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A Guide to Obtaining
Official Letter, Permits, and other Documents in order to carry out Research in
Indonesia.
Gene Ammarell
Ohio University
Last updated August 2004
Congratulations!
You've received your research permit from LIPI and you finally have your visa to
travel to Indonesia. Ah, but this is only the beginning!! The following is a
summary (always subject to change, of course!) of what you should expect have to
do upon arrival in Indonesia before you are actually allowed to begin your
research. Credit for much of this summary belongs to Ibu Nelly Paliama, Program
Officer at the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF) in Jakarta, who
provided it in pamphlet form to recent Fulbright Scholars upon their arrival in
Indonesia.
Some
Important Definitions:
LIPI: Lembaga Ilmu Pengatahuan Indonesia
(Institute of Indonesian Sciences)
SIP: Surat Ijin Penelitian (Research Permit)
INTELPAM: Intelijen dan Pengamanan (Office
of Intelligence and Security)
SKJ: Surat Ketrangan Jalan (Travel Permit)
KESBANGLINMAS: Kesatuan Bangsa dan
Perlindungan Masyarakat (Office of National Unity and Community Protection)
SPP: Surat Pembritahuan Penelitian
(Notification of Research)
POA: Pendaftaran dan Mutasi Orang Asing
(Alien Registration Card)
KITAS: Kart Iji Tinggal Sementara (Temporary
Residence Permit)
Jakarta
When you arrive at the airport, your visa
will be stamped 'used'. You have one week to report to the Immigration
Office in Jakarta or to get an extension if you are going to another area of
Indonesia. Alternately you may tell folks at the airport that as you come in
that you have to report to the immigration office in the province in which you
are carrying out research. They will then give you seven days to do your
paperwork in Jakarta and to report to the provincial capital. This will save you
from having to do immigration in Jakarta. (Thanks to Chris Duncan for this tip)
Between Jakarta and the place you will be
carrying out research, you will need five photocopies of your passport and many
photographs with a red background. You can get these at a photo studio located
adjacent to the Hotel Cemara or in Kebayoran Baru. You will need ten 4x6 cm,
and nine 3x4 cm. You also will need photos for Immigration in the city where
you will be staying if not Jakarta and two of these are smaller (2x3 cm).
Police will also want photos (4x6 are OK). It is best to get extras of all
sizes to be prepared and to keep the negative or digital disk.
1.
LIPI - Report to Bapak Ruben
Silitonga, Kepala Sub-Bagian Administrasi Penelitian Asing (head of the
administrative sub-section responsible for foreign researchers).
Receive a cover letter for the Police and Immigration. Fee $100.
2.
Police Department - officially
called "Direktorat Intelpam" located at Jl. Trunojoyo no. 3, Kebayoran
Baru Jakarta Selatan. Deliver letter from LIPI. Direktorat Intelpam
will then issue a document entitled Surat Keterangan Jalan (SKJ) which,
as noted above, is essentially a travel permit. You will probably be
asked to return the next business day to get the SKJ.
3.
*Immigration
Office, Departmen Perhakiman (Judicial Building) Jalan Rasuna Said, Kuningan,
just past the Malaysian Embassy. If will be working in
Jakarta or if you did not remember to tell the officials at the airport that you
intend to report to immigration in a provincial capital, you must report here
and drop off letter from LIPI and a photocopy of your passport to get an
extension if needed; you will need an extension only if you will be carrying out
research and need to report to immigration in another city. If you will be
working in Jakarta, you will report to one of six local immigration offices
there AFTER you have completed the remainder of your office visits in Jakarta.
4.
Police Department – pick up letter
from Police, prepared from day before; this is a travel permit
5.
Return to LIPI to submit a copy of
the SKJ. You will be given a Surat Ijin Penelitian (research permit)
which will be delivered to three different places: Directorate General
of KESBANGLINMAS (Ministry of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy); your
sponsoring institution (e.g. Universitas Indonesia); and the local
Immigration Office in Jakarta or at your actual research site outside of
Jakarta.
6.
