Anita Rachman – In a widely cheered move, the House of Representatives plenary session on Thursday passed the much-anticipated Immigration Bill into law.

Several spectators from mixed-marriage alliances cheered and applauded as each faction voted to pass the bill they had long been waiting for.

Fahri Hamzah, deputy chairman of House Commission III, which hammered out the law together with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, described the passage as a "breakthrough."

Significant changes in the law include giving permanent residence permits to foreign spouses of Indonesian citizens two years after the marriage, requiring them only to report to the immigration office once every five years.

Fahri added that the law now also allows foreign spouses of Indonesian citizens to work in the country.

The two important articles – article 54 and article 62 – that were previously reported to have been missing from the draft bill were also stated clearly in the version passed into law. They guarantee that foreign spouses who have been married to Indonesian citizens for at least 10 years could stay in the country even after they get a divorce. Children from mixed marriages will also be granted permanent residence permits.

The law also warned that the government would not have mercy on those who abuse the regulations, such as the practice of fake marriages to acquire a residence permit.