Living abroad as an expatriate has always been my dream, at least since I was still a student. I tried to achieve it multiple times, through different paths. In my 3rd year of my bachelor's degree, I applied for internship positions in Malaysia but didn't get them. I applied for scholarships to England, Japan, and Australia, and even received a Letter of Acceptance from a university but didn't manage to secure the scholarship. I was once offered a job in Singapore but was forced to do it remotely due to work visa constraints (plus the Covid-19 situation).

Those who are close to me know that my main destination was actually Japan. I learned Japanese every day (only through Duolingo though) and actively applied to all English-speaking positions in Japan I could find since around mid-2024 but still no luck. Until one of my coworkers left to move to Estonia. Before she left, I made some small talk and asked her to let me know if she found a suitable position for me there. Months later, she actually shared a job opening, and then, as I teased a bit at the end of my Persib Back2Back note, my journey began. I finally got the long-awaited chance and made the big decision to bring my family to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.

Stack of Documents

I could find tons of articles explaining how to move to Japan (which I read a lot, yes I was super serious about it), including how to get a working permit, how to rent an apartment, etc. But when I looked for similar information about Estonia, I found much less, especially from an Indonesian perspective. That made me live in constant stress during the 3-month preparation phase because I kept thinking “what if I made a mistake in this document?” and since I couldn't read many relatable experiences except from ChatGPT (later, I found some discussions in expatriate Facebook groups).

The number of required documents was... long. The list I received from my relocation partner included:

• Passports and copies of their main pages

• Filled visa application form

• Document photo (35x45 mm)

• STER (Short-term Employment Registration)

• Insurance policy

• Flight itinerary

• Proof of accommodation

• Proof of financial means (last 6 months bank statements, minimum balance €1200)

• Guarantee letter

• State fee confirmation

• Marriage certificate (translated and apostilled)

• Child birth certificate (translated and apostilled)

• Family invitation letter

• Criminal record

• Diploma

Some of the documents were provided by the relocation partner, and okay, it seems harmless, right? Right? But… as you may know, bureaucracy in Indonesia is not easy to handle. On top of that, I did not have a “good-looking” bank statement since I put most of my investments in other pockets. Not to mention that there is no Estonian embassy in Indonesia, the closest one is in Singapore. If you make a mistake in one document, you may need another trip abroad just to resubmit it (and don't forget the embassy appointment slot).

Luckily, there were no significant issues during my appointment and I didn't need to resubmit anything, but preparing the documents was not a smooth ride nonetheless. Due to constant stress, I even lost around 10kg and got varicella zoster. Driven by this not-so-pleasant experience, I decided to write this note to remind myself how hard I prepared for this AND hopefully it will also be useful for others preparing for the same process.

As I mentioned above, some of the documents are prepared and provided by the office through the relocation partner. In my case, these included the visa application form, but I needed to submit several other questionnaires in prior to that; STER, which is the basis for my work when I first arrived - I also got isikukood (national ID code, or NIK in Indonesia) through the STER; guarantee letter; state fee confirmation; and family invitation letter. Some of the documents I needed to provide are normal: passports, visa photo, etc. I will tell my experience for each of them that I had some unique insights, where to print all of the documents I spent almost a million Rupiahs 🥲.

Insurance Policy Plot Twist

Buying travel insurance was trickier than I expected. Most insurance companies I was familiar with didn't allow 180 days coverage, which was required for my family. I contacted my usual insurance agent, but unfortunately their policy didn't cover cases where the insured person does not intend to return to Indonesia at the end of the policy period.

I then bought a policy from a vendor on an e-commerce platform that matched the requirements. However… on the exact day my relocation partner asked me to submit the policy, the vendor cancelled the order unilaterally, saying “the product was no longer available” and offered a different package at more than twice the price.

Frustrated and slightly angry with their “strategy”, I refused and searched for another provider. I found SwissCare, which turned out to be the best option (both price-wise and policy-wise), and they were able to issue the policy on the same day. Other providers required me to fill in inquiry forms and wait for an agent to contact me.

Proof of Broke

As I mentioned before, my bank statement made me look like I was barely surviving (just above the minimum required balance), and... most of my money is saved in non-traditional banks (and investments).

For BCA, I could simply visit the branch office. Same with DBS (but avoid the Pondok Indah branch! Their main focus is wealth management and not daily banking like printing statements making you need to wait quite longer than necessary. I recommend visiting the Lotte Kuningan branch instead as they serve better on my second visit). For Jago, I had to call customer service first, explain my requirements, and wait for them to create a ticket. In my case, it took 13 calendar days before the statement was ready. After receiving email confirmation, I could collect it from their office in Mega Kuningan.

Because my balance still looked “bare minimum”, I also attached my Stockbit statements (unstamped) just to show that I have some “non-savings money”. Whether it mattered or not, I don’t know. But it made me feel slightly less anxious.

