Work Visas in Indonesia
How to get a work permit and which routes actually exist
Employment in Indonesia is sponsored by the employer, not applied for by the worker. An Indonesian company obtains approval of a foreign worker placement plan for a named position, pays a monthly levy for each foreign worker, and only then can a limited stay visa and a limited stay permit — commonly called a KITAS — be issued for that specific job with that specific employer.
| Employer approval | Foreign worker placement plan (RPTKA), approved by the Ministry of Manpower source |
| Worker permit | Limited stay visa followed by a limited stay permit (KITAS) source |
| Levy | A compensation levy commonly stated at around USD 100 per foreign worker per month, paid by the employer source |
| Typical validity | Commonly six months to two years, renewable, tied to the employer |
| Local counterpart | An Indonesian understudy is generally required for each foreign position source |
The chain of approvals
The sequence is fixed and each step depends on the one before it. The employer first has a foreign worker placement plan approved, which names the position, the duration, the location and the salary. That approval is what allows a limited stay visa to be applied for on the applicant's behalf.
The applicant then enters on that visa and converts it into a limited stay permit, the KITAS, which is the card that makes residence lawful. Registration with the local civil administration and, in most cases, a re-entry permit for anyone intending to leave and return, follow afterwards.
Because the permit is tied to the sponsoring company and the approved position, changing employer is not a private matter between worker and employer: the permit is cancelled and the process begins again with the new sponsor.
Roles that are closed, and the understudy rule
Indonesia publishes restrictions on which positions may be filled by foreigners. Personnel and human resources roles have long been closed, and various legal, safety and administrative positions are similarly reserved for Indonesian nationals. A job offer for a closed position cannot be rescued by any amount of paperwork.
For open positions, the general expectation is that the foreign worker transfers knowledge. Employers are usually required to nominate an Indonesian counterpart and to provide training, and the placement plan is framed as temporary rather than indefinite by design.
Categories outside conventional employment
- Remote worker permit. Introduced within the framework announced in 2023 and 2024 for people employed or contracted by a company outside Indonesia, on the condition that no income is earned from an Indonesian source and that a published minimum annual income is evidenced.
- Investor permits. The tiered arrangement marketed as the golden visa offers stay permits of roughly five or ten years against progressively larger investments, with a lower band for individuals placing funds and a higher band for those establishing a company, and higher thresholds again for corporate directors.
- Second home permit. Aimed at people intending to stay for several years without working locally, originally conditioned on a substantial deposit in a state bank or on ownership of qualifying property; the terms were revised after launch and the current figure should be read from the immigration service directly.
- Retirement permit. Available above a published minimum age, commonly stated at 55 or 60 depending on the variant, against evidence of pension or other regular income, accommodation, and in some versions the employment of local household staff.
Working without the right permit
Tourist entries and visas on arrival carry no right to work, including remote work in the grey area that many visitors assume is tolerated. Immigration authorities have run repeated operations, most visibly in Bali, resulting in detention, fines, deportation and bans on returning for a fixed period.
The risk falls on the individual and, where an Indonesian company is involved, on the company as well. There is no retrospective regularisation once a violation is recorded.
Free: the Indonesia visa checklist
A one-page PDF listing every document each route asks for, so you can see what you are missing before you spend anything. No spam, unsubscribe in one click.
The list is not open yet, so nothing was sent and your address was not stored. The guides on this site are free and need no sign-up.
We email a short course on how the Indonesia routes work, then the report offer. Your address is never sold.
Official sources
Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.