Immigration & Work Permits

Indonesia's immigration framework balances foreign expertise needs with local employment protection, requiring careful navigation for expatriate deployment.

The IMTA (Work Permit) system operates on a quota basis—your company receives an allocation of expatriate positions based on investment value and employment creation. Each work permit requires justification: why this position cannot be filled by Indonesian nationals, what skills transfer will occur, and how many local staff will receive training. The Ministry of Manpower scrutinizes these justifications closely, particularly for positions that appear to compete with available Indonesian talent.

KITAS (Limited Stay Permit) processing has become more streamlined through online systems, but still requires precise documentation sequencing. Your work permit must be approved before applying for KITAS, and both must align with your employment contract terms. Any discrepancy—in job title, salary declaration, or work location—can trigger rejection or compliance audits that disrupt operations.

Compliance obligations extend beyond initial approval: Monthly MERP (expatriate reporting) submissions, annual DP5 notifications, and DKPTKA (expatriate compensation fund) payments of USD 1,200 per expatriate per year. Non-compliance results in denial of renewal applications and potential immigration blacklisting. Additionally, