Just brief Info,
GOVERNMENT RULES & REGULATIONS
In Indonesia acquiring a land treasure hunting or shipwreck survey and salvage permit involves 17 different Government Officials from 13 different Government Departments and ultimately the permit is issued by the Government Department.
1. APPLICATION FEES required.
2. SHARING AGREEMENT:
Fifty/Fifty (50/50) without deducting any project cost (due to complaints by several foreign salvage groups this agreement is currently under revision whereby the project cost will be deducted before the 50/50 split. Or, there is even a rumor that the sharing will be changed to 60/40 (60 for the salvage company/40 for the Indonesian Government) as this would make it more fair to the Treasure Hunting or salvage companies.
LICENSING PROCEDURE:
a) Survey Permit - Officially they say you can receive this after 21 days but realistically can take up to six (6) or eight (8) weeks to receive (see details below) and is valid for up to three months. It is renewable. Any company who wishes to treasure hunting or salvage a shipwreck must first be issued a Survey Permit. The Survey Permit allows the company to first visit the site and take photos and retrieve one or two samples only. Only after this process has been completed is the only time a treasure hunting or Salvage Permit can be applied for.
INDONESIAN PARTNER COMPANY:
As with most SEA countries, no foreign company can work in Indonesia without having an Indonesian Partner Company. All licenses issued in Indonesia are only in the name of the local company. All documentation is also in Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language).
FOREIGNERS:
All foreigners who want to visit the work site and actually participate in offshore operations MUST also apply for their KITAS (work) Visas. This process takes up to ten (10) days and can be done anytime (yes, since they actually take your passport you must be physically there in Indonesia during this process). The cost is Rp6,000,000 (approx. US$600) each for a six (6) months multiple-entry KITAS Visa. Please Note that once you have a KITAS Visa stamp in your passport that you must now pay EXIT TAXES of US$250 EVERY TIME you exit Indonesia after that.
WORK SEASON:
The best time to work in Indonesia is between March and September when the weather is calm and it is NOT monsoon season. However, if you have a large vessel and/or are working in a sheltered and/or protected area you may be able to work even through monsoon season.
