Jokowi - no more KITAS ??

One has to look really carefully at what seems to be good news.

The final dumping of the unworkable language requirement is clearly common sense, but I'm unsure about dumping the KITAS.
It's great news for many (I'll bet Luke is going to throw a party when he sees it - Mine's a coke, dude), but Indonesia is going to have to be vary careful about large scale migration of unskilled workers.

For me, I'm happy manpower has been given a poke in the eye. The removal of the work permit would be a great advantage to a lot of businesses, especially language schools.
The question is, would that be covered by "regulations which impeded investment"

The local regulations part could well upset the Balinese as I understand they have extra rules to keep foreign workers limited.

"Australian hairdresser in Bali" threads could become really popular; almost as popular as, "Hairdresser business for sale" ads in classifieds when they realise they can't make any money at it.

Sadly Fred, no party time yet as I am far too cynical to just believe that the kitas issue will go away and everything becomes simple out here. It is a great step forward however Mr President has back tracked on things he has said before and nothing came of them. (Removing the fuel subsidy, use of hotels by government, new cars for all) etc. So I am all let's wait and see.
I think most expats out here just want a quick simple process that works as would new people coming here.
Let's hope he sees this through and he sticks to his guns.

He is not saying anything about dumping the work permit perhaps he does not know the difference between KITAS and IMTA like so many others.

If the KITAS would be dumped then you still need a work permit I believe otherwise this country will be flooded with overseas workers and the unemployed local workers will run amok.

All efforts of the Government (MoM) to protect their own people will be in vain. Also even there is a good intention behind, when will it be implemented?

What are the different Ministries saying about it (Immigration + Manpower Department)?

Well I know that there are going to be plenty of people there that are on one side or the other. Some will see it as good news, while others will see it as the beginning of the end.

Just a few thoughts from someone in a country that has immigrations and labor regulations that are probably a hundred times more onerous. For example, the law here requires all employers to clearly demonstrate that they have exhausted all efforts to place a Brazilian citizen in any job vacancy before they're permitted to hire an expat to fill it. One cannot obtain a VITEM-V Work Visa unless they have an employment contract (confirmed in writing) with a Brazilian company that has, of course, met the above requirement. And while there are no language requirements in the law, in practice, it is virtually impossible to find a decent job here if you don't speak Portuguese since English is not widely spoken even in the workplace here.

What good is it to encourage foreign investment, if that means a multinational company can set up shop, and bring in all their own people from abroad? That doesn't improve the standard of living for the local population in any way, and provide them with employment opportunities. Thus how are they supposed to be able to afford to be consumers of the product being manufactured or service offered?

Removing work permit requirements, would essentially throw the doors wide open to anyone wishing to work in your country, even tourists (who are generally speaking prohibited from doing paid work in most other nations). I have no idea what the rate of unemployment is there, but this would send it through the roof in very short order. Is there any form of Unemployment Insurance program there? And if so, wouldn't the cost of paying out such benefits take a big bite out of any advantages that foreign investment under those conditions have to offer?

Usually, whenever they see their own livelihoods threatened in any country, this usually brings on a dramatic increase in xenophobic and protectionist sentiment. Wouldn't this move make expats the target of much resentment by the local population?

What are your export laws there like? In many countries, goods manufactured in that country that are destined solely for export are not taxed. Wouldn't this set up a situation where foreign multinationals could simply rape the nation's economy, setting up shop in a country with much lower labor costs, weaker environmental regulations, no social responsibilites and rake in the profits, on the backs of the locals who would suffer all the adverse consequences?

While I have always been opposed to excessive protectionist legislation in any country, since it usually promotes monopolies, reduces quality and removes most incentive for companies to even try to be competitive; I do believe that a certain amount of regulation is absolutely necessary.

Doesn't sound to me like the Indonesian people are getting much of a deal here, and like Jokowi hasn't really given this matter a whole heck of a lot of serious thought.

Cheers,
James  Expat-blog Experts Team

James - I am guessing the ASEAN developments are having an impact on how immigration is handled in the future. On another related topic, the Islamic countries are also beginning to come under pressure because of the effects of migration (not yet mass but gathering pace) with peoples trying to escape more radical regimes and consequences.  There could be a realigning of foreign worker manpower away from some of the major traditional migrant supply countries and more emphasis on absorbing the ASEAN nations instead. Interesting times ahead for SE Asia me thinks.

The KITAS and work permit being lost may not change very much at all.

The small number of western foreigners here is nothing worth much of a mention, but other ASEAN countries may start supplying labour.

https://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2015 … ed-labour/

This explains where most of the big holes are.

