Recruitment of Foreign Workers in Indonesia

New Regulation on Hiring Foreigners

The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, has signed Presidential Regulation No. 20/2018 on the Recruitment of Foreign Workers in Indonesia.

This new regulation is set to be effective on June 29, 2018, replacing the existing Presidential Regulation No. 72/2014. The enactment of 20/2018 would simplify the foreign workers’ permit and licensing, thus ensuring a faster and more efficient process.

One significant change is the compulsory RPTKA (Foreign Worker Recruitment Plans, or Rencana Penempatan Tenaga Kerja Asing) which used to be required for the positions is now treated differently. The new regulation excludes particular positions for which there is no need to submit this recruitment plan.

This new regulation on the recruitment of foreign workers makes it much easier for expats or foreign workers (Tenaga Kerja Asing, TKA) to work in Indonesia.

However, this does not mean that foreigners are allowed to work in Indonesia freely without any legal restrictions. On another important note, Regulation 20/2018 is still pending on the technical-procedural regulations from the Ministry of Law, Human Rights and Immigration.

Contact our consultants to get the updated information.

Key Changes in Recruitment of Foreign Workers in Indonesia

The Regulation NO. 20/2018 was implemented mainly due to the increased complaints from employers hiring foreign human resources. They requested the simplification of the application process for permits and licenses for foreigners as it was not only complicated but also time-consuming.

There are several changes employers should take note of:

1. Extension of Scope

The scope of employers of TKA in Indonesia is expanded in Regulation 20/2018 to include “other businesses”, therefore the current list of employers are as follows:

Government and international agencies, foreign representatives
Foreign trade offices, representative offices, foreign news agencies
Foreign-owned private companies
Limited-liability companies or establishments, foreign business entities under Indonesian Law
Educational, cultural, and social organisation
Service business of promotion
Other businesses: provided that businesses are not prohibited from hiring TKA under any current legislation

2. RPTKA Exemption

It is now possible for companies not to obtain RPTKA for the following positions:

Board of Directors listed as shareholders
Board of Commissioners listed as shareholders
Diplomatic officials in foreign representative offices
Government officials or officials required by the Government and determined by the Minister’s resolution

3. Shorter and Faster Process

The processing time for the permit of the recruitment of foreign worker is shortened from 2 months to 1.5 months, with IMTA application omitted from the process (since RPTKA has a similar function as IMTA). The change of the process is shown below:

Previous Process in Regulation No. 72/2014:

RPTKA → IMTA → Telex → ITAS / KITAS online → KITAS (duration: 2 months)

Revised Process in Regulation No. 20/2018 is still unclear, and the exact process should be confirmed with specialists.

4. VITAS and ITAS in One Process

VITAS (Limited-Stay Work Visa, or Visa Tinggal Terbatas) and ITAS (Limited-Stay Residency Visa, or Izin Tinggal Terbatas) should be harmonised into one process.

Conclusion

To reiterate, the adoption of Regulation No. 20/2018 is still awaiting technical instructions from the government. Meanwhile, plenty of doubtful information popped up which is causing confusion among HR managers who are interested in the recruitment of foreign workers.

Get the verified information from professionals. Contact Cekindo to find out how the changes will affect your recruitment operations in Indonesia. We are ready to assist you at our offices located in Jakarta, Bali and Semarang.