VITAS – Temporary Stay Permit Visa (Visa Izin Tinggal Terbatas)

VITAS – This is the sticker visa put in a foreigner’s passport in an Indonesian Embassy/Consular Office abroad which will give the person the right to an ITAS (which they apply for after arrival in Indonesia).

Once the TA01 recommendation has been approved, the VITAS must be applied for, for the working spouse and his dependent family, at the Indonesian Immigration office in the intended city of residence. Upon approval, the Indonesian Immigration office will send a telex approval to the Indonesian Embassy where the foreigner and his dependent family want to pick up the approval and to get the VITAS/VBS stamped into their passports.

This VBS visa stamp permits your entry into Indonesia. Within 7 days of your arrival in Indonesia, you and your dependent family members must go to the Immigration office to report your arrival “lapor diri” and complete the necessary paperwork. Failure to do this within 7 days will constitute a violation of your status, a legal hassle that can only be overcome through a visit to the courts and will incur large fines. So don’t delay your initial trip to the Immigration office to report your arrival. At the immigration office, you will be called to take a full set of fingerprints and to sign various documents and provide at least four 2 x 3 cm color photographs.

Note – the V stands for Visa …!

To summarize the VBS:

• A VBS is a temporary stay permit issued before the ITAS or Resident’s Permit.
• The VBS is stamped in the foreigner’s passport by Immigration on arrival.

ITAS/ITAS or Temporary Stay Permit

ITAS = Izin Tinggal Terbatas (Temporary Stay Permit). This is the immigration status/permit by itself. It is materialized by the stamp that the immigration offices stamps into your passport every year.

KITAS = Kartu Izin Tinggal Terbatas (Temporary Stay Permit Card). This is the yellow card that Imigrasi will give you after the ITAS has been granted.

ITAS can be issued for a variety of reasons:

• for foreign investors (PMA owner)
• for foreign experts – most of the expats have this kind of ITAS. They theoretically have skills that Indonesians don’t have. Thus they are called tenaga ahli/experts.
• for foreign researchers who come for research, usually with an agreement of an Indonesian university
• for dependant foreign spouse/children, sponsored by a foreigner, holder of an ITAS himself/herself or being an Indonesian citizen
• for religious clerics (foreign priests/imam, etc.)
• for retired foreign citizens
• for former Indonesian citizens, returning to Indonesia in the framework of repatriation to get back their citizenship

 

When all the paperwork on your Vitas visa is done, you will be issued a Limited Stay Permit – Kartu Izin Tinggal Terbatas, better known as an ITAS card for the working expatriate and each dependent for a one year period. The ITAS is the residency permit card which is issued by a KanIM in Indonesia, based on the VBS/VITAS Visa.

Advice from one applicant on documents needed to apply for an ITAS without paying any bribes:

1. Fotocopy of RPTKA and IMTA (2x each)
2. Fill out the three forms obtained at the immigration office (if I remember correctly form 22, 23 and 26). One of the forms is the “surat permintaan dan jaminan” and has to have a meterai tax stamp (Rp 6,000) on it. Forms and folder should be free.
3. Surat permohonan (sponsor letter) (2x)
4. Fotocopy of the KTP of the sponsor (2x)
5. Fotocopy of *all* pages of the passport (2x) and original
6. Fotocopy of ITAS (2x) and original
7. When receiving the new ITAS, paying the fee of Rp. 800,000 for which you will get a receipt. This is actually the only official fee to be paid. When I was asked to pay additional “administrative fees”, I always asked for a receipt, and if there was none, I did not pay and that did work very well.
8. You may also be asked to pay Rp 55,000 for the photos/fingerprints.

 

Just a heads up to be careful when laminating your ITAS /ITAP card. One expat’s brand new ITAP got stuck in the laminating machine at the local photocopy shop and as a result she had to apply for a replacement, going through the whole application procedure again as when applying for an extension – producing all the documents and going to the provincial immigration office to get a letter of approval for the replacement. There was also a charge of Rp 1 million.