Flight Itinerary & Accommodation

As any visa application tips mention, avoid buying non-refundable flights & accommodation before the visa is granted. I have some unique experience where the platform I used to buy the flight ticket did not allow me to buy the tickets for my family & I from their web UI and only allowed it via special form and it was a slow process. I had to be in live chat sessions with live CS so they could confirm the ticket information and order it on-the-spot, which one session could take 2-3 hours.

Marriage & Child Certificates (Translated, Apostilled & Kafkaesqued)

This was one of the biggest sources of stress. FYI, apostille is an international convention for legalising civil documents. In Indonesia, it can be requested through the Kementerian Hukum dan HAM via the AHU portal.

The first problem: I got married in a small city in Central Java, Demak (the hometown of my wife), while during preparation I was living in Tangerang Selatan. To get the marriage certificate apostilled, I needed the signature and thumbprint specimen of the KUA (local religious-affairs office) officer who signed it if the specimen was not already in Kemenkumham's database. Since I was the first person requesting an apostilled marriage certificate from that KUA office in Demak, the specimen was not in the database.

Second problem: the officer who signed the cert had already passed away. Ok the current officer could make some letters for me, I still could get it done (or so I thought). My in-laws also helped, and with Indonesian bureaucracy being what it is, the process took more than a week. (And it was also not easy to explain it to the KUA officer!).

Third problem: I submitted it to the AHU portal… it was rejected! Apparently, the “legal” authority who can “legalise” marriage certificates is only a regional religious-affairs officer or someone from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This is crazy! Meaning that the majority of marriage certificates (which are official government documents) are technically not even locally “legal” by default without additional processes. At that point, I chose peace of mind. I gave up and paid a third party to handle it.

Criminal Records, Presisi!

Initially, I thought this would be another frustrating process. I even contacted a third party to handle it beforehand. But I decided to try to take care of it myself. I started by making the fingerprint formula at the police office where my national ID is registered, which is Bandung. The officer was friendly and gave clear directions. Apparently I needed formal photos, so I went to a photo center first but when I came back, the process was still smooth. I even asked whether I should pay anything, and the officer just laughed.

For the international criminal record, I had to visit the national police headquarters in Jakarta (fortunately close to my previous office). I pre-filled the appointment form through the Presisi super app and submitted the required documents. I waited no longer than 90 minutes to get it done. This was a rare moment where I gave double thumbs up to Polri. Presisi indeed!

Visa Appointment and Outcome

I haven't mentioned that apparently during my time, there was a long queue for visa appointments. Available slots were only about one week ahead while I didn't yet have all required documents ready (hence the stress!). Fortunately, the relocation partner managed to push the appointment two weeks later. The appointment itself went smoothly. Some documents (like criminal records and diploma) were not even required.

However, there was one confusion: apparently, they cannot issue a visa longer than the travel insurance period. I applied for a one-year visa for my family but bought only six months of insurance (as suggested by the relocation partner). The embassy gave two options: keep the one-year visa but resubmit documents for the remaining insurance period later, or change the application to a six-month visa.

Since I didn't have energy left to resubmit anything, we chose to change the application to six months. The visa was ready after 14 working days. The embassy emailed appointment slots for collection and we collected the visas, just four days before our departure to Estonia. It was a massive relief, up until now, the email threads between me<->relocation partner<->HR are the longest thread I've ever had with almost reaching 100 emails, just because I kept asking question to ensure I did not do something wrong.

Bits and Pieces

While the visa was being processed, I prepared other things. I learned that Estonia has cold weather and (this is not my word, and I find it otherwise!) cold people. So I bought a lot of winter gear. I can recommend Wintercoat.id in Karawang where they offer many winter-suitable outfits at competitive prices (this is not an endorsement, just a happy customer). We visited the store and later bought more via e-commerce.

We also bought medicines, spicy food, spices, and of course, Tolak Angin. Believe me, I didn't like dikerokin before, but I asked my wife many times here! I also bought clothes for my son and I that I might not easily find in Estonia (re: Indonesia National Team and Persib jerseys, priorities must be clear). I also bought a Garuda pin which I haven’t worn until now, but no regrets, it was cool!

Then the time came when a new chapter began, being a minority in a foreign land, speaking a language we cannot yet understand. Almost six months have passed now and without being insensitive to my country, I feel that our quality of life has improved significantly, with some caveats of course, it is hard to find halal and spicy food, and the need to sell my things including my very first car. I still remember I cried one morning after M. Affan died after being hit by a police armored car, my wife was shocked as she rarely sees me cry like that for my country, and I will keep praying and hoping for the best for Indonesia, from my new home, where I no longer thinking about moving to Japan.

I finally had the urge to write this note, writing this late on Estonia's Independence Day. I still have more insights to share, on tips for groceries, mobile plans, public transportation tickets (basically settling in Tallinn). But I'll stop here for now and continue in the second part (don't forget to subscribe follow my socmed!).

Head vabariigi aastapäeva!