The presence of ‘something foreign’ in Indonesia is often still a somewhat sensitive issue. And, we would not be surprised if it is the country’s prolonged colonial period – when foreign forces (particularly the Dutch) came to the Archipelago in search of commodities – that brings back traumatic memories from the past. This history may thus also explain why Indonesia – today – shows a relatively high degree of economic nationalism and resource nationalism.

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When expatriates resign from one company in Indonesia and start working for another company or move back to his/her home country, the immigration licenses need to be revoked. This revocation is performed by way of an exit process which results in the issuance of an Exit Permit Only (EPO). Once the expatriate obtains the EPO, he must leave Indonesia. And once left Indonesia all records of the expatriate are cleared / revoked. In this column we discuss the EPO procedure in specific for commissioners in the banking sector.

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The Minister of Manpower (Minister) regulation number 16 of 2015 on the Procedures to Employ Expatriates (New Foreign Worker Regulation) which we discussed in a previous column, has lead to many complaints from foreign investors due to its stringent rules. As a result of these complaints the Minister of Manpower issued an amendment to the New Foreign Worker Regulation, number 35 of 2015 (Amendment). In this column we discuss the main changes of the Amendment.

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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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This column is the third and final column regarding the work permit requirements for foreign workers (expatriates) in Indonesia. In the first column we discussed the requirements set by the Ministry of Manpower, which include (i) Foreign Manpower Utilization Plan (RPTKA), (ii) Approval Recommendation Visa (TA-01), and (iii) Work Permit (IMTA). In our second column we discussed the requirements set by immigration, which include Limited Stay Visa (VITAS) and Limited Stay Permit Card (KITAS). This week we discuss the remaining requirements set by the Police office, the departments of Labor and Demography and Civil Registration.

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In last week’s column we explained which licenses are required by the Ministry of Manpower for expatriates (foreign workers) who wish to obtain a work permit in Indonesia. We explained that the foreign workers (expatriate) who want to work in Indonesia must obtain the following permits which are issued by the Ministry of Manpower: (i) Foreign Manpower Utilization Plan (RPTKA), (ii) Approval Recommendation Visa (TA-01), and (iii) Work Permit (IMTA). Besides these permits, several other permits must be arranged at immigration, which we discuss in this week’s column.

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Expatriates working in Indonesia are referred to as foreign workers in Indonesian Law number 13 of 2003 regarding Manpower (Labor Law). A foreign worker is defined as a visa holder with foreign citizenship, who has the intention to perform work in Indonesia. Both expatriates working in Indonesia and the companies employing such expatriates are subject to permitting requirements and restrictions set by the Indonesian Government. In this column we provide an overview of the general licenses needed to employ foreign workers.

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