Indonesia as workers are given a free day to celebrate International Workers' Day (also known as May Day). This day has been a public holiday in Indonesia since 2014. Traditionally, thousands of Indonesian workers take it to the streets in the nation's bigger cities to voice demands for better income and more supportive policies by the government.

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  • New Regulation Makes it Easier for Foreigners to Work in Indonesia

    The government of Indonesia issued Presidential Regulation No. 20/2018 on the Use of Foreign Workers in Indonesia. This new regulation aims at simplifying the permit application process for foreign workers, hence making the process more efficient and faster. Among the key changes is that the previously mandatory Expatriate Placement Plan (in Indonesian: Rencana Penempatan Tenaga Kerja Asing, or RPTKA) has been removed in specific cases.

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  • Property in Indonesia: More Expats Rent Houses in South Jakarta

    According to commercial real estate company Colliers International Indonesia, more expatriates are renting houses in Indonesia, specifically (South) Jakarta, since the second half of 2017. The rising number of expats who rent houses in Indonesia is due to expansion plans of manufacturing and automotive companies.

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  • Number of Foreign Workers in Indonesia on the Decline

    The number of expat workers in Indonesia is declining due to persistently low commodity prices and the government's stricter regulations regarding the hiring of expats. In the first five months of 2016 a total of 72,399 temporary residential permits (including renewals) were issued to expats. It is highly unlikely that the number of expat workers in Indonesia this year will equal the total of 171,944 foreign workers that were active in Indonesia in 2015. Actually the number of expats working in Indonesia has already been on the decline since 2011 (when the commodity slowdown reemerged).

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  • Indonesia & ASEAN Economic Community: Free Flow of Skilled Labor

    With the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) per 1 January 2016 - i.e. the community that is designed to allow the free flow of goods, services, investment, and skilled labor as well as the freer flow of capital among its ten member countries - there has been concern among part of the Indonesian population whether there could occur a massive inflow of foreign workers into Indonesia hence giving rise to more competition on the domestic labor market. This column zooms in on the free flow of labor under the AEC.

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  • Demonstration Indonesian Workers: What are their Demands?

    Mirah Sumirat, Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Trade Unions (Asosiasi Serikat Pekerja, abbreviated ASPEK), stated that the tens of thousands of Indonesian workers who participate in the demonstration, organized in Central Jakarta on Tuesday (01/09), are not seeking anarchy or a coup but simply request that the government will make more efforts to protect the interests of the people (as stipulated by the 1945 Constitution; article 27, paragraph 2).

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  • Indonesian Language Proficiency Requirement for Foreign Workers Scrapped

    Several weeks ago it had already been reported that Indonesian President Joko Widodo requested Manpower and Transmigration Minister Hanif Dhakiri to revise a draft regulation (made in 2013) that forces expats to pass a mandatory Indonesian language proficiency test in order to be eligible to obtain a work permit. According to Widodo this regulation jeopardizes the attractiveness of Indonesia’s investment climate.

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  • No Indonesian Language Proficiency Test for Foreign Workers in Indonesia

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo wants to drop the regulation that states a foreign worker needs to learn Indonesian. Today (21/08), Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said President Widodo (often called Jokowi) requested Hanif Dhakiri, Indonesian Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, to revise this regulation (that was issued in 2013). According to Jokowi the language proficiency requirement would make Indonesia’s investment climate less competitive and could therefore hamper much-needed investment.

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  • Expatriates in Indonesia: Number of Foreign Workers is Declining

    The number of expatriates working in Indonesia has declined in the last three years. Based on data from the Ministry of Manpower & Transmigration there were 68,957 expatriates working in Indonesia in 2013, a 4.8 percent decline from 2012. The main reason for this falling number is tighter government policy. Minister Muhaimin Iskandar stated that curtailing the influx of expats is one way of developing the country's human resources. Only when a foreigner has such exceptional qualities - not easily found in Indonesia - should he/she work in Indonesia.

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Latest Columns Foreign Workers

  • Are Foreign Workers Required to Learn the Indonesian language?

