Good day, dear friends. If you have already arrived in Bali and plan to stay here for a long time, you might be interested in learning how to work legally in Bali. How does Indonesia deal with foreigners working illegally? This may not directly concern you, but special services, including the immigration service, can monitor all foreign citizens to identify those who work without a special work visa in Indonesia.
Often, tourists who arrive on the island with a B211 tourist visa and plan to stay long-term start earning money here, crossing the line since working in Indonesia is not allowed for tourists. However, there are certain professions that are not directly affected by this prohibition. Let’s list these types of activities: almost all types of freelancing, where a person works for a non-Indonesian company and receives income from outside sources: online entrepreneurs, creators of informational courses, online consultants, programmers and IT specialists, remote workers, designers, marketers. This also includes all activities related to esotericism: astrologers, fortune tellers, psychologists. These are individuals who earn money for work done outside of Indonesia and not from Indonesian clients. If you provide services in Indonesia and accept payment to an Indonesian bank account, this activity is considered illegal. The immigration service may be interested in your case, and if found guilty, you could be deported to your home country after an interview.
There is a red list of professions that cannot be pursued in Indonesia without special permission.
The following activities are included in this red list: photographers, videographers, party organizers, event planners, conference organizers, emcees, musicians, DJs, yoga teachers and practitioners, physical therapists, masseurs, tour guides, hairdressers, makeup artists, stylists, all types of rentals, real estate, cars, intermediaries. In general, all individuals working in plain sight. How are such individuals identified? The immigration service receives complaints from direct and indirect competitors. They can also discover illegally working individuals through social media, advertisements, and promotion of goods and services.
I’ll give you an example: a person came to us for a B211 visa application, but it was rejected. We investigated the reason and found out that he was deported because, before leaving, he tried to rent out the villa he lived in on Facebook, simply to help his Balinese hosts. As a result, he received a red stamp on his passport, prohibiting him from entering Indonesia for 3 years.
How can you legalize your work in Bali?
Few people know that the main requirement for legalization in Indonesia is to open a company or obtain a work permit (KITAS). In other words, you must establish your own business in Indonesia and pay taxes, based on which you can obtain special work visas. Alternatively, you can find official employment and obtain a special work visa. Here’s how to legalize your stay through opening your own company: To open a company, you need two shareholders with valid passports that have been active for at least 30 months, and you need to pay a service fee (around $1500-$2000). The company registration process takes 2-3 weeks. Once you have a registered company, you need to apply for a special 2-year visa, called an investor KITAS, with a service fee of around $1700 per person. The investor KITAS process takes 2-3 weeks. In total, within 1.5 months, you can obtain a complete set of documents for legal residence and work in Indonesia for 2 years. The average total cost in the market is around $4500. Our company, PT Bali Open Group, offers a special package for families to open a business in Bali. The cost of opening a company and obtaining two investor KITAS is $3500. This package, which allows you to work legally and live in Indonesia, costs $1000-1500 less than a regular B211 tourist visa for a family of two for two years. To take advantage of our offer, please fill out the form.
