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What are the possible ways to live in Indonesia

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Mark Prigozhin

Hello again. This is Mark who is still looking and not giving up when it comes to moving into the country of Indonesia. I asked a question about if I can find a Sales job with 3+ years of experience and Diploma in Bussines Administration but I got mixed response and the people who replied were not totally sure about it. Anyways, I would like to know what other possible ways I can do to live in Indonesia. For example what are the best ways to make a long term plan and live there?

Besides investing because I don't have money.

wyngrove60

If you ever decide to get married to an Indonesian and it is not just a fake marriage, then you will probably be able to live here. Several years later you can probably get Indonesian citizenship which also means relinquishing your own nationality. Then you would no longer be an expat but an Indonesian citizen.

Mark Prigozhin

@wyngrove60 hahah to be honest that is a dream and not just for documents but also being able to live with someone but sometimes the love of life can be hard to appear. Is there any other suggestion like going into Indonesia University? Maybe foreign graduates have it more easier with Visas?

lockn

@Mark Prigozhin

sorry to burst your bubble Mark, but to be honest there is only .07% of the work force in indonesia which is foreign workers, the laws for a business to employ foreigners have to go through multiple hurdles eg.  every foreigner hired needs to be offset by 20 indonesians hired, extra expense for visa every contract renewal etc;

Most organisations shy away from hiring foreigners and only hire them for to fill the void which the locals here cant fill, eg. Expat Teachers, CEO's etc

is it fair? No, but most post colonial countries have the same rules and regulations. not just indonesia.

does it work?No , there is no labour reforms, and organisations get away with paying dimes on the dollar without up scaling their workforce, there is no trainings for business ethics, inclusion and diversity trainings etc, work is very two dimensional.

The only people i know who live here long term are

1.Married to an indonesian.

2.Filthy rich and has invested in a tiny business and hired Indonesians close to minimum wage and high turnover, some care about their business and some just don't give a shit and use it as gateway to stay.

Maybe try to live in a more cosmopolitan country like Thailand or Malaysia, and make indonesia as a vacation spot, its a shame but indonesia is not globalized for foreign work yet.

Fred

is it fair? No,

    -@lockn


Yes, it is.

It stops droves of foreigners setting up as hairdresses and lifeguards in Bali.

lockn

@Fred let me give you two examples:

  1. There is a hairdresser next to my house in canggu, owned and run by expats, and she and her friends are always busy... people seek out skilled work- especially people who have money to spend. her target crowd is not Balinese but bule.
  2. I had a friend come over from Dubai for a Surf Camp here for seven days and he paid 10mill for shared accommodation and 1surf lesson a day to a surf school run by expats in canggu. he chose them because he like their website, the expats invested in marketing and had a website, where people could sign up before even stepping foot in Bali with certified expat trainers, who have all documents for first aid and safety.

Now there are tourists who are on a budget, they would walk down the beach and will settle for renting a board and local surf guide and haggle and spend 300,000 or just rent a board 20,000-50,000.

Point i'm getting at is - There are expats here who have investment visa are doing service jobs at a higher rate/hour than locals because of higher skill level, the work laws made to protect locals simply corner the market for budget tourism, while the wealthier tourist look out for establishments and 5 star hotels. Integration and equal pay should be the governments concern not barring foreign workers(because there will always be a work around), that is how you improve a labor market.

Turkindo


    @Fred let me give you two examples:There is a hairdresser next to my house in canggu, owned and run by expats, and she and her friends are always busy... people seek out skilled work- especially people who have money to spend. her target crowd is not Balinese but bule.I had a friend come over from Dubai for a Surf Camp here for seven days and he paid 10mill for shared accommodation and 1surf lesson a day to a surf school run by expats in canggu. he chose them because he like their website, the expats invested in marketing and had a website, where people could sign up before even stepping foot in Bali with certified expat trainers, who have all documents for first aid and safety.Now there are tourists who are on a budget, they would walk down the beach and will settle for renting a board and local surf guide and haggle and spend 300,000 or just rent a board 20,000-50,000.Point i'm getting at is - There are expats here who have investment visa are doing service jobs at a higher rate/hour than locals because of higher skill level, the work laws made to protect locals simply corner the market for budget tourism, while the wealthier tourist look out for establishments and 5 star hotels. Integration and equal pay should be the governments concern not barring foreign workers(because there will always be a work around), that is how you improve a labor market.       