    Presidential Regulation No. 20/2018 on the Use of Foreign Workers continues to be a controversial regulation. In essence the new regulation aims at simplifying the permit application process for foreign workers, hence making the process more efficient and faster. As a result, foreign direct investment (FDI) realization in Indonesia should rise, thus encouraging overall economic growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

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  • Foreign Workers in Indonesia: a Threat or Tactic to Gain Votes?

    The issue of foreign workers has been the topic of much debate in Indonesian media in recent weeks. Ahead of the 2019 legislative and presidential elections political opponents of Indonesian President Joko Widodo are seemingly using this topic to gain popularity and to incite criticism on the government, or even to incite anxiety in society. Lets take a closer look at what it is about and whether criticism or anxiety is grounded or that we are simply dealing with another hoax.

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  • Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's Visit to Indonesia: Trade & Investment

    Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Indonesia on Sunday (06/05) for a two-day visit. Part of the visit was a meet up with Indonesian President Joko Widodo (at the Presidential Palace in Bogor) to discuss bilateral trade and investment. Key points on the agenda were the strengthening of trade between both nations and enhanced cooperation on infrastructure development projects in Indonesia, including dams and railways.

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  • How Many Foreigners Actually Work in Indonesia? No Hoax!

    Over the past couple of weeks public outcry ensued in Indonesia due to rumors (a hoax) that said there are currently about ten million workers from China in Indonesia, implying these immigrants are (potentially) "stealing" jobs from the local population. Xenophobia and nationalist sentiments are no strangers to Indonesia, a country that faced a long colonial period, and therefore this hoax easily ignited anxiety among (part of) the Indonesian people. But how many foreigners are currently actually working in Indonesia?

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  • ITAS and ITK Online: New Online Reporting Requirement for Foreigners

    Since February 1, 2016, the Directorate General of Immigration implemented a new requirement for applications of new work permits by expatriates in the certain Immigration Offices in Indonesia and for the extension of Indonesian visiting visas for foreigners, i.e. ITAS and ITK ONLINE Report. In the column of this week we explain the new online reporting requirements set by the Directorate General of Immigration.

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  • Indonesia Amends 10 Local-Staff-per-Foreign-Worker (Expat) Rule

    When the Indonesian government unveiled Ministry of Manpower Regulation No. 16/2015 in July, foreign companies in Indonesia became nervous. The regulation required that for every foreign worker (expat) in Indonesia, 10 locals would need to be hired. Although the regulation would not work retroactively, while new foreign companies in Indonesia would be allowed to hire low-paid non-permanent staff (such as office boys or drivers), the regulation met resistance from international chambers of commerce.

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  • How Can a Foreigner (Expat) Open a Foreign Currency Bank Account in Indonesia?

    Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) issued a new regulation that simplifies the opening of a foreign currency bank account by a foreign national (expat). A circular, S-246/S.01/2015 (dated 15 September 2015 and signed by OJK Chairman Muliaman D. Hadad), has been sent to all directors of Indonesian commercial banks that conduct business in foreign currencies. This new rule, part of the economic policy package that was released by the Indonesian government on 9 September, aims to boost foreign currency funds in Indonesia and support the rupiah.

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  • Banking in Foreign Currencies for Expats in Indonesia Made Easier

    Soon it will be easier for foreigners (expats) to have a foreign currency bank account (non-rupiah) in Indonesia. Muliaman D. Hadad, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), stated it is bound to issue a new regulation that allows for easier banking in foreign currencies in Indonesia. This regulation is made in an effort to raise the country’s foreign exchange reserves and support the ailing rupiah.

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  • New Expatriate Regulation Indonesia further Tightens Rules

    On June 29, 2015, the Minister of Manpower (Minister) issued regulation number 16 of 2015 on the Procedures to Employ Expatriates (New Expatriate Regulation), which revokes the old regulation number 12 of 2013 (Old Regulation). The New Expatriate Regulation impacts expatriates who are planning to work in Indonesia and who are already working in Indonesia and the local companies employing the expatriates. In this column we will discuss the most important changes for expatriate employees and their employers.

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