Go to KESBANGLINMAS (Ministry of Home
Affairs), Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara 7-8, Jakarta Pusat, to drop off a copy
of the SIP from LIPI. You will be issued one more letter, usually the
next day, called a Surat Pemberitahuan Penelitian. Later on, you will
deliver this letter and copy of research proposal to the Governor's Office(s) in the province(s) where you will carry out your research.
7.
*Return to Immigration Office to pick
up your letter for extension, if necessary.
8.
Return to Home Affairs to pick up
letter of research notification for Governor's Office in the Province
where conducting research.
9.
Report to local Immigration Office in
Jakarta if you will be working in Jakarta.
Outside
Jakarta:
The following is a summary of our itinerary
in Makassar in 2003. Thanks to Pak Akbar Tahir, Director of the Center for
Coral Reef Studies, Hasanuddin University, and his assistant, Bu Lia, for
helping us complete this part of the process with great efficiency!
Note: Although the Immigration Office appears
third on this summary, you should really report there on the first day because
the process there will take up to a week. Get started with that process as soon
as possible and visit the other offices in the order given.
1.
Governor's Office, Badan Kesatuan
Bangsa (KESBANG) - drop off letter from Home Affairs and copies of: the
letter from Police in Jakarta, your passport and letter from LIPI. They
will also want a copy of your research proposal and a picture, any
size. Wait while letters are typed if you have everything you need.
Otherwise, return later with copies. You will be issued three letters:
one photocopy to be sent to LIPI, one photocopy to be delivered to your
sponsor, and the original to be delivered to the Walikota or Bupati of
the city or cities where you will be doing your research.
2.
Walikota/Permerintah Kota/Bupati -
drop off letter from KESBANG plus one photo and 1 photocopy each of your
research proposal, passport, and the Memorandum of Understanding or the
letter of invitation from your sponsor which was sent to LIPI. You will
receive three letters: one for your sponsoring institution, one for the
local Immigration Office, and one for the head of the Kecamatan (Pak
Chamat) where you will be carrying out research.
3.
Local Immigration Office - apply for
a Pendaftaran dan Mutasi Orang Asing (POA; Alien Registration Card) and
a Kart Iji Tinggal Sementara (KITAS; Temporary Residence Permit). You
may pick up forms (Immigration registration form and other related
documents – Formulir Kantu IZIN Untuk Mendapatkan Tinggul Terbatas, Bagi
Warga Negara Asing and Formulir Pendaftaran Orang Asing) and take them
home to fill out or fill them out there. These forms are complicated,
and you may need help. After you have filled out these forms, submit
them with a letter from your sponsor (letter of guarantor) and a
photocopy of his identity card, a photocopy of your passport, copies of
letters from LIPI, Immigration in Jakarta, the Governor's Office, and Walikota or Bupati, a copy of your marriage license if you are a couple,
and pictures (two 2x3 and two 3x4). You will be finger-printed here;
bring "Wet Ones"! You will have to leave your passport while they
process everything, so you may want to ask the clerk to notarize a
photocopy of your passport to be used in place of the real thing. Pay Rp 300,000. Wait three days (at least!) for POA and KITAS.
Note:
If you plan to travel outside Indonesia during the period of your research,
after you have your POA and KITAS, you may ask for a letter from LIPI that
requests a Multiple Exit Re-entry Permit (MERP); otherwise when you report to
immigration (which you are required to do) to leave Indonesia, you will be
eligible only for an Exit Permit Only (EPO). You may fax your letter, including
a copy of your KITAS to Bapak Ruben Silitonga, Kepala Sub-Bagian Administrasi
Penelitian Asing at LIPI - (021) 552-5640. Submit this letter along with a
completed Formulir Peruabahan Data Orang Asing to the Immigration Office at
least one month before you plan to leave (and then return to) Indonesia.
4.
Police Office - drop off letter from LIPI, letter from police in Jakarta, copy of passport, photos (four 3x4)
and pay Rp150,000. They need the Alien Registration Card number once
you get it from Immigration, so you may decide to wait to report here
until you have completed the immigration process, or you may decide to
complete everything else and bring you card once it has been issued.
You will be finger printed here also (more
Wet Ones!) and will need three 4x6 and one 3x4 photos; you will pay Rp30,000.
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