Ace article Fred

I always tend to look at these sort of announcements from the sole point of view…what is the overall message? 

For me, the overall message is that Jokowi has finally gotten his ministers re-aligned in a manner more reflective of his own desires as opposed to certain factions within the DPR. 

Fred, I think you've hit the nail on the head with this:  “The question is, would that be covered by "regulations which impeded investment?”

As I understand Jokowi's intentions, it is only to increase foreign investment, and that there likely will be no changes to those regulations for foreigners who merely seek employment in Indonesia.  From what I am being told he has no intentions at all in lightening up on “jobs in Indonesia first for Indonesians.”

I see at the same Roy.

But if he really said so as stated in the article he is confusing most people. Many will believe that sooner or later they can work here without holding proper documents.

happyhour wrote:

I see at the same Roy.

But if he really said so as stated in the article he is confusing most people. Many will believe that sooner or later they can work here without holding proper documents.

Jokowi seems to be making a habit of confusing messages.
Perhaps it's a translation problem. 

I think you guys had it spot on earlier...he likely doesn't know the difference between a KITAS (visa) and an IMTA (work permit).  So yeah, one can easily misread that article and start thinking it's time to pack one's bags!

The KITAS and IMTA requirements I believe are written in the law (UU). At the current backlog in DPR, law changes won't happen quick (we're talking about years of consultation before anything had chance of passing), especially given that it's not even on the lawmaker's list of things to do. Don't hold your breath.

It isn't so much about the law, but how it's regulated.   

Just got below news:

http://beatmag.com/daily/ministry-of-ma … uirements/


The Ministry of Manpower has issued a new regulation following President Jokowi's intentions last week to abolish the language proficiency test required for all foreign workers in Indonesia.

According to the Ministry, the Regulation concerning the language requirements; Manpower Regulation No. 12 issued in 2013, has been revised to omit the test.

“Following the President's referral, the Ministry of Manpower has revised its regulations to introduce Manpower Regulation No. 16 so that foreign workers do not require certain Indonesian language proficiency,” said the Minister of Manpower, Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri.

Dhakiri claims that the revised regulation still includes certain requirements that foreign workers must meet in order to acquire an Indonesian work permit, thus domestic workers should not be concerned over a sudden influx of foreign workers into the labour market.

“Domestic workers should not worry about these regulations,” added Dhakiri.

The Minister claims that the President intended to abolish the test because it would stimulate investment activity.

“This is an example of deregulation needed to create a positive investment climate in Indonesia,” said Dhakiri.

Source:
Okezone: Menaker pekerja asing jangan bikin masalah di Indonesia

Don't think much will be changed

http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2015/08/29 … gn-Workers


TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Manpower Minister M Hanif Dhakiri has asked people not to worry about the "invasion" of foreign workers (TKA) coming to Indonesia as the government has drawn up rules to filter out the TKA.

"Do not worry, because there are many mandatory requirements as per the Manpower Ministerial Regulation, which can be used as an instrument for domestic workers protection," Dhakiri said on Friday.

Eliminating the requirement to speak Bahasa for foreign workers had worried some parties. They thought it would make it easy for foreign workers to work here and reduce employment opportunities for domestic workers in the country.

Earlier, the Manpower Minister had another directive about the Procedures for Use of Foreign Workers, which requires that a TKA must be able to speak Bahasa. But, Dhakiri had revised the regulation and eliminated the requirement through another Ministerial Regulation.

Dhakiri stressed that the use of foreign workers in Indonesia was not as easy as feared. The TKA must meet other requirements, such as being able to fill high-level positions available for foreign workers, he added.

If there are foreign workers who occupy jobs at the lower level, Dhakiri said it was a violation of rules and their visa permit.

In addition, the terms of use for foreign workers must be accompanied by the use of local labor in the context of transfer of technology and science, which was also assessed as positive for employment in the country.

It also regulated that the company recruiting one foreign worker also had to recruit 10 local workers.

The government also requires more stringent rules, including it being a must for foreign workers to have a certificate of competence or work experience of at least five years, and that there are also certain positions which will be closed to foreign workers.

According to the Manpower Ministrys data, the number of foreign workers employed in Indonesia in 2014 had decreased slightly, compared with 2013, which amounted to 68,957 people, and in 2012, where their number was pegged at 72,427.

So, if the KITAS is dumped (we have a KITAS for our retirement VISA - not a working KITAS), how will that effect the Hak Pakai situation.  IE:  Where to put your villa under a Hak Pakai, you need to have a KITAS.