KITAS Renewal Soon, Agent or DIY?

No worries.
Much depends on you, and why you're in Indonesia.
If it's work, your company should be doing all this, with you only supplying documents and having your photo taken.

If it's pretty much anything else, you can do it yourself if you have the time to mess around a little.
I've found most immigration officers to be friendly and helpful, but you have to be polite and well mannered to earn that.
Agents charge varying fees, commonly what they feel they can get out of you.
I've done all mine without an agent, but I have taken the opportunity to pay an immigration officer to do the running about for me. That ISN'T a bribe, just a bit of slightly naughty moonlighting.
However, if your local office is Jakarta, you won't need to do any running about at all.

Thanks Fred for the feedback, very helpful.

Can you also tell me what are the actual steps in the process and the forms /documents required? Sorry to sound like a dummy but this is my first time for this and I'll need all the help I can get, particularly given my inability to decipher the Immigration Bahasa website.

FYI, I don't have the luxury of an employer to do the hard yards for me.

My original experience with an agent to get my KITAS was very clumsy and expensive, both in time (elapsed & activity) and money, but ultimately successful. So, this time around, I'm keen to avoid those negatives if possible.

Thanks in advance for any further insight you can offer.

Regards,
Geoff

Dear Fellow Forum Members,

Here's the thing: Further to the above, I'm finding considerable obstacles to DIY KITAS (Retirement Visa) renewal.

An Imigrasi officer has told me I must use the agent that processed my original application, as the company that was my sponsor (a different entity from the KITAS agent) for that application is required to sponsor my renewal application.

Problem is, the agent wants go charge me the same amount for the renewal fee that they charged for the initial application (Rp15.5 juta). This seems extortionate, to say the least, just to fill in a few forms and process a renewal for an already active KITAS Retirement Visa.

As a retiree, I don't have that kind of money to splash around (in this case unexpectedly),  so I'm very anxious about this and keen to find a way around it, if that's possible.

I guess what I'm asking is, does anybody know whether another 'agent' or 'sponsor' might be available to enable my renewal application to be submitted in the first week of June?

Or am I destined to a life of poverty, having to fork out $1500 each year for the next 4 years to renew my Visa?

I'll look forward to some better news from my fellow members.

Geoff

Retirement is different in that you must use an approved agent.
Prices vary so shop around.

aim for a price of around 7 juta , 15 seems over the top

@OP
I see you are in Jakarta. I can help in giving you directions.
There are several details that you are missing. For example, your partner is Indonesian, why you need to use retirement visa?
Dont ask the immigration officers, unless you can deal with them or doing it by yourself. They are there only to make your life harder.

I have 2 or 3 competent agents in Jakarta, they are well respected and used by our peers and network of friends.
They dont cost much. And you wont get swindled.
Pm me if I missed the details in the future.

Perhaps clarification would be helpful.

The western term, "Partner" is pretty much invalid here unless your partner is legally married to you and your marriage is recognised under Indonesian law.
Anything else is pointless as far as that term goes,

If it's a retirement visa, the previous applies as you have to go through an agent to get it.

I gather the spouse visa isn't an option for the OP, but it's worth a mention on the off chance he's missed it.

I will repeat for clarification.

A partner as far as a visa is concerned is a person you're married to under Indonesian law, or the marriage is recognised under Indonesian law, and nothing else.

A sham marriage would be illegal, and could well bring about deportation should the immigration department find out.

As the OP hasn't mentioned a partner in any post over the last few months, this is a bit off topic anyway.

Hi Fred,

Thanks for your tips.

Can you please let me know how long it normally takes to renew a KITAS I that I obtained by sponsorship from my wife?

Thank you,
Gammal

That will vary depending on where you are and how many KITAS cards you've had.
Always start the process two months before the old one runs out, but mine have all been completed within two weeks, save one that took almost a month.
Wife sponsored are usually given an easy ride, but sometimes only after home visits and check ups with the local RT/RW and so on.
Mine all started in a small town where everyone knew me so it was all pretty easy stuff as no one bothered to check what the whole town knew anyway. There were only three foreigners in the whole area so tracking us was far from difficult.
A big city is another story so expect immigration's intel to do some asking around about you.
As long as your marriage is real you have nothing to worry about, but it might make the process take a little longer, hence the two months.