-@lockn very good point. I agree with you a hundred percent but it's hard to tell the same thing to locals. Their views on this matter are utterly emotional and unprofessional. One day I am afraid Indonesia might be alone in its efforts to globalize the country. My humble view as an educator is that, If Indonesia does want to protect its people then it should first pay more attention to a more globalized education. It should also encourage more skilled workers from abroad to educate locals. The very best of improvements in Turkey occurred back in the days of gaining its independence. It was when Turkey hired skilled professors and adept trainers of various job descriptions from abroad. Then we had a huge leap forward. Everybody here knows that we are not talking about menial jobs. But what @lockn shared above regarding menial jobs is also something that counts.

Mark Prigozhin

@Turkindo I agree. Besides it's not like Millions of people are gonna storm Indonesia lol. After all Indonesia can set quotas rather than impose limits. Additionally hiring foreigners who are young and creative is beneficial for the economy as they can pursue new things such as Entrepreneurship and who knows, he could create a successful  Indonesian Company

Turkindo


    Hello again. This is Mark who is still looking and not giving up when it comes to moving into the country of Indonesia. I asked a question about if I can find a Sales job with 3+ years of experience and Diploma in Bussines Administration but I got mixed response and the people who replied were not totally sure about it. Anyways, I would like to know what other possible ways I can do to live in Indonesia. For example, what are the best ways to make a long-term plan and live there?Besides investing, I don't have money.        -@Mark Prigozhin

Mr Prigozin, if you get married to a local ( the one you love of course ) and start living here on a spouse-sponsored KITAS ( a temporary residence permit here ) you have a sporting chance. But when you are eligible for a spouse-sponsored KITAP ( the permanent version of KITAS ) then your chance of being recruited doubles depending on your qualifications and the needs of a company that would intend to employ you for a particular position. ( they will still need an RPTKA to employ you in that position ) according to the employment law, those who possess a spouse-sponsored KITAP are eligible to work in Indonesia as long as a company is willing to recruit him/her and the company should also be willing to handle all the paperwork requested by the immigration of Indonesia. 

My humble advice is that you should first learn Bahasa prior to your arrival in Indonesia. At least intermediate level ( which is not hard to learn - one of the easiest languages in the world ) then you need to bring your diploma and all the certification regarding your experience and competency. Your English should also be at least around B2 level or higher.


One more thing, when you have a spouse-sponsored KITAS/P, its completely legal for you to start your own informal business as an independent entrepreneur. ( be advised; you should search for its specific details though )

I wish you the best of luck in your efforts. Don't give up. Godspeed my friend!

Mark Prigozhin

@Turkindo I won't give up because here in Albania there is no life for me. And don't want to sound dramatic but life in Albania for me is either live or die and seriously I am such a pity I have suffered a lot since childhood and I never was happy.

So yeah I won't give up on Indonesia because its a country which I don't know why, but somehow I see it as a country which should have been for me since I was born but of course we can't chosee the places where to be born. As for English I speak it on a Native level and yes Indonesian language skills must really be improved.

Turkindo

I agree with you. I know you'll do great soon enough. May god be with you in your efforts.

Fred


    @Fred let me give you two examples:

There is a hairdresser next to my house in canggu, owned and run by expats,
    -@lockn


If they have a PT PMA or another legal path to running a business, good luck to them.


If they are not legal, it's just a matter of time.

Mark Prigozhin

@Turkindo these kind of people like you make me happy, thank you so much!

Turkindo

@Mark Prigozhin every descent hardworking  person deserves to be encouraged. I know you would do the same if I needed advice. Discouraging people is not my cup of tea. Thank you too dear friend.

wyngrove60

I really don't know how difficult it might be to live and work in Indonesia although there are rules and they are basically against you but I like your optimism. However,  you never can tell unless you try. Albanians can get a VOA which is already a good thing. I've found throughout my own lifetime and travels in Asia that opportunities appear when you least expect them, so you just can't rule out the possibility of finding a way to live here. Just a few weeks ago a friend who owns factories, hotels and restaurants wanted to introduce me to the boss of a huge garment factory as they need help to improve their overseas market. Of course I turned it diwn as I am already well retired, but it just goes to show that opportunities can come from anywhere. It's also true that you could look at other countries in Asia. However, in Indonesia so many schools are not teaching English or have a very low standard of local English teachers so I believe it is worth pursuing English teaching since rules might change in the future.

kamranmirzam

@Mark Prigozhin just out of curiosity from which country are you trying to settle in Indonesia. I am from canada i i found someone to be my wife but i dont want to settle in indonesia permanently.

Fred


    @Mark Prigozhin just out of curiosity from which country are you trying to settle in Indonesia. I am from canada i i found someone to be my wife but i dont want to settle in indonesia permanently.
   

    -@kamranmirzam


You have no problem. You can get married, then go through the visa process with your wife as sponsor.

You may or may not have to prove income.

CH889

@kamranmirzam he mentined Albania in one of his previous posts.

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