Seminyak Weekly No 283 Oct 2022

IAlong-awaitedvisathatallows holderstostayinIndonesiafor upto10yearsisfinallyhere.

Thesecond-homevisahadbeen intheworkssincetheratification ofthe2021JobCreationLaw–designedtoattractinvestment intoIndonesia.

Successfulapplicantsofthe second-homevisawillbeeligible tostayinIndonesiafor5to10 years.

Whilethesecond-homevisais applicableforforeignerswho

wanttostaylongerinanypartof thecountry,thenewpermitwas launchedinBali’stouristhotspot ofCangguyesterday–signaling thattheIslandofGodswillbea keydestinationforsecond-home visaholders.

“Thegoal[ofthesecond-home visa]istoattractforeigntourists toBaliandother[travel] destinations[inIndonesia],”said actingDirector-Generalof ImmigrationAffairsofthe MinistryofLawandHuman RightsWidodoEkatjahjanaat thelaunchyesterday.

Theofficialsaidthatthesubjects ofthenewvisaareforeignersor formerIndonesiancitizenswho wanttostayinthecountryand positivelycontributetothe economy.Thevisaholders,he added,mayinvestand/orworkin Indonesia.

TheheadoftheBaliOfficefor theMinistryofLawandHuman Rights,AnggiatNapitupulu,said separatelythatthesecond-home visaisexpectedtoattractelderly touristswho,accordingtohim, havethefundstostaylongerfor leisure.

“[…]VoAs(visaonarrival)are veryshortandnotquiteenough [intermsofstaylength],whilewe knowtheyhavethecapital,”said Anggiat,addingthatthenewvisa opensuptheopportunityfor holderstospendmoremoneyin Indonesia.

Travelassociationsareexpected tomakethemostofthesecondhomevisa.UssyanaDethan,a

representativeoftheBaliTravel AgenciesAssociation(ASITA), saidthattheyappreciatethe visa.

“Wearewaitingformoredetails forthisnewpolicy,”Ussyana said.

Applicantscangoonlinetoapply forthesecond-homevisa. Amongtherequirementsarea passportthatisvalidfora minimumof36months,and proofoffundsintheformofa foreignbankaccountor guarantorvaluedataminimum ofIDR2billion(US$128,246).

TheapplicationfeeisIDR3 million(US$192.37),whichone maysettleoutsideIndonesiavia onlinepayment.

Thenewpolicywillbeeffective within60daysafteritslaunch, Widodosaid.

(Coconuts.co)

It’sAllBecauseOfTheBadWeather Bali'sGovernorDeniesImpactOfInfrastructureProjectsOnRecentFloods Arecentstudy,carriedoutby theIndonesianEnvironmental Forum(WALHI)hasfoundthat landusechangesinseveral majorinfrastructureprojectsin Balihaveexacerbatedrecent naturaldisasterssuchasfloods andlandslides.

However,regardlessofthefact theBali’sViceGovernor, TjokordaOkaArthaArdhana Sukawati,betterknownasCok Ace,hasbackeduptheresults ofthestudyandhascalledfora

moreresponsibleland development,allthisdidn’tgo downwellwithBali’sgovernor,I WayanKoster.

Kosterstatedthathebelieves thattherecentfloodsand landslides,whichhavehit6out ofBali’s9regenciesoverthe pastweeks,areonlyrelatedto theextremeweathersinceallof themajorinfrastructureprojects havebeenclearedby environmentalimpactstudies before.

“Thereisnoproblem. Thefloodshavebeen managedandareunder control.FortheG20 SummitinBali,it’ssafe andthere’snothingto worryabout,”Kostertoldthe pressshowingonceagainthat theupcomingG20summitis currentlythemostimportant thingfortheBaligovernment andthatthelossofproperty, accesstoentirevillages,the blockingofmajorroadsand evenhumanlifeseemstobe

kindasecondaryatthemoment aslongas"thesummitissafe".

Soifyourhouseisunderwater orifyouarestuckonawashed awayroadinthemiddleof nowhereinthepouringrain don’tworry…It’sallmanaged andundercontrol.

BringYourMarriageCertificate

It’snotthefirsttimealong discusseddraftforanaddition totheIndonesianCriminalcode, threateningcriminalprosecution tounmarriedcoupleschecking intoIndonesianhotelshas stirredheateddiscussions amongthecounty'slawmakers andthetourismindustry. Thebillthreatensanyonewho

engagesinextramarital sexwithamaximumofone yearinprisonorafine. Logically,thisincludes everyoneonIndonesian territory,including internationaltourists.Italso statesthatanyonelivingas manandwifeoutsideaformal marriagecanbeprosecutedand punishedwithamaximum prisontermof6months.

Butwhatsoundsprettystrictin thefirstplacecomeswitha weirdconditionwhichis,by design,verysuitableto completelyexcludeunmarried

YouShouldn'tHaveAppealed

TheDenpasarCourtofAppeal hasincreasedtheprison sentenceofformerTabanan RegentNiPutuEkaWiryastuti from2to2.5years.Wiryastuti, whowasholdingthesteering wheelinTabananfrom2010to 2020,wasconvictedof corruptionearlierthisyearand washandedoutwhatmanycall averylenientsentence.

However,insteadofaccepting thesentenceandbeinghappy tohaveescapedrelatively unharmedsheandherlegal teamdecidedtofileanappeal.

It’snotreallyunusualforcourts inIndonesiatoincreasethe initialsentenceonappeal.But forthesecondtimeduringthis process,Wiryastutiwasactually

internationaltourists.Unmarried couplesstayingtogetherina hotelroomorevenliving togethercanonlybeprosecuted ifaclosefamilymemberfilesa policereportagainstthem.That simplymeansthat,unlessyour mother,father,siblingsor childrenreportyoutothe Indonesianpolice,it'spretty unlikelythatyou'llbeaffectedat allbythebill,shoulditever becomelaw.

Indonesiantourismassociations aswellashoteloperatorshave opposedthenewbill,whichisin themakingforyearsnow,right

fromthebeginningsayingthat thislawwouldmassivelyaffect thetourismindustryandthat intentionaltouristwouldpick alternatedestinationlike Thailand,Singapore,Malaysia orVietnaminsteadofIndonesia fortheirholidays.

Wewillkeepyouupdatedof furtherdevelopments,butwe doubtthatifthelawever actuallycomesintoforce,willbe heavilyenforcedor,particularly inBali,usedagainst internationaltourists.However, thatwouldreallybethedeath knellforBali’stourismindustry.

quitelucky.Herformer "specialassistant",Dewa NyomanWiratmaya,who wasalsoinvolvedinthe samecorruptioncaseand alsoappealed,wasn’tthatlucky. Hisinitialsentenceof6months wasincreasedto2years.

Bothwere,again,foundguiltyof mishandlingspecialeconomic

relieffundsbackin2018andof payingbribestotwoofficersof theMinistryofFinancetocover uptheirwrongdoings.Their lawyersdeclinedtocommenton thecourt'sdecision.