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My girlfriend and I are travelling to Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bali this month and we will share the same room throughout the trip. We are both Chinese citizens. Recently I have seen news reporting that Indonesia is finalising a new criminal code that will criminalise unmarried couple living together.

I have googled relevant information but haven't found anything regarding when the new criminal code will be in effect. All I found were some pieces of news in early 2018 reporting the finalisation of the new legislation, but I have no idea whether the new criminal code is in effect or not. Can anyone advise me when the new criminal code will be carried out and if this will be a concern to our upcoming trip? Do we need to use two separate rooms in a hotel in Indonesia?

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It shouldn't be much of a concern for your trip since it is a lot of rubbish posted online. The criminalization does happen but it is extremely rare. Places like Jakarta and Bali are fine to go and since you are both Chinese citizens, it won't really matter much since they don't bother tourists much. If anything were to happen, it would usually be them mistaking your female partner are a Muslim.

IMPORTANT NOTE: DON'T VISIT ACEH. It will be the worst place for you and your partner to go to since you are both not married. At ACEH, they still practice The Sharia law. They also have religious police force enforcing the local law in a strict manner. An Indonesian couple was nearly thrown to jail because they didn't bring along their wedding certificate while traveling to Aceh.

Tips: Just to make your trip a lot easier and make it hassle-free, just say that you are both married. It makes your life a lot easier.

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