JakartaPost-Oct 27, 2022
Married couples of mixed Indonesian and non-Indonesian citizenship have welcomed the government’s “second home” stay permit program – which will allow foreigners to live in the country for up to 10 years under specific circumstances – but they worry the new policy could bring prohibitive costs for existing visa holders. The program, announced on Tuesday and to take effect by the end of the year, will allow foreigners to apply for a second home stay permit if they have an existing visa and provide proof of funds of either Rp 2 billion (US$128,559) in a personal Indonesian bank account or proof of ownership of a luxury property in the country. The permit will allow them to stay in the country for either five or 10 years. Government officials have said that the second home program is intended to boost the country’s tourism sector, which is struggling under the shadow of the pandemic. The expat community in Indonesia, however, has reservations about the new program. Indonesian Mixed Marriage Association (Perca) head Analia Trisna said the program could make life harder for older foreigners already in the country under the existing temporary stay permit (KITAS) or permanent stay permit (KITAP). This, she explained, was because the second home program required existing elderly KITAS and KITAP holders to transition to a second home permit within three months and to provide proof of the Rp 2 billion in personal funds held in Indonesia. The proof of funds required for the KITAS, Analia said, was significantly lower at Rp 280 million ($18,000). “For elderly foreigners who are living out their retirement in Bali, we don’t know how many of them have that Rp 2 billion, since they are already spending their retirement money,” she said on Wednesday. Analia called on the government to carve out exceptions for existing KITAS and KITAP holders who may not have the requisite funds. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2022/10/27/expats-cautiously-welcome-second-home-visa.html.
