What Will Happen If I'm Found illegal Working In Indonesia?
- Jul 09, 2024
Don’t break Indonesia's visa laws.
This seems obvious but we hear enough
stories of people doing this and ending up with big penalty and in visa
blacklist.
If you intend to work in Indonesia, you must apply for a work permit from
the relevant authorities.
What will be considered working illegally in Indonesia:
1.Working in Indonesia without a work permit.
2.Working in Indonesia after the work permit has expired.
3.Providing fake info to obtain a work permit and working visa (for
example, you are employed by company A, while getting your work permit
under company B).
4.Overseas students working full time or beyond what their university’s or
college’s work-study programs allow, or doing any business while studying
at school.
5.Foreign spouse holding Kitas visa but working in Indonesia.
Some people think that a KITAS is a work visa. It is not. You can have a KITAS but not
be allowed to work (such as Retirement or Dependent KITAS). A foreigner is only
allowed to work in Indonesia after they’ve received a work permit (IMTA).
If you break these rules, the consequences can be serious.
Punishments for violations:
Foreigners who do anything unrelated to their visa type will be ordered to
leave the country within a certain period (decided by the police) if they are
considered not fit to continue staying in Indonesia. This is called being
ordered to leave. Serious violators will be deported. These are two
different things;
For those working illegally in Indonesia, there may be more serious
consequences:
1.A penalty between 2,000,000 IDR and 40,000,000 IDR; the exact amount
is at discretion of the police.
2.In severe cases, foreigners may be put in jail for 5-15 days as well as
having to pay a fine.
3.They may also be deported or ordered to leave Indonesia.
The punishment will be decided based on how serious of the violation and
whether it is intentional or unintentional. However, the law doesn’t specify
what circumstances are serious and intentional, and how to measure them,
so ultimately this is based on the judgment of the police.
The company will be fined between 10,000,000 IDR and 200,000,000IDR,
and any illegal income they have made will be confiscated.
What to do if you are caught illegally employment:
Try to be polite and explain the reason why you are breaking the law to
the best of your ability. Be contrite and apologetic and try to persuade
them to give you a lighter punishment. Don’t get rude or argue too much or be aggressive, as this will only make things worse for you. The police
can decide what to do with you, and that means they can be easier or
harder depending on whether they like you or not.
It is possible that the police will be sympathetic to your situation and will
allow you to leave without paying a fine or going to jail, but you should
prepare yourself for the worst. You may spend 5-15 days in a local jail and
you will be sent back to your home country after paying a fine.
Conclusion:
Illegal working will leave you a very bad record at INDONESIA
IMMIGRATION, customs and Indonesian embassy whenever you process
your visa. Worse still, if you are “ordered to leave” you may be banned
from working in Indonesia for two years, If you are deported, the law says
that you will be blacklisted and not be able to return to Indonesia for 5-
10 years.
To avoid any punishment or bad record, it is necessary and a must to apply
work permit if you intend to work and stay in Indonesia. With the
putting new company and visa laws into effect is not as difficult as
You might consider registering both your own business and a work permit.
in Indonesia. Being your own boss and working for yourself is accepted by more
and more foreigners, considering the low requirements for minimum
registered capital, fast process time, and lower cost than it was previously.
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