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visa runs Indonesia - singapore subject to increased scrutiny

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rajagainstthemachine
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visa runs Indonesia - singapore subject to increased scrutiny

Post by rajagainstthemachine » Sat, 17 Sep 2016 1:10 am

To get there early is on time and showing up on time is late

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PNGMK
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Re: visa runs Indonesia - singapore subject to increased scrutiny

Post by PNGMK » Sun, 18 Sep 2016 4:51 pm

Firstly I'm not a huge fan of Sacha Stevenson (who I find to be insulting to Indonesians although to give her credit she has apologized when it has been pointed out). I do expect her to be a victim on the next full on race riot there though; not that I hope such a thing happens but she definitely has some enemies in the Muslim community I'd wager. I'd also add that I suspect her own marriage to an Indonesian to be contrived and possibly a marriage of convenience.... considering it happened around the time that such a thing provided a KITAP.

Secondly I have NO sympathy for repeat visa offenders such as this clown anymore than I have for people doing this in Singapore or Thailand or Malaysia. They are stealing jobs and opportunities from Indonesian's, ASEAN citizens or legitimate expats who follow the rules in Indonesia to get a residency visa or work permit (i.e. Kitas/Kitap). I do agree that Indonesia could issue a longer tourist / travellers visa - I could easily imagine spending a year exploring that archipelago but in the middle of their wave of nationalism I don't expect this to happen.
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rajagainstthemachine
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Re: visa runs Indonesia - singapore subject to increased scrutiny

Post by rajagainstthemachine » Sun, 18 Sep 2016 6:07 pm

Basically SF arrived at immigration at Singapore's Changi Airport and the immigration officer asked if he was just coming to Singapore for the day so that he could return to Indonesia to get a new tourist visa. Surprised, SF told the officer yes and the officer told him something to the effect of "you can't do that, this isn't an embassy.' SF apologized to the officer and told him he would never do it again, but the officer said he was in serious trouble, took his passport and led him to a detention cell.
SF was held there for 3 hours before being placed on a flight back to Jakarta along with a letter from Singaporean Immigration explaining that he had been denied entry into their country. He was met on the plane by Indonesian Immigration officers in Jakarta and put in a detention cell in Soekaro-Hatta Airport where he remains. As Singaporean Immigration had never stamped his passport to prove he had left the country, he said that Indonesian Immigration was forcing him to buy a ticket back to his country of origin.)
Good idea by singapore to come down hard on such characters.. These people are a strain on both countries. They dont contribute any tourist income to singapore, at least if they stayed a week, spent money on hotels, food, shopping it makes sense to allow them in.
I've seen sasha's videos on youtube, shes on a razors edge many times, its not cool to keep dissing the people of the country she lives jn, although most of her ire seems to be directed at indonesian men than women
To get there early is on time and showing up on time is late

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Re: visa runs Indonesia - singapore subject to increased scrutiny

Post by PNGMK » Sun, 18 Sep 2016 6:27 pm

Uh huh. She's cruising for a bruising and seems to think being a bule makes it acceptable. Interesting that she comes from Canada, a country where this type of sexist attitude is not widely accepted now.
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Re: visa runs Indonesia - singapore subject to increased scrutiny

Post by PNGMK » Thu, 06 Oct 2016 10:45 am

I was in KL this week visiting a friend. It turns out that KL has a lot of expats there using Visa runs to stay there. As KL gives 90 day visa on arrival to friendly passports. I asked him if he foresees any problems and he said the only issue is opening a bank account, he uses a friend's. Apart from that he rents a condo and does his job there with no issue. He travels every month or so for work and has never had an issue in the two years he has been up there. He says there are plenty of others doing the same esp since Singapore and Jakarta and Bangkok have made it harder to reside there semi permanently.
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Re: visa runs Indonesia - singapore subject to increased scrutiny

Post by Strong Eagle » Thu, 06 Oct 2016 11:25 am

FWIW, I worked in KL for more than 18 months even though I was Singapore resident and had a home there. I rented a nice apartment near KL Sentral which was my home away from home. I worked a few stops down the LRT line at Telecom Menara, an allegedly class A office building in KL that couldn't be bothered to air condition the elevator/lift areas in the morning. If you weren't already a sweat hog when you arrived, you would be by the time you stepped off on your floor.

I flew in and out of KLIA at least weekly, a total of 89 times in my 18 months. I'd fly to Singapore on Friday, back to KL on Sunday... I could tell you which plane I was on, I flew so often... mostly SQ, sometimes MH, once in a while SilkAir. In between, I left for all other parts of Asia, from Oz to India. My employer gave me business class on flights over 3 hours, so Bangkok and Singapore were about the only places I needed to fly coach.

I flew in with my US passport and Singapore PR stamp. Not once in 18 months was I ever questioned about my residency status. Lines were usually long in KL; on the other hand, 15 seconds of looking at me and my passport got me yet another stamp. It's one reason my passport got so thick... golf in Batam was the other.

To top it off, I often bought two liters of good scotch whisky at the duty free... no one at the store ever cared... and not once in 18 months did anyone in customs ever ask to look in my luggage, or for that matter, the duty free bags containing two liters of hooch.

I would note however, that Thailand is a bit different. My dear wife was working a contract for our company and had been going in and out. She flew up again one Sunday evening and shortly thereafter we received a call... they had checked her passport and determined she had already been in Thailand 91 days... they put her up in a hotel and shipped her back the next morning.

Fun stuff in Asia.

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Re: visa runs Indonesia - singapore subject to increased scrutiny

Post by zzm9980 » Mon, 14 Nov 2016 10:08 am

Strong Eagle wrote: I would note however, that Thailand is a bit different. My dear wife was working a contract for our company and had been going in and out. She flew up again one Sunday evening and shortly thereafter we received a call... they had checked her passport and determined she had already been in Thailand 91 days... they put her up in a hotel and shipped her back the next morning.

Fun stuff in Asia.
Immigration in Asia is no laughing matter. The issue your wife went through is why I have a residency visa for China.

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