Currently if you are renewing a wife sponsored kitas you will be asked to provide savings if at least 25 million ( so I am reliably told ) as well attend an interview where you will be asked questions
Immigration will also come visiting to your address and speak with neighbors, street head etc. To check you are not working illegally, you actually live there and so on. This of course is in Jakarta and Tangerang. I can't comment else where.

I know home visits are much more than the title suggests.
They ask the RT and so on, but also check with everyone else as far as the local town office.
If they think something doesn't sound right, they go deeper.
However, a real marriage is going to get you an easy time so the visits are nothing to worry about.
Be sure to make them a cup of tea and provide snacks,; polite and welcoming always goes down well.

Hi to everybody,
i want ask something that is not clear about kitas...
i moved in december from Bali to Jogja, and the rules of immigration here look so strange,

1. i wanted apply retirement visa for my mother, but my wife talk to the head of immigration office and talk that "retirement visa can be applied only in Bali, not in Jogja" ... look so strange...

2. i want get kitas for marriage here in jogja and my wife told me that the same man suggest her that is impossible to make it in jogja and i have to go in singapore and i need to stay in Sing for minimal 20 days for have my kitas. ans she told me that before kitas is needed make other papers that is too much difficult and caos to make it for her

3. for renew of the sosial budaya my wife need have 10 juta on her bank account?

on the site have not written full instructions and requirements.

for what i know for get kitas i have to ask in immigration here the permit for have it, after they will accept (40/60 days) , they send it on singapore and i have 2 month 4 go in singapore and get it...

(at last there is problems of understanding between indo ppl or translation to me... or laziness of somebody?)

1- Any visa has to be made in the area you live. Any change of address has to be reported to your local immigration office and they will provide a letter for your new office.

2 - You can apply for a KITAS AFTER marriage but you have to leave the country to get it. Some prefer Singapore but I like Malaysia better.
Any Indonesian embassy anywhere in the world can do it
The process take a couple of days but book flights for a week in case of cock and enjoy a few days in KL or where ever.
The last time I visited Jojga's immigration their welcome was rather cool but that was 10 years ago so things could well have changed.
There is no reason you can't process the application for KITAS in Jogja.

3 - I know there are requirements as to minimum bank balances but no one has ever asked me or my wife to prove anything so I have no clue what they are.

hi ,

i am intrested with your article . my fiancee is australian . I am indonesian. I am intrested to making KITAS for my fiancee. would you mind , guide me or help me where to go .

TA

Hi TA. Email me maybe? its ***

Thanks Fred

retirement kitas...has to be sponsered by an agent who has the licence to do so...u can.t do it yerself..

Hi, interesting to read all the comments on renewing spouse kitas in Jakarta.

I'm thinking to start the process myself as Im quite free not doing much and don't mind having a little challenge to myself and use up some tome whilst wife is at work...

Can anyone tell me the process please, where I need to start and go, I'm living in Jakarta (East) but very easy to get into central.

Thanks

You should report to the immigration office you are registered with and inquire about the necessary paperwork. If you moved then you will need to complete the whole process again, however if you are already on a spousal Kitas then you will need to provide a letter of domicile and a police letter and bank statements.
But check with your immigration office as they should tell you more about your need.

Luke, as usual, is correct.
Direct to your local immigration, get the forms, and away you go.
Collect all the required paperwork and the process is usually easy enough so you can forget agents. Expats in Jakarta have things easy as the worst travel they ever have is to their central office in Jakarta but those living out of the city might have to do more jaunting around.
As an example, someone in Tangerang area is likely to have to go to Serang, and maybe even Jakarta.
Central Java, it's Semarang and possibly Jakarta sometimes.
The offices required used to depend on the KITAS type, the second required Jakarta but that could all have changed by now.

Thanks for you again guys, will let you know how it goes.

Wife sponsored KITAS renewal is very easy and quick and simple to do yourself. It's switching to KITAP which is more complicated and takes time.

abdulkhalil wrote:

Wife sponsored KITAS renewal is very easy and quick and simple to do yourself. It's switching to KITAP which is more complicated and takes time.

I was one of the very first KITAP conversions when the new law came out and it wasn't too bad.
A bit more paperwork to sort out and a trip to Serang followed by Jakarta but it went pretty smoothly.
Took a little longer, about a month, but really easy without an agent.
Immigration did a home visit in order to confirm we were really married but that's nothing to worry about at all as long as you're honest. A home visit means they check with all concerned, that including local officials as they fancy.

That's six years out of date now but I gather only the requirement to prove income has tightened up.