FAQ's

When you choose Destination Indonesia, the housing mediation is included. Previous experience has shown that Destination Indonesia spent more time solving problems for students who had arranged housing themselves than when Destination Indonesia arranged the housing. Arranging good housing is not an easy task, especially if you do not know any Indonesian (and even local) language and culture.

We have more than 10 years of experience, work closely with the Indonesian government, speak the Indonesian language fluently, know the culture inside and out and we are always personally involved in your learning process and experiences.

In addition, we are ready for anything, we are your temporary personal 'supporters', which those staying behind (family, friends and partners) usually appreciate very much, certainly in case of an emergency. If things are not going well for a while, then we are a listening ear for you.

Although it is your main goal to do an internship, family, friends or partner are of course welcome to visit. Our advice is to plan this at the end of your internship, in order to prevent ambiguities at your internship location. You will receive an overview of the Indonesian National days off from Destination Indonesia so that you can plan your own vacation on those days and so do not get in trouble with your internship hours.

When you receive a reimbursement, you will have to arrange a work visa, because you will then be paid for your work. It is therefore not possible to find a paid internship and you will therefore have to collect your costs yourself before leaving to Indonesia.

Whether your internship is a school, orphanage, hotel or other professional company, it is a formal institution anyway. It is therefore recommended to wear formal clothes. This means for both men and women:

• long pants or skirt (minimum over the knees)
• shoulders covered (minimum short meows)
• blouse or polo with collar
• no low-cut clothing and too open neckline for women)
• not too tight clothes
• shoes (no flip flops)
• At tourist spots you can safely walk in shorts and at hotels you can also just swim with a bikini. Don't be surprised if Indonesians start staring at you, they are simply not used to this. Don't you feel comfortable with this? Then choose to dress differently.

Note:

For students who have tattoos, at most internship places you are required to cover these tattoos.

For an internship in Indonesia you will need a social cultural visa (also called a sosial budaya visa).

You must apply for a social cultural visa at the Indonesian Embassy in your country. If this Indonesian Embassy is located too far away from you and if it takes too much time for you to arrange this yourself then it might be possible to arrange this through a visa agent, although it might requires an extra payment. 

What you have to arrange yourself:

• An original passport that is valid for at least 6 months upon return to your country
• A statement from school that you will not be paid for your internship there (you will receive an example from us)
• Copy of your return ticket (proof that you are going to leave Indonesia before the visa expires)
• Bank account statement of last 3 months with a minimum amount of 1500 euro's 
• 1 Passport photo
  
  

What we arrange:

• Authorization letter from Immigration Office in Jakarta
• Sponsor letters from internship
• Copy of identity card of your sponsor

The social cultural visa that students receive for their internship can be extended to a maximum of 180 days. If you want to stay longer than 180 days, you will have to leave the country for these 180 days to be able to enter Indonesia again on a 30-day tourist visa.

If your internship or minor lasts only 3 months and you still want to travel, you will first have to consult with your sponsor for permission. You can only extend your social cultural visa at the place where your sponsor is. So if you want to travel to other islands, you still have to go back to your 'home location' to start the visa extension on time. If you are late, you pay a fine of 1,000,000 rupiahs per day that you are late.

Note: Keep in mind that not every sponsor wants to be responsible for you when you travel.

Sponsorship means that this person (the sponsor) fully guarantees you as a student. This means that if the student comes into contact with the police for whatever reason, your sponsor is also punishable.

Such a sponsorship is not something that a person simply enters into. Always ensure that the relationship with your sponsor is well maintained and respect that this person is open to receive you as a student.

Once you have received the visa, it must be used within 90 days. This means that you can apply for the visa up to 3 months before departure to Indonesia.

The social cultural visa is valid for 60 days. This means, after 60 days from your arrival in Indonesia your visa must be extended. Visa extensions can be done from 2 weeks before the 60 days are over, herefor you have to go to the local immigration office. You can extend your visa up to 4 times 30 days to a maximum of 180 days.

The social cultural visa that you apply for at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague costs € 60. In other Indonesian Embassies, prices may be different. 

The cost of visa extensions in Indonesia are 500,000 rupiahs (around 35 euros) per extension (so per 30 days).

Note:

The extension process is not always fun, you will have to deal with the Indonesian bureaucracy and you will have to go back to the immigration office at least 2 to 3 times per extension. There are possibilities to arrange this extension through agents, but then you often lose more than double. We also advise against this because not all agents can be trusted and we believe it is important that you remain responsible for your own passport. In addition, it is a great learning process to experience this Indonesian bureaucracy, even if you sometimes need a little more patience. We will clearly explain the process to you as a student after arrival in Indonesia.

Destination Indonesia only approves when an internship has been found and the student, the Educational Institution as well as the internship organization itself has given its approval. If the student books a ticket without having approval from Destination Indonesia, and for any reason the internship cannot take place, then the student guarantees the costs incurred and Destination Indonesia is not liable for this.

Take the time to do a good price check. You can book a ticket online, but you can also go to a travel agency. The prices of tickets vary by day and by period. Often when you find a ticket today on the internet for a great price, it can be gone again tomorrow. Prices vary a lot per airport. Contact us for advice.

Make sure you book a ticket that fits within the 180-day visa period. Note: 180 days is not exactly 6 months!

Make sure you always provide your name exactly as it appears in your passport. Is there also only 1 letter wrong then you run the chance that you are not allowed. It also costs a lot of money to change this afterwards.

Read the conditions carefully. You can still change dates with one airline, but not with another.

We often get the message that booking a domestic flight goes wrong in the payment process. This is usually due to the fact that these websites (including www.garuda-indonesia.com / www.lionair.co.id) do not accept Western credit cards.

If this is the case for you, Destination Indonesia supports you with the purchase of these tickets. We can book this locally, pay for it and send it to you. We will then make an appointment together about the payment of this.

If you want to drive in Indonesia then you will need an international driver's license. 

The traffic in Indonesia is generally fairly busy. Especially in the big cities (Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar and others) the traffic is a big chaos. It is also busy on the island of Lombok, but this is often quiet compared to other cities in Indonesia.

In Indonesia people drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right.

One thing is certain: you learn to look well ahead!

We expect the mediation amount to be transferred at once within 2 weeks after receiving the invoice.
You are not obliged to pay all costs related to the accommodation / transportation at once, but you will be cheaper if you decide to do so. If you fulfill your payment in one time, then you have less transaction costs and you no longer have to take it into account.

As soon as the contract has been signed, the right to reimbursement of the paid costs expires. Depending on the reason for your earlier return to the Netherlands, you can claim these costs from your insurance company.
Please note: even if you opt for a monthly payment arrangement, you are still required to pay this amount.

Yes, you can simply take cash on ATM's in Indonesia with a foreign card. Most Indonesian banks accept maestro or mastercard passes. At most western banks you nowadays have to change your settings to 'world' coverage, which you can do at online banking. If the pass is set to 'europe' you will not get any money out of the ATM.

It can always be handy to bring a certain amount of cash. If, for whatever reason, your debit card does not work, then you always have something to hand. In several places you can simply exchange Euros or other currencies for Rupiahs.