Moving to Indonesia: A First-Steps Guide for Expats

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, spread across an archipelago of some seventeen thousand islands, and the version of it that most foreigners picture - Bali - is about as representative as Ibiza is of Spain.

Jakarta is an enormous, hot, congested capital with a serious business economy. Bali is a small Hindu island in a Muslim-majority country, transformed by tourism and now by a large population of remote workers. Yogyakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Lombok and the rest are different places again.

Whichever you are considering, the permit system is where planning has to start, because Indonesia has tightened enforcement noticeably.

The KITAS system

Indonesian residence runs on the KITAS - a limited stay permit issued for a defined purpose. The common categories are work, where an employer sponsors you and there is a levy payable by the employer for hiring a foreign worker; investor, tied to a foreign investment company; family, through an Indonesian spouse; retirement, for those over a qualifying age meeting financial conditions; and more recently categories aimed at remote workers employed by foreign companies.

After holding a KITAS for a qualifying period you may become eligible for KITAP, the permanent stay permit, which is considerably more secure.

There is also a second home visa aimed at longer stays for those meeting financial thresholds.

Two things to understand. The purpose is bound into the permit - working on a category that does not permit it is a genuine problem, and enforcement against foreigners working without the correct permit has increased, particularly in Bali, with deportations reported. And the rules and categories have been revised repeatedly in recent years, so current information matters more than usual.

The Indonesia visa section covers the current picture, the general architecture is in visas and residence permits explained, and the remote-work question specifically is in digital nomad visas in 2026.

Property: the trap worth understanding

This is where foreigners lose the most money in Indonesia, so it deserves plain treatment.

Freehold title - Hak Milik - is reserved for Indonesian citizens. Foreigners cannot hold it. What is available is a right-to-use title, or acquisition through a foreign-owned company structure, each with conditions and time limits.

The widespread workaround is a nominee arrangement, where property is bought in the name of an Indonesian individual with side agreements purporting to protect the foreign buyer. These agreements are not enforceable in your favour - the arrangement is contrary to the spirit and often the letter of the law, and there is a long history of people losing everything when the relationship soured, the nominee died, or a court was asked to rule.

If someone offers you a villa in Bali on this basis, that is the point to stop and consult an independent Indonesian lawyer of your own choosing. Long leasehold, properly documented, is the more defensible route. The general principles are in buying property as a foreigner.

Money and tax

Indonesia taxes residents on worldwide income with a progressive scale, and you generally become resident by being present beyond a qualifying period or by demonstrating intent to reside. There have been provisions offering certain foreign experts a period in which only Indonesian-source income is taxed, subject to conditions - worth asking about rather than assuming.

The point that catches remote workers is the usual one: living here makes you tax resident regardless of where your clients or employer sit, and the assumption otherwise has become more consequential as enforcement has tightened. See tax residency explained, and the structure in the Indonesia tax section.

Note also currency and reporting requirements around moving money, and that Indonesia participates in international financial account information exchange - the era in which foreign income was invisible is over.

Healthcare

There is a mandatory national health scheme, BPJS Kesehatan, which those working are generally required to join, providing broad but basic coverage with long waits at public facilities.

In practice most foreign residents use private clinics and hospitals and hold private insurance. Standards in the best private hospitals in Jakarta and, to a lesser extent, Bali are reasonable, but for complex or serious cases medical evacuation to Singapore is common enough that evacuation cover is widely regarded as essential rather than optional. Make sure your policy includes it and understand the limits.

Details in the Indonesia healthcare section, and the general logic in health insurance for new arrivals.

Cost of living, and Jakarta versus Bali

Costs are low, though Bali’s popular areas have risen sharply - Canggu and Seminyak now price at levels that would surprise anyone working from a decade-old figure, driven by exactly the remote-working population that came for the cheapness.

Jakarta is where the corporate employment is: banking, resources, manufacturing, consulting. It is hot, enormous and famously congested, with a growing metro network that helps in the corridors it serves. Expatriate life there is comfortable and largely centred on particular districts and international schools.

Bali is a different proposition entirely - smaller, more relaxed, dominated by tourism and remote work, with real infrastructure limits around traffic, waste and water that are the subject of active local concern. It is worth being conscious of the local impact of the foreign influx rather than oblivious to it.

Domestic help is affordable and normal. International school fees in Jakarta are substantial.

Language, culture and practical realities

Bahasa Indonesia is one of the more approachable languages for an English speaker - no tones, no cases, Latin script, regular grammar - and even modest ability transforms daily life. Hundreds of regional languages exist alongside it. English is common in international business and tourism and less so elsewhere.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, with considerable regional variation - Bali is predominantly Hindu, Aceh applies sharia law locally, and norms differ substantially between provinces. Modest dress and awareness of local sensibilities are appreciated. Drug offences carry extremely severe penalties including capital punishment.

The country sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and earthquakes, volcanic activity and tsunami risk are genuine considerations - worth understanding for wherever you settle, in the spirit of staying safe and handling emergencies abroad.

What catches people out

Nominee property arrangements. Working on the wrong permit category as enforcement tightens. Underestimating Jakarta traffic when choosing where to live. Assuming Bali prices from old figures. And insurance without evacuation cover.

For regional comparisons, moving to Malaysia is the neighbour with easier property rules and wider English use, moving to Singapore is the expensive, orderly regional hub, and moving to Thailand is the other great Southeast Asian long-stay destination.

Detail on permits, property rules and costs is in the Indonesia country guide and the cost of living section. Because enforcement and categories have been changing, the digital nomads and remote work forum is worth checking for how rules are actually being applied.