Is There an Engagement Visa in Indonesia?

PERTANYAAN

Is there a legal rule for engagement in Indonesian law? As in foreign countries, there are already rights and obligations obtained as a fiancé, for example, being able to get an engagement visa (recognized as half a wife) by the state.

INTISARI JAWABAN

The term engagement is not known in Indonesian legislation, but what is known is peminangan in Islamic law in the Compilation of Islamic Law (in Islamic Law, peminangan means betrothal). Engagement or peminangan does not have any legal consequences. So, is there any engagement visa in Indonesia as you asked?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Adakah Visa Tunangan di Indonesia?, written by Dian Dwi Jayanti, S.H. and was published on Monday, 21 August 2023.

This article is an update of the article entitled Is there a Law on Engagement Visas? written by Sovia Hasanah, S.H. and was first published on Tuesday, 6 December 2016.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Engagement

You should know that the term engagement is not regulated in Indonesian legislation. An engagement is an act of betrothal, which is an agreement (usually officially announced or stated in public) to marry in the near future. This means that the engagement has no legal consequences for the couple as they are not yet married.

Betrothal in Islamic Law

In Islamic law, the act of agreeing to make a wife is called khitbah, which means the engagement of a woman to be his wife.

In addition to khitbah, in the Compilation of Islamic Law the term peminangan is recognized, which according to Article 1 letter a Compilation of Islamic Law, is an activity of efforts towards an arranged marriage relationship between a man and a woman. An engagement can be done directly by the person who wishes to find a mate, but can also be done by a trusted intermediary.[1]

An engagement can be made to a woman who is still a virgin or to a widow who has expired her iddah period (iddah is a waiting period that a Muslim woman observes after the death of her husband or after a divorce).[2] Women who are divorced by their husbands who are still in the raj'i iddah period, are haram and prohibited from being engaged (haram means forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law).[3]

It is also prohibited to propose to a woman who is being proposed to by another man, as long as the proposal has not been broken or there has been no refusal from the woman.[4] The breakup of the proposal on the part of the man, is either due to a declaration of the breakup of the proposal relationship or secretly the man who proposes to move away and leave the proposed woman.[5]

It should be noted that the proposal has no legal consequences and the parties are free to break the engagement relationship. The freedom to break off the engagement relationship is carried out in a good manner in accordance with religious guidance and local customs so that harmony and mutual respect are still fostered.[6]

Referring to the above provisions, it is clear that engagement or betrothal does not give rise to any legal consequences including the absence of rights and obligations.

Types of Visas in Indonesia

Regarding the types of visas that apply in Indonesia, we have previously discussed them in Types of Indonesian Visas and Their Uses. According to Article 34 Law 6/2011, the types of visas consist of:

1. Diplomatic visa;
2. Service visa;
3. Visitor visa; and
4. Limited stay visa.

So referring to the article on types of visas as mentioned above, there is no engagement visa in Indonesia. Instead, we would suggest that you use a multiple-entry visitor visa. This visa is a type of visitor visa granted to foreigners with a validity period of 5 years to stay in Indonesia for a maximum of 60 days or 180 days, which is granted in the context of government duties, pre-investment, business, and family purposes.[7]

These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration;
2. Regulation of the Government in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 on Job Creation which has been enacted into law under Law Number 6 of 2023;
3. Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights Number 29 of 2021 on Visa and Stay Permit;
4. Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 1991 on the Dissemination of the Compilation of Islamic Law.

Reference:

Khitbah, accessed on 21 August 2023, at 13.37 Western Indonesian Time (zone).

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[1] Article 1 Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 1991 on the Dissemination of the Compilation of Islamic Law (“Compilation of Islamic Law”).

[2] Article 12 section (1) Compilation of Islamic Law.

[3] Article 12 section (2) Compilation of Islamic Law.

[4] Article 12 section (3) Compilation of Islamic Law.

[5] Article 12 section (4) Compilation of Islamic Law.

[6] Article 13 Compilation of Islamic Law.

[7] Article 10, 11, and 15 Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights Number 29 of 2021 on Visa and Stay Permit.