Every country must pay attention to national security, in this case the government is strongly required to protect the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, of course it has special regulations, including for foreigners who enter Indonesian territory. Immigration, which is at the forefront before foreign nationals enter Indonesia, has determined countries that are considered vulnerable or included in the clearance house (CH) list.
For foreigners on the list of countries entering the Indonesian Clearance House, they are required to apply for a Calling Visa if they want to visit Indonesia and sponsors are required to conduct special interviews with several relevant agencies concerned with state security. This is stated in the Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights Number: M.HH-02.GR.01.06 of 2017 concerning Procedures for Stipulating Country Calling Visas and granting visas for citizens of Calling Visa countries, countries that are considered vulnerable in terms of ideology, politics, economy, social, culture, national defense and security, to immigration. There are 9 countries on the list, the number of the current list is reduced from before 13 in 2010.
The following countries enter the Clearance House from time to time in Indonesia:
According to the Decree of the Minister of Justice No. M.01-IZ.01-10 in 1995, 38 countries were included in the list of clearance houses. Gradually, the number decreased after considering the current situation of the country concerned and the cooperative relationship that was built with Indonesia.
In 2001, the number of countries on the CH list was reduced to 24 countries, then shrunk again to 19 countries. Based on the Regulation of the Director General of Immigration Number IMI-1837.GR.01.06 of 2010, there are 13 countries listed on this list, namely:
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- Guinea
- Israel
- Iraq
- North Korea
- Cameroon
- Liberia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Somalia
- Sri Lanka
Around 2012 – 2013, the following three countries dropped out of the CH list, namely Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Iraq, leaving only 10 countries. Only in 2017, the Directorate General of Immigration removed Pakistan from the short list because it was considered a more stable political and economic condition. Pakistan is seen as having prospects for various interstate cooperation with Indonesia in various fields. Moreover, the neighboring country of India also has a representative office in Jakarta.
Thus, the composition of the countries included in the list of clearance houses based on the Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights Number M.HH-02.GR.01.06 of 2017 are:
- Afghanistan
- Guinea
- Israel
- North Korea
- Cameroon
- Liberia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Somalia
The Indonesian government also emphasized the presence of Israel on the list. The government’s commitment has been upheld in the national interest and friendly relations with Palestine. So, as long as Israel does not recognize Palestine as a state, Israel will continue to be on the list of countries subject to calling visas.
This regulation applies to foreigners from these countries who will visit Indonesia for any purpose, such as travel, business, social culture, education, and mixed marriage couples are no exception. In the application for reference from the Directorate General of Immigration, the applicant must have a sponsor in the country of destination (Indonesia) to be able to apply for a visit visa. Thus, the foreigner’s visit can only be carried out if the reference request is approved by the CH meeting forum, which means getting approval from the Directorate General of Immigration.
What are the Reasons for the Countries Included in the Clearance House List?
- Israel
Who does not know the conflict of this country. The conflict that has lasted for decades has made Israel a state clearance house. The Indonesian government will continue to maintain Israel on the CH list until they recognize Palestinian sovereignty. - Guinea
Guinea’s internal political conflict has made this country included in the CH list of Indonesia. In the past 44 years to date, coups for the leadership of the state have continued to occur until no single president has been able to complete his term of office. - Afghanistan
Although many superpower soldiers like America have left this country, currently there is still an internal conflict between the local government and the Taliban, making the country’s security unstable. Not only that, the politics there is also unstable between the government and the opposition, so that the CH label has not been revoked by the Indonesian government until now, even though the government had cooperated several years ago. - Cameroon
Due to the situation of war and internal conflicts that are not yet conducive in Cameroon, the Indonesian government does not want to take risks that will disrupt national security. Because of this, the Government still continues to enforce the CH for Cameroon. - North Korea
Until now, the conflict between North and South Korea has not subsided, although the atmosphere was calm because the meeting between the North Korean and South Korean presidents is still a crisis, the conflict persists because the ownership of nuclear power is still a problem. Because of this, North Korea is on the blacklist of vulnerable countries. The determination of CH for North Korea is the right effort from the government because the political situation of North Korea with its neighbors is not yet conducive. - Liberia
The economic level of the country of Liberia is very worrying, not to mention the added internal conflict that has caused this country to be included in the CH Indonesia list and every Liberian citizen who wants to visit Indonesia must go through the Calling Visa stage. - Niger
The country located on the African continent is also included in the CH list. Internal conflicts and economic levels are still low and many citizens become unemployed and cause high crime rates. For this reason, the Indonesian government has not removed Niger from the CH list. - Nigeria
Similar to Niger, Nigeria is also included in the list of clearance houses. Economic growth in the country is very low and not to mention the unstable political conflicts that make this country vulnerable. Not only that in the list in recent years, many Nigerian foreigners are recorded as selling narcotics, so the government has not wanted to remove this country from the CH list. - Somalia
Hunger, poverty and economic uncertainty in this country have made the Indonesian government very careful in granting permits to Somalis, not to mention the issue of ship hijacking which has received worldwide attention.
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