How to legalize in Bali?

Recently, one of the local residents sparked a significant public outcry in Bali. Balinese people, ordinary citizens, began gathering in groups, chats, and themed communities to seek out newcomers engaged in illegal labor activities. These activist groups operated very simply:

As a result, dozens and hundreds of our compatriots faced the threat of deportation, hefty fines, and even prison sentences due to suspicions of illegal activities as photographers, massage therapists, videographers, marketers, and even freelancers.

The reason for such activity among local residents in Bali is very simple — COMPETITION.

Foreign photographers, entertainers, beauty salon employees, massage therapists, electricians, builders from abroad, and freelancers are taking jobs away from locals. There are already few jobs available for locals, and they often have to look for any kind of side job during the tourist season or simply wait for a one-time earning opportunity, which they can use to buy rice for their families. And this is no joke. More than half of families in Indonesia live below the poverty line.

Seeing this situation, local legislation has prohibited foreigners from engaging in manual labor without special permission (a work KITAS). Penalties for violating this requirement include:

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To avoid potential punishment, such as deportation, it makes sense to obtain a work KITAS. This permit is issued for one year and costs around $3,000. Here, we encounter the main problem for newcomers — the FINANCIAL ISSUE.

It's understandable that many freelancers and people from former CIS countries cannot afford such a permit, especially since their earnings are often low, yet they want to live in Bali. In my experience consulting, no more than 5 percent of newcomers seriously consider applying for a work KITAS due to its high cost and another less obvious reason.

To obtain this KITAS, you MUST GET A JOB (with an existing company). This means you either need to be a highly skilled specialist that cannot be found locally or work for a company (even if nominally) that would pay this fee on your behalf. In practice, this means that obtaining such a KITAS is not only expensive but also complicated. Furthermore, it can only be issued to those with the following approved professions:

This list of professions serves as the basis for obtaining a work KITAS. FOREIGNERS ARE PROHIBITED FROM ENGAGING IN OTHER PROFESSIONS. IF YOUR PROFESSION IS ON THIS LIST—GET A WORK KITAS AND WORK LEGALLY ON THE ISLAND.

But what about those who are not on the list? How do people work in Indonesia for years without deportation, and why are there no questions asked? How do they open businesses and file tax returns?

Scheme for Legalization in Indonesia for Other Professions and Entrepreneurs

Besides the work KITAS, there is another type of KITAS — the investor KITAS. This permit is cheaper and is issued for two years instead of one. With this KITAS, you can stay in the country for a full two years without needing to leave, allowing you to enjoy the local beauty of the beaches and the stunning views of rice fields. This KITAS has become a great working solution for Russian-speaking entrepreneurs, freelancers, and service providers on the island—everyone who wants to earn income in Indonesia and do it legally.

Here’s a brief overview of how we organized this step by step:

• Opening a Company with Foreign Participation (PT PMA))

• Obtaining a Special С314 Visa – Investor Visa

• Application for KITAS

• Call to Immigration Service for an Interview

• Receiving KITAS

1 – Opening a Company with Foreign Participation (PT PMA) in Indonesia

The cost to open a company is around $1,500 – $1,700. There must be at least 2 co-founders (most often, this is a husband and wife).

To open a company, you will need the following documents:

2 – After all the company documents are issued, a special С314 visa – the Investor Visa – is obtained. To apply for this visa, your passport must be valid for at least 30 months at the time of submitting the visa documents. This visa costs approximately $1,300 – $1,500 for each founder.

Besides the passport, you will need:

3 – Once you activate the visa, you submit your passport with the border stamp to the immigration service. Don’t delay this; it’s better to do it the day after your arrival. Indonesia gives you only 30 days to obtain KITAS based on this visa.

4 – About two weeks after submitting all your documents for KITAS activation, you will receive a call from the immigration service for an interview. The immigration officer will ask about the purpose of opening the company, how long you have been in Indonesia, take your fingerprints, smile, and that’s it. The interview will be over.

5 – About a week later, you will receive your KITAS – a document that allows you to engage in entrepreneurial activities and conduct business in Indonesia. You will be able to operate as an INVESTOR.

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You will still be working illegally in Indonesia; however, it’s not entirely accurate.

Companies sometimes offer discounts on such packages. For example, our package for 2 KITAS plus the company costs $3,500. When calculated on a monthly basis (like a regular visa), this comes to only $145 for both or just over $70 per person per month. Meanwhile, a regular visa costs around $130 per month for one family member (data accurate as of the writing of this article).

KITAS is obtained. Now you are an investor. This gives you the legal right to conduct and manage a business in Indonesia. DOES THIS PROVIDE COMPLETE LEGALIZATION FOR YOU? ONLY IN CASES WHERE YOU ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS. For all other cases, when you:

This is where misunderstandings often begin. The investor KITAS gives you the right to be an INVESTOR, which means you can manage a business but not work in it. However, it also gives you priority over those who do not have such a document. Deportation occurs in 100 cases out of 100 if you conduct your activities on a regular visa upon arrival or even on a long-term visa. There are no questions about this at all. No one will be lenient.

With KITAS, they will call you in to clarify the situation and may just issue a fine for the first offense!

Cases where photographers are deported from the country even with KITAS are also quite common. Such professions, as well as massage therapists, beauty salon staff, independent entrepreneurs in the beauty industry, real estate agents, and marketers, are always under close scrutiny from Indonesian authorities and are at risk. They cannot be legalized! You can only reduce the risk by developing a scheme that makes it hard to expose you to such activities. This scheme must certainly include obtaining an investor KITAS.

In brief, this is how it can look:

Of course, in each case, the scheme will be different and very distinct. Businesses need to offer services they cannot provide, and individuals need to figure out how to show their legality and openness…

How to devise such a scheme specifically for you and protect yourself from trouble, and how to effectively utilize your KITAS, even if you have a prohibited profession? – simply CONTACT US via WHATSAPP or TELEGRAM.

Together, we will make life on the island comfortable!