Indonesian Work Permit Relaxations

Foreigners and Limited Stay Permit

The new regulation eliminates this requirement for foreigners visiting Indonesia for work purposes to submit a request to the immigration office for the issuance of their ITAS, this will be now issued upon arrival at an Indonesian immigration checkpoint, may serve as an ITAS for foreigners entering Indonesia on a VITAS for work purposes.

Prior to the enactment of this new regulation, foreigners entering Indonesia on a Limited Stay Visa (Visa Tinggal Terbatas or “VITAS”) were required to obtain a Limited Stay Permit (Izin Tinggal Terbatas or “ITAS”) within 30 days of arriving in Indonesia and receiving an Entry Stamp in their passport. This applied to all foreigners entering Indonesia for any purpose, including work and family unification. However, the enactment of GR 51/2020 eliminates this requirement for foreigners visiting Indonesia for work purposes.

An amendment to Article 32(2) now provides that the Entry Stamp, which is given upon arrival at an Indonesian immigration checkpoint, may serve as an ITAS for foreigners entering Indonesia on a VITAS for work purposes. In light of this, foreigners who qualify are no longer required to submit a request to the immigration office for the issuance of their ITAS. Rather, the ITAS will be sent to the foreigners by their registered email address, provided that the system at the relevant immigration checkpoint is capable of automatically emailing the ITAS. If there is a problem with the system said foreigners will have to obtain their ITAS at the immigration office. Note that the effective period of the Entry Stamp shall conform with the effective period of the VITAS.

GR 51/2020 also relaxes the requirements for obtaining an ITAS for foreigners entering Indonesia for purposes other than work by removing the Certificate of Domicile as a prerequisite for the obtainment of an ITAS. This requirement has been removed from Article 142 of GR 31/2013 by GR 51/2020.

While GR 51/2020 does relax some requirements, there is also a regulatory rollback that imposes a restriction on foreign investors and foreigners who enter Indonesia for the purpose of training and scientific research.

Under the old regulatory framework, such foreigners were able to obtain a VITAS on Arrival. Now, with GR 51/2020, which amends Article 106 of GR 31/2013, a VITAS on Arrival is no longer available for foreign investors and foreigners entering Indonesia for training and scientific research. Therefore, and subject to the applicable regulations that allow nationals of certain countries to obtain a Visitor’s Visa on Arrival, such foreigners can only obtain a regular Visitor’s Visa on Arrival and not a VITAS on Arrival.