A Guide to Staying in Indonesia With a KITAS

Being a KITAS holder might mean having a retirement, spouse, or work KITAS. Here's how to get KITAS Indonesia that is valid for 6-12 months

  • 6 minute reading time
Cekindo
Editorial Team

For a foreigner to stay legally within Indonesia for work or personal reasons, he/she must obtain a permit from the Indonesian authorities. This permit is commonly referred to as a KITAS.

In this article, we attempt to explain the different types of stay permits, or KITAS/ITAS, that allow a foreigner to work, set up a business, and stay in Indonesia.

If you have a basic understanding and are looking for in-depth advice, click here to set up your 1:1 ITAS consultation here

What is Kitas Indonesia and Who Should Apply for One?

ITAS stands for Izin Tinggal Terbatas, and it is a limited-stay permit in Indonesia that must be sponsored by an Indonesian citizen or a company.

Previously, the Indonesian government issued a physical card for an ITAS (known as a KITAS), but now they are issued digitally. Depending on the type of KITAS/ITAS, and the basis of your application, a KITAS/ITAS can be valid for six months to two years.

The 4 most common purposes for foreigners residing in Indonesia are work, investment, marriage, and retirement. Each purpose has a specific KITAS/ITAS, and differs in terms of processes and documents, for submission to the Indonesian authorities.

KITAS for Working in Indonesia

Although the common term used is KITAS/ITAS, the official term for an Indonesian Temporary Expatriate Work Permit is called an RPTKA (Rencana Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing).

An ITAS as mentioned is a stay permit. A foreigner who is working in Indonesia must understand that an RPTKA and a KITAS/ITAS, are 2 different permits that he/she must apply for.

To apply for a Work KITAS/ITAS, sponsorship from your Employer is required. And the Employer must be a company registered in Indonesia. In Indonesia, locally-registered companies are defined as a PT, PT PMA, or a representative office.

A work KITAS/ITAS also allows a foreigner to re-enter Indonesia multiple times with one permit, it is commonly referred to as a MERP (Multiple Exit and Re-entry Permit).

Do you want to know more? Continue reading Work Permit in Indonesia from A to Z

KITAS Marriage Visa

A foreigner legally married to an Indonesian citizen can be sponsored by his or her spouse to qualify for a KITAS/ITAS family visa. Be aware this is not an Indonesia working visa. You will only be allowed to stay in Indonesia but not work there.

An official marriage certificate endorsed by the Indonesian government is mandatory for the application. If you happen to get married abroad, an Indonesian-legalised CNI (Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage) in Indonesian is required.

You can then move forward with applying for a permanent residence visa (KITAP) in Indonesia after a 2-year marriage. KITAP has 5 years of validity with MERP (multiple exits and re-entry permit).

Learn more about spouse visas in Indonesia.

KITAS Retirement Visa

This visa is irrelevant to a business owner or entrepreneur. However, if you are 55 years of age or older, and wish to spend your retirement in Indonesia, you may enter Indonesia first on a tourist visa and then apply for retirement ITAS after a month.

With a retirement KITAS/ITAS, you can live in Indonesia for consecutive years and, enter or exit the country as many times as you would like. You can also get a local bank account and hire a driver or domestic helper. However, you should have no plan of working at all in Indonesia.

Retirement KITAS/ITAS is popular among expats living in Bali, read more about its requirements

KITAS Indonesia: Process and Requirements

The process of a visa application in Indonesia might be stressful. We all know that. The process may take up to 10 weeks. Complete your early consultation with Cekindo to avoid unnecessary disappointment. Furthermore, a KITAS/ITAS renewal is preferably done 2 months before the expiry date.

Now, let’s discuss how to get a visa/permit.

Process for KITAS Work Visa

RPTKA Approval

  1. Your sponsor company receives approval of the RPTKA for its proposal from the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower.
  2. Your sponsor company needs to go through the Pre-RPTKA Approval/Pre-work Permit process, and be notified the duration that you can stay and work in Indonesia
  3. DKP-TKA (Development Funds in Exchange of Hiring a Foreign Worker) payment of USD100/month must be paid in advance.
  4. With the approval of RPTKA, you can now work legally in Indonesia
  5. With your work permit, the immigration office in Indonesia will issue your VITAS.
  6. Your VITAS will automatically convert into KITAS/ITAS upon arriving in Indonesia, and will be sent to the registered email.

Civil Registration and Reporting

Take the following mandatory steps within 14 days after ITAS issuance.

  1. Prepare required documents for living in Indonesia.
  2. Present at civil administration department.
  3. You will get the necessary civil certificates.

Process for KITAS Marriage Visa in Indonesia

VITAS Approval

  1. Prepare documents: valid passport and a copy of passport, marriage certificate, copy of ID and family card of your Indonesian spouse with “married” status, copy of Indonesian spouse’s latest bank statement, and sponsor letter.
  2. Repeat steps in “VITAS Approval” of “Process of ITAS Work Visa”

Convert VITAS into ITAS

Similarly, the VITAS will be automatically converted into KITAS/ITAS upon the foreign worker’s arrival in Indonesia.

Civil Registration and Reporting

  1. Prepare required documents
  2. Present at civil administration department
  3. You will get SKSKPS (Certificate of Family Formation of Temporary Residents) and STM (Police Report Certificate).

You can consider converting your KITAS/ITAS to KITAP after two years of marriage with your Indonesian spouse.

Final Notes on KITAS in Indonesia

Procedures for obtaining residence status in Indonesia could be quite complicated and time-consuming with the tendency of regulations to change from time to time.

It is common to avoid headaches and hire an agent yourself or your employer to help with the process more efficiently, especially the paperwork.

Cekindo’s Indonesia Work Permit (RPTKA) and Indonesia Working Visa (KITAS/ITAS) processes give you professional advice to maximize the chances of a successful application.

Contact us now if you are ready to start your life in Indonesia or to think of discussing other options.

Contact Our Consultant

FAQs

For both single and multiple entry business and working visa as well, the sponsor has to be a company. The sponsor company is the legal entity that either invites you to a business meeting or the business for which you will be working for. Regarding social-cultural and retirement visa as well as KITAS & KITAP stay permits, the sponsor must either an Indonesian legal entity or citizen. In case you don’t have a visa sponsor, Cekindo provides sponsorship via HR Outsourcing and also manage payroll for your foreigner employee.

It depends on the type of KITAS/ITAS. A Retirement KITAS/ITAS, for example, is valid for one year, whereas a Work KITAS/ITAS Is valid for six months to one year. There is an exception for an Investor KITAS/ITAS that is valid for two years.

The price varies, depending on the type of ITAS that you wish to apply.

Yes. You need to register at the immigration website and proceed with your application online.

A KITAS/ITAS holder must apply for an EPO when switching between jobs, resigning from a current job, and wanting to leave Indonesia, or changing ITAS type.

The requirements may be different between one KITAP type and another. A Spouse ITAS holder can apply for a KITAP after a 2-year marriage. A Work ITAS holder can apply for a KITAP after holding the KITAS/ITAS four times consecutively.

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Tjhia Edy Tarlesno

Edy is the Legal and Delivery Manager at Cekindo. He focuses on internal and external legal compliance with the laws of the Republic of Indonesia. During his career, he specialized in bankruptcy and insolvency at a law firm and also led a prominent social foundation in Indonesia. He is a sworn advocate at the Indonesian Bar Association, a licensed mediator from the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia, a Certified Legal Auditor from the Indonesian Legal Auditor Association, and a Certified Legal Translator from the University of Indonesia.