Refleksi : Bagimana kalau peraturan serupa diberlakukan terhada warganegara Indonesia yang berdiam di luar negeri?
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/09/07/group-lobbying-%E2%80%98permanent-residency%E2%80%99.html Group lobbying for 'permanent residency' Arghea Desafti Hapsari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 09/07/2010 9:37 AM | Headlines When the Asian financial crisis hit in 1997, Australian national Elora (not her real name) saw her Indonesian husband's business caving in, and went to pieces. Being a foreigner sponsored to live in Indonesia by her husband's company, Elora could no longer get permission to stay. A work permit is issued to foreigners who have sponsorship from a company or other organization. The government imposes strict guidelines on what expertise workers need to be entitled to such permits. While she lacked the expertise, Elora found work - to make ends meet. "It's not easy living on a single income," she told The Jakarta Post on Monday. Her discreet job as a freelance translator required her to use her husband's name on the payroll. Several groups have voiced concerns regarding the matter and are currently pushing for Indonesia to recognize permanent residency, which, if granted, would allow a foreign spouse of an Indonesian to gain the same rights to live and work in Indonesia as Indonesians have. "Permanent residents will have almost the same rights as Indonesian citizens, except for the right to vote and run for office," said Dewi Tjakrawinata of the International Rainbow Alliance (APAB). The concept of permanent residency has been long adopted by other Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. In these countries, permanent resident status can be gained easily by foreigners who are married to locals, and by their children. The APAB has been advocating legislators deliberating the bill on immigration. Permanent residency, the alliance says, needs to be regulated in the bill. Lawmakers are targeting to pass the bill into law by the end of the month. Julie Mace from the APAB said recently that by granting permanent residency to foreign spouses of Indonesians, "family reunification would be made easier and would be guaranteed." Mixed-marriage families have often faced times when their children, who are of foreign nationalities, are not allowed to live permanently with their parents and earn a living in Indonesia. Such is the case when the children reach more than 18 years of age, when they are no longer entitled to parental sponsorship to reside in Indonesia. Foreigners who want to live in Indonesia are currently given stay permits, which can be temporary (KITAS) or "permanent" stay (KITAP) permits. The latter lasts five years. Such permits are given to, among others, foreign investors, foreign experts, top foreign managers of companies, children joining Indonesian parents or foreign spouses joining an Indonesian husband or wife. In the latter case, a foreigner must first arrange sponsorship from his or her Indonesian spouse before applying for a stay permit. "Problems arise when marriages break up or get into trouble. The Indonesian husband or wife can easily deny their spouse sponsorship and thus make it harder for them to get a stay permit here," said Marilyn Ardipraja, another member of the APAB. Marilyn, who has spent 34 years living in Indonesia with her Indonesian husband, also lamented the fact that her children, who are of Australian nationality, can only visit her on a tourist visa, which is valid for just two months. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
