Gathering information on changes in Indonesia post-COVID-19 crisis

Veedushi wrote:

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well in Indonesia.

We are putting together an article on the post-crisis changes in Indonesia for to-be expats or expats looking to get updates. And no one would be in a better position to provide us with, not only up-to-date information, but also practical expat insights on the situation in Indonesia.

We’ve set up a list of questions we thought would be useful, would you be willing to help us out with these? If we have missed anything, please add any information you think might be relevant.

What are the current regulations for entering Indonesia? (quarantine, health checks, fees involved…)

Have there been visa changes recently? (new visas, cancelled visas etc…)

Is it easy to find work in Indonesia following the crisis? (working conditions for foreigners, quotas, new areas of work, incentives for remote working…)

How would you view the local healthcare system in light of the crisis? (response to the COVID-19, how to get tested for COVID-19…)

Has anything changed regarding universities and schools? (safety for foreign students, changes regarding student visas or conditions…)

How is the real estate market following the crisis? (price, availability…)

Has the cost of living changed because of the crisis in Indonesia?

Is there information relevant to expat retirees? (new measures for the elderly, visas for foreign retirees…)

How about lifestyle? Have there been major changes in habits following the sanitary crisis? (measures in public spaces, new habits to adopt…)

We will condense the gathered information in one and the same article and publish it in a specific section of our Indonesia guide. Thank you so much for your help! The information you will provide will be of infinite help to someone looking to move to Indonesia or to anyone living there but is not quite sure where to find these updates!

Have a glorious day and a glorious week-end!

Kind regards,
Veedushi
Editorial Assistant, Expat.com

I try yo answer some of the questions.
A) Actually indonesian borders are closed to tourists, only foreigners with a valid Kitas/Kitap are allowed to enter, providing a PCR test done maximum 7 days before leaving, if the test if not provided the foreigner will be tested at his own expenses and quarantined in a facilty used for this purpose, again at his own expenses.
B) The only visa change was the issue of a free emergency visa for all the foreigneirs until the covid emergency would end, regardess of type of visa. Few days ago, even if the covid emergency still on, the emergency visa was cancelled and to yhe holders of tree visa and Voa were given 30 days to leave Indonesia without paying the overstay. About the others type of stay permit, the regulation states that the holders can estend in 30 days, strating from 13 july, for further stays until the pandemic is declared over, unless there are flights avalaible for their Country, in this case they must leave Indonesia  with the same timing as the others.
C) It will be more difficult than before, a lot of people lost their job, precedence will go to them, it also known that foreigner cannot fill positions that can be filled by locals, so only highly specialized jobs are avaible for them. Maybe can be usefull this link to the list of jobs available for foreigners, divided into sectors, starting from page 8 https://jdih.kemnaker.go.id/data_puu/Ke … 019_OK.pdf
E) Schools are still closed, at least in Bali.
G) Cost of living is still the same, just good discounts to some hotel and restaurant.
I) Prevention measures are social distance, always wear a mask in pubblic and the advice of wash ur hands often. personally, I suffer a little when I have to wear the mask for a long time, especially if I have to walk.
Hopefully some of my answer can helps.

For healthcare I absolutely choose to stay away from hospitals as I don't wish to increase my chances of catching Covid. When I do need to get medicine from a hospital I pay gojek which is a kind of motorbike courier to collect it and pay first and they deliver it to me.

We took our kids out of school as during e-learning we were able to see how poor the standard of teaching was. Funnily enough, the two teachers that we were most unhappy with have resigned form the school. One of them has gone back to running his small local food franchises and is no longer an English teacher, thank goodness. We now homeschool our kids and teach them ourselves and the one on one teaching that we provide for them is a million times better than the online teaching they are getting from the school.

We own property and with one house the tenant moved out at the end of June and a new one moved in about two weeks later. We rent out some rooms and some of the tenants left due to losing their jobs as they worked in restaurants, so we are still waiting for those rooms to be rented out. Our agent tells us that we are lucky to have found a tenant since business is very slow at the moment.

I don't think the cost of living has changed much. Initially some items such as hand sanitizer and medical masks were hard to find and became very expensive, but now they are in abundance and the prices have dropped closer to normal. Generally speaking, the cost of living is pretty much the same.

We still have several roads blocked off in the city but you can still get around if you know the alternative routes. Many places remain closed, but shopping malls are already open. People should really only buy takeaway food from restaurants, but where I live the coffee shops and restaurants seem pretty full in the evenings with people eating and drinking and very few of them wearing a mask. That might explain why our city is now considered a red zone.

What are the current regulations for entering Indonesia? (quarantine, health checks, fees involved…

)

Most people can't enter the country, but there are exceptions for foreign residents.

Have there been visa changes recently? (new visas, cancelled visas etc…)

Can't comment fully on cancelled but that's likely as few have been able to enter the country. Foreigners unable to leave have been granted free extensions but I gather that's only if you can't get a flight home.

Is it easy to find work in Indonesia following the crisis? (working conditions for foreigners, quotas, new areas of work, incentives for remote working…)

No. Apart from most not being able to enter anyway, schools (big employer for foreigners) have not returned. Also, unemployment is up so it's likely to be much more difficult to get a work permit when things settle down.

How would you view the local healthcare system in light of the crisis? (response to the COVID-19, how to get tested for COVID-19…)

Testing is available but, unless you have symptoms or in a high risk group, it's a bad idea to try. My local authority were conducting free swab tests in a supermarket a couple of weeks ago. Not sure how many places are doing that.

Has anything changed regarding universities and schools? (safety for foreign students, changes regarding student visas or conditions…)

Most schools are still closed but some in green zones and some boarding schools are planning to reopen with restrictions.

How is the real estate market following the crisis? (price, availability…)

Prices are still higher than reasonable but I've noticed a lot of boarding houses are pretty much empty. We've been considering buying a house and noticed a few desperate sellers offering lower prices.

Has the cost of living changed because of the crisis in Indonesia?

A very personal thing that depends on your lifestyle, but I'm spending less than usual as we aren't going out as much.

Is there information relevant to expat retirees? (new measures for the elderly, visas for foreign retirees…)

I can't help with this

How about lifestyle? Have there been major changes in habits following the sanitary crisis? (measures in public spaces, new habits to adopt…)

All shops have handwash and or sinks to wash your hands, and all have security doing temperature checks as you walk in. Many of these are a waste of time as places tend to have air conditioning blasting near the entrances, so my body temp is commonly 32 or 33 centigrade, that meaning the equipment is a waste of time or I'm close to death. As I'm able to type this, I think it's most likely the equipment or operators.
One local shop has gone totally mad, installing a car park ticket machine you wave at to get the ticket, and foot controls for the lifts.

Hello everyone!

I hope you're all well.

Thank you so much for this precious information. This will definitely help us in writing the article.

Feel free to write to me should you have any additional information.

Have a great week ahead!

Kind regards,
Veedushi