For those who are going to study abroad

Based on my experience to take care of all of preparation and administration stuff before going study abroad which was completely tiring TOTALLY COMPLICATED (u know how complicated our bureaucracy is, right??), so by this blog, I want to share it to all of you who someday will go abroad for study too. Insya Allah, it is applicable in any home university in our country. And my intention is that you don’t really have to do the same mistakes and stupidness and get many unlucky things that I did before.

If you are accepted to study abroad in any university in foreign countries, and u decide to go and join it in any programme (could be exchange programme, Master programme, Doctoral programme, research programme, etc), these are te things that you have to take care of :

1. Passport. Make it in the imigration office in your hometown usually..

2. Ticket. Book the ticket for your departure. Have it taken care by a travel agent is the most convenient way I guess, because you can ask for the cheapest but convenient airline due to your budget, unless your ticket is already taken care by the university abroad or the scholarship. For me, I have to purchase it by myself first, and when I arrived in Japan, they will reimburse it. But they told me how much the replacement cost for my airlines before, so u have to consider your airlines according to the budget. My suggestion is book for the ‘open ticket’, it’s a two-ways ticket (including the ticket when u return to Indonesia, but the date of the return ticket can be changed anytime). And if you have booked it, you will get the e-ticket. Keep it along with the receipt until the day of ur departure. In the day of your departure, exchange it with the boarding pass in the E-travel counter of the airline company in the airport. Don’t forget to check which terminal and gate (Terminal and Gate are two different things!) are your departure before u leave for the airport.

3. Visa. It’s a document whereby a government agency gives a citizen of another country permission to (formally request to) enter or leave the country (wikipedia, red.) You have to apply for it in ur destination country’s embassy in Indonesia. Check the visa procedure of your destination country in the embassy website, because it may be different for each country. For Japan, the list prepared things for this application are :

1) Passport (original)

2) Certificate of Eligibilty (will be delivered to you from your destination university, it’s a certificate that you are chosen for study in that university, that’s why u have to live in that country for a certain period of time)

3) Copy of KTP (Kartu Tanda Penduduk)

4) Visa application form (download it from the internet, print it, and fill it before you go to the embassy)

5) Pas photo (for Japan, it’s 4,5 x 4,5, full face have to be able to seen, including your ears. Take off your glasses. And no background color (white).

6) Application cost (for Japan, it’s Rp 250.000,00, single visa)

You apply for it, and after few days, you have to go there again to take the visa. For Japan, it  usually  takes 3 days.

4. Fiscal. It’s amount of money that has to be paid as a tax when u leave for other countries. Now, it’s Rp 1.000.000,-, but you can get it free because of study purpose. So make sure you take care of it too, unless you’re too lazy or u don’t really have time and you’re rich, anyway.. he2… Well, for me, 1 million is more than enough to bring back souvenirs right?! Okay, here’s your requirements :

1) Letter of requesting for free fiscal from the department or faculty of your home university. (Apply for the letter in Tata Usaha, Elektro-Pak Dede). Signed by the head of the department. NOTES : this letter is pointed to : DIREKTORAT KELEMBAGAAN DIRJEN DIKTI. Tembusan : BPKLN (Badan Perencaaan dan Kerjasama Luar Negeri).

2) Letter that declares that u’re accepted and invited to study to the university abroad.

3) Passport (original and copy, but for me, copy is enough, just make sure before u go to Diknas)

4) Copy of the e-ticket

5) Visa (+copy)

6) MOU between your home university and the university that u’re going to attend. Get this MOU in Annex, 6th or 7th floor, I forgot, just find out the division who takes care of MOU. (Don’t forget to copy it, at least 3 copies. I should came back to Bandung, and went to Jkt again the next day, just because I don’t have any copy of this MOU!!! Stupid Mistake!!)

You take care of this letter in Depdiknas office, Senayan,Jakarta, next to FX Mall. Go to the division of BPKLN. And each country has different person who take cares of it. If u’re lucky, u will get this letter signed by the head of BPKLN in that day, if he’s available that day, if he’s not there, u will have to go back the next day. (Attention, it’s just recommendation, not the Permission yet). And you take this letter to Kantor Pelayanan Pajak bagian Bebas Fiskal, at Wisma Aldiron, Pancoran, basement floor. The copy of MOU is needed in this application. And you can have the permission letter of BEBAS FISKAL, the next day in the afternoon. ONce again, if you’re lucky…

Just copy all the documents you have at least 3 copies, and bring them everywhere you go for taking care of all this stuff. Prepare for the worst, okay? Because- I don’t intend to say bad things about my country, but it is FACT when it’s related to OUR BUREAUCRACY it’s GOD-DAMN-COMPLICATED, and they can say different things just in one day, and different person can tell different contrary things). So, please, don’t be a deadliner for this one. It’s possible for you to take a week off just to take care of this stuff and prepare for the money too for the Jakarta-Bandung trip. I passed this route 4 times just to take care of it. You can make it only one time if everything goes right. And, pray for a good luck a lot!!

Other things to prepare :

1. Your luggage. Check the max weight of your luggage in the airline company where u buy the ticket. Usually, if u get the student visa, the max weight is more than tourist visa. For Garuda, it’s 30 kg.

2. Ur daily requirements in ur destination country, that can be bought in Indonesia.

3. All the administration stuff that you have to bring to your destination country.

4. All th administration in your home university that need your signature. If u just go for exchange like me, u’d better prepare for Surat Kuasa and the person that u trust to take care of all registration in ITB. Prepare pas photos and leave it to your friend. It’s needed for KSM registration in each semester.

5. For exchange programme, u should have SURAT IZIN CUTI AKADEMIK. Here is the order :

1) Go to ur own Department’s Tata Usaha and ask for an application letter for this purpose that you will apply for it in Annex. It means the department on your behalf, who applies for Izin Cuti Akademik to the home university. It’s signed by the head of ur department.

2) After this letter is available, u go to Annex, 1st floor, the same counters as we apply for new KSM in each semester. Apply for Surat Izin Cuti Akademik there. And after few days, the Surat Izin Cuti Akademik’s letter will be delivered to the Tata Usaha, and you have to take the letter in Tata Usaha, not Annex.

Keep this letter, make copies of it, bring it with u abroad, and leave the original one in INdonesia, I suggest.

6. For exchange programme too, take care of the REGULAR SEMESTER PAYMENT. When you leave the university temporarily, u still have to pay half of the regular payment per semester. U go to annex, find the Divisi Keuangan, and in front of the room, 2nd floor, there’s an example of the application letter. If you take care of it before the automatically deduction, then u have to apply for the returning half of the payment because of blablabla.. But for the next semester, because u already have the statement that u study abroad, ur family or ur friend can pay it in cash, just half of the SPP. BPPT is not paid. Make sure that u make the Surat Kuasa to take care of this payment to ur family or ur friend, on behalf of you.

7. Bank for transferring money between u in other countries and ur family in Indonesia. Find out the most convenient way to transfer it.

OKay,,this is just the hardest part, and you will be so busy in those days, but it’s okay. After it’s all taken care, you can relax and start thinking about ur own preparation for living abroad, and getting so many souvenirs demand from ur family and friends. Imagining how beautiful your destination country is.. Hahaha…

If there’s any other differences or opinion in this post, please Correct Me If I am Wrong..