GlobeQuest

Indonesia visas and residency

Who can visit Indonesia without a visa, and the 5 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting Indonesia, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesVisa on arrivalUnited KingdomVisa on arrivalIndiaVisa on arrivalCanadaVisa on arrivalAustraliaVisa on arrivalGermanyVisa on arrivalFranceVisa on arrivalNetherlandsVisa on arrivalIrelandVisa on arrivalSpainVisa on arrivalItalyVisa on arrivalPortugalVisa on arrivalPolandVisa on arrivalSwedenVisa on arrivalSwitzerlandVisa on arrivalSouth AfricaVisa on arrival
Long stay

How you actually move to Indonesia

Digital nomadHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

E33G Remote Worker KITAS

Remote employees of companies registered outside Indonesia. Bali's long-awaited answer to people who had been cycling through tourist visas for years.

What you need
  • Annual income of at least USD 60,000 from foreign sources, around USD 5,000 a month
  • An employment contract with a company registered outside Indonesia
  • Personal bank statements showing at least USD 2,000 over the previous three months
  • Passport valid at least 6 months
  • International health insurance — travel insurance is not accepted
How long it lasts
1 year, renewable up to a total of 5.
Path to permanent residence
A KITAP (permanent stay permit) generally becomes available after several consecutive years of KITAS, though the remote-worker category is new enough that few holders have reached that point.
Cost
Government fees of a few hundred US dollars; agents charge more.
Processing time
Commonly a few weeks through the e-Visa portal.
Worth knowing
  • Newly-resident foreigners with qualifying expertise can have foreign-sourced income exempted from Indonesian tax for their first four years — a genuinely unusual concession, but it is a tax rule with its own conditions, not an automatic feature of the visa. Get Indonesian tax advice rather than assuming it applies.
  • It permits no work for Indonesian companies or clients, and no local income.
  • Unlike a tourist visa, this makes you a resident with a KITAS — which means resident tax status questions become real.
  • The B211A 'business visa' that remote workers used to cycle through is retired; short stays now run on the C-index visas (C1 visit, C2 business). Neither a visa on arrival nor a C1 permits work of any kind, so the old B211A workaround is not available under a new name.
Sources:Directorate General of ImmigrationIndonesia e-Visa portal
RetirementMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Second Home Visa (E33 series)

People with capital who want a long, stable base in Indonesia without working locally.

What you need
  • A deposit in a state-owned Indonesian bank of IDR 2 billion — the statutory figure; the US-dollar equivalent commonly quoted ranges from about USD 120,000 to USD 150,000 depending on the exchange rate used, so budget against the rupiah amount rather than a dollar figure
  • Or ownership of qualifying Indonesian property — but this is a far higher bar, not an equivalent one: the property route is stated at luxury real estate of around USD 1 million (IDR 5 billion), several times the deposit figure
  • Passport valid at least 36 months
  • Proof of accommodation and a CV
How long it lasts
5 or 10 years, depending on the sub-category.
Path to permanent residence
Long validity but not a settlement route in itself.
Cost
The deposit is locked capital rather than a fee; add government and agent costs.
Processing time
Several weeks to a few months.
Worth knowing
  • The property alternative is not a cheaper way in. At roughly USD 1 million it costs several times the IDR 2 billion deposit, so treat the deposit as the real route unless you were buying anyway.
  • It grants no right to work for Indonesian employers or to earn local income. Holders who work remotely for foreign employers are common in practice, but the E33G is the route actually designed for that and is far cheaper.
  • Foreign nationals cannot hold freehold land title in Indonesia; property qualification runs through Hak Pakai (right of use) and similar structures. Verify the title type before buying anything.
Sources:Directorate General of Immigration
Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Work KITAS (E23) with RPTKA

People employed by an Indonesian company, which must sponsor and justify the hire.