ITAP/KITAP – Permanent Stay Permit/Card

ITAP = Izin Tinggal Tetap (Permanent Stay Permit). This is the immigration status/permit by itself. It is evident by the stamp that the immigration office stamps into your passport.

KITAP = Kartu Izin Tinggal Terbatas (Permanent Stay Permit Card). This is the blue card that immigration will give you after the ITAP has been granted.

There is no “direct to KITAP” option, all KITAP applicants must be holders of KITAS visas first.

ITAP can also be issued to foreign investors, CEOs or to workers in fields that require a specific skill. However, others, who don’t fall under these categories, can also obtain an ITAP as well, with persistence and knowing the regulations. Special provisions are also available for foreign nationals to get an ITAP if they are married to an Indonesian.

Official cost for an ITAP application – Rp 3,500,000 (non-electronic), Rp. 3,700,000 (electronic), Extension Rp 10,000,000 (non-electronic), Rp. 10,200,000 (electronic).

With the KITAP you will also be charged for a 2 year MERP, the official cost of which is Rp. 1,750,000.

Who can apply for an ITAP?

Indonesian Law is, in fact, quite clear. But as in many cases in Indonesia, this is more a problem of getting the right text of law with all of its amendments to clearly understand who can apply for to an ITAP. Once you get the right context, everything becomes very clear and the only remaining difficulty is to explain the law to the ones who are supposed to know it: the Immigration officials, who in many cases seemingly ignore the law. Once you get past the lower echelons, things are much smoother, because at the higher levels (i.e., KanWil or DitJen), they know the law regarding ITAP issuance.

Concerning ITAP, here are the two main articles of Law No. 6 of 2011 on Immigration that you need to keep in mind:

1. Pasal 54 / Article 54

(1) Izin Tinggal Tetap dapat diberikan kepada:

a. Orang Asing pemegang Izin Tinggal terbatas sebagai rohaniwan, pekerja, investor, dan lanjut usia;
b. keluarga karena perkawinan campuran;
c. suami, istri, dan/atau anak dari Orang Asing pemegang Izin Tinggal Tetap; dan
d. Orang Asing eks warga negara Indonesia dan eks subjek anak berkewarganegaraan ganda Republik Indonesia.

1. A Permanent Residence Permit may be given to:
   1. a foreign national who holds a Temporary Residence Permit as a religious cleric/missionary, expatriate worker, investor, or retiree;
   2. a member of a mixed marriage family;
   3. the husband, wife, and/or child of a foreign national who holds a Permanent Residence Permit; and
   4. a foreign national who is a former Indonesian citizen or held dual citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia and another country.

and

2. Pasal 60 / Article 60

(1) Izin Tinggal Tetap bagi pemohon sebagaimana dimaksud dalam Pasal 54 ayat (1) huruf a diberikan setelah pemohon tinggal menetap selama 3 (tiga) tahun berturut-turut dan menandatangani Pernyataan Integrasi kepada Pemerintah Republik Indonesia.

For an applicant as intended in Article 54 paragraph (1) letter a, the Permanent Residence Permit is issued after the applicant has stayed for 3 (three) years consecutively and signed a Statement of Integration to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.

Basically, Article 60 means that an ITAS can be transformed to an ITAP and that this transformation of status can be given after a demand of the foreigner with the condition that he/she has already stayed a minimum of three full successive years in Indonesia since the date that his/her ITAS has been issued.

Pasal 59 / Article 59 – regarding extensions

(1) A Permanent Residence Permit is issued for a period of 5 (five) years and may be extended for an unlimited period insofar as the permit has not been cancelled.(2)The holder of a Permanent Residence Permit for an unlimited period as intended in paragraph (1) must report to an Immigration Office every 5 (five) years and is not subject to a fee.

This is the article of law which lists the category of ITAS holder that could be entitled to be issued an ITAP. They are:

a. investors
b. rare foreign experts
c. top foreign manager of a company
d. foreign churchmen with religious duties
e. foreign spouse joining an Indonesian husband or wife
f. legitimate child who holds a foreign passport joining an Indonesian parent
g. foreign spouse of a foreigner holding an ITAP
h. legitimate unmarried foreign child (under 18 years old) joining a foreign father/mother who is an ITAP holder.
i. Former Indonesian willing to regain Indonesian citizenship as per Citizenship law number 12/2006
j. Retired foreigner

However, belonging to one of the above categories may not be enough. If you read point (3), it says that the change of status (from ITAS to ITAP) must consider the benefits that this foreigner brings to the nation in terms of national development and must consider the human aspects. This is for the very least highly subjective, and apart for the one belonging to the category e.), f.), g.), h.) and i.) it may well remain a demand without automatic approbation.

If your change of status is accepted, you will receive an ITAP which allows you to remain in Indonesia for five years – which may be worth all the paperwork hassles.

*definition of “retired” is given in Keputusan Menteri nomor M.04-IZ.01.02 Tahun 1998 tentang Pemberian Visa dan Izin Keimigrasian Bagi Wisatawan Lanjut Usia Mancanegara.

If you think you may qualify or be interested in an ITAP status someday, you might want to save all the documents you receive from the immigration office/s throughout the years, as they will help you to prepare your application.

New rates for ITAP-related expenses have been passed with PP No. 45/2014 which came into effect on 3 July 2014. These are the costs for ITAP:

– Non electronic ITAP valid for 5 years (ITAP non elektronik dengan masa berlaku 5 tahun): Rp 3,500,000
– Electronic ITAP (E-ITAP) valid for 5 years (ITAP Elektronik (E-ITAP) dengan masa berlaku 5 tahun): Rp 3,700,000
(Which kind you get – of the above two options – depends on what is available at the Immigration Office in your area.)
– Extension of non electronic ITAP for unlimited period (Perpanjangan ITAP non Elektronik untuk jangka waktu yang tidak terbatas): Rp 10,000,000 (for first extension for unlimited period)
– Extension of electronic ITAP (E-ITAP) for unlimited period (Perpanjangan ITAP Elektronik (E-ITAP) untuk jangka waktu yang tidak terbatas): Rp 10,200,000
– Replacement of 5 year non electronic ITAP that is still valid due to damage/loss (Penggantian ITAP Non Elektronik masa berlaku 5 tahun karena rusak/ hilang dan masih berlaku): Rp 1,500,000
– Replacement of 5 year electronic ITAP (E-ITAP) that is still valid due to damage/loss (Penggantian ITAP Elektronik (E-ITAP) masa berlaku 5 tahun karena rusak/ hilang dan masih berlaku): Rp 1,700,000
– Replacement of non electronic ITAP with unlimited validity due to damage/loss (Penggantian ITAP Non Elektronik untuk jangka waktu yang tidak terbatas karena rusak/ hilang): Rp 3,000,000
– Replacement of electronic ITAP (E-ITAP) with unlimited validity due to damage/loss (Penggantian ITAP Elektronik (E-ITAP) untuk jangka waktu yang tidak terbatas karena rusak/ hilang): Rp 3,200,000

According to the Immigration Law Pasal 59 ayat (2): Holders of ITAP with unlimited validity are obliged to report to the Immigration Office every 5 years and will not be charged. So normally you will have to make only 2 payments for ITAP, i.e. 3,000,000 (non electronic) or 3,200,000 (E-ITAP) and the cost of extension, i.e. 10,000,000 (non electronic) or 10,200,000 (E-ITAP).

Documents needed for ITAP renewal:

– Surat Permohonan
– Surat Jaminan – pakai Meterai
– Surat Pernyataan Integrasi – pakai Meterai
– Surat Keterangan Domisili (dari Kelurahan)
– Fotokopi KTP Sponsor
– Fotokopi Paspor
– Fotokopi ITAP (lama)
– Fotokopi Surat Nikah (for spouse of WNI)
– Fotokopi KK (for spouse of WNI)
– Fotokopi KTP
– Mengisi formulir Perdim 24 (minta di Imigrasi)
– Mengisi formulir Perdim 27 (minta di Imigrasi)

Semua persyaratan tersebut di kopi rangkap 3.

Source : http://www.expat.or.id/info/docs.html#Vitas