What you need
  • An Indonesian sponsoring entity with an approved RPTKA (foreign worker utilisation plan)
  • A position on the list of roles open to foreign workers — many are reserved for Indonesians, including most HR roles
  • Relevant degree and typically 5 years of experience
  • The employer pays the DPKK skills-development levy, commonly USD 100 per month of the permit
How long it lasts
Usually 1 year, renewable, tied to the sponsoring employer.
Path to permanent residence
Counts toward KITAP after several consecutive years with the same sponsor.
Cost
Employer-borne RPTKA and DPKK costs dominate; your own fees are modest.
Processing time
Several weeks to a couple of months including the RPTKA approval.
Worth knowing
  • The negative list of positions closed to foreigners is the first thing to check — a role that seems ordinary may be legally reserved.
  • Each foreign worker must generally be accompanied by an Indonesian counterpart for knowledge transfer, which small companies find onerous.
Sources:Directorate General of Immigration
InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Investor KITAS (E28 series)

Shareholders and directors of an Indonesian foreign-investment company (PT PMA).

What you need
  • A PT PMA with the minimum paid-up capital required for foreign investment — commonly IDR 10 billion
  • Shareholding at or above the threshold for the investor category you want
  • Company registration, business licence and tax registration
How long it lasts
1 or 2 years depending on the shareholding, renewable.
Path to permanent residence
Counts toward KITAP, and investors are among the categories that reach it most reliably.
Cost
The capital requirement dominates; company setup and compliance follow.
Processing time
Company formation is the long pole, often 1–2 months before the visa step.
Worth knowing
  • An investor KITAS does not by itself permit you to be *employed* by your own company — drawing a salary usually requires a work KITAS as well. This trips up a lot of founders.
  • The IDR 10 billion figure is paid-up capital for the company, not a personal fee, and sector-specific rules can change it.
Sources:Directorate General of ImmigrationIndonesia e-Visa portal
RetirementMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Retirement KITAS — E33F (annual) and E33E 'Silver Hair' (five-year)

Retirees with pension income. Two distinct permits that are routinely confused with each other.

What you need
  • E33F, the annual retirement KITAS: sponsorship by a licensed retirement agent, proof of pension or other income commonly benchmarked around USD 1,500 a month, health and life insurance, proof of accommodation in Indonesia, and an obligation to employ at least one Indonesian as domestic help
  • E33E, the 'Silver Hair' visa: aged 60 or above, a deposit of USD 50,000 in a state-owned Indonesian bank, proof of income around USD 3,000 a month, and no sponsor or domestic-help obligation
  • The age floor for E33F is reported as both 55 and 60 by different practitioners — confirm it with immigration before assuming you qualify at 55
How long it lasts
E33F: 1 year, renewable annually up to about five years. E33E: 5 years, extendable.
Path to permanent residence
KITAP becomes available after around five consecutive years on the retirement KITAS.
Cost
E33F is modest government fees plus the accommodation, insurance and domestic-help obligation. E33E locks up a USD 50,000 deposit instead.
Processing time
A few weeks.
Worth knowing
  • The two permits are not interchangeable and the naming is a trap. E33E is the five-year, deposit-backed, sponsor-free version; E33F is the annual one that requires an agent as sponsor and a domestic employee. Guides that describe a one-year, helper-requiring permit as 'E33E' have merged them.
  • Either is cheaper than the Second Home Visa if you meet the age requirement — the second-home deposit route exists mainly for people too young to retire onto these.
  • Neither permits work of any kind, including remote work in the strictest reading.
Sources:Directorate General of ImmigrationIndonesia e-Visa portal
On the ground

Where you'd land in Indonesia

Bali

The world's digital-nomad capital — surf, rice terraces, and a thriving remote-work scene.

Full Bali guide
Jakarta

Still legally Indonesia's capital, sinking fast, and the only Indonesian city with a real metro.

Full Jakarta guide
Surabaya

Indonesia's industrial second city and eastern port — cheap, very hot, and barely international.

Full Surabaya guide
Yogyakarta

Java's court and university city, governed by a Sultan, with land rules found nowhere else in Indonesia.

Full Yogyakarta guide

Indonesia at a glance

Capital
Jakarta
Population
285.7M
Languages
Indonesian
Currency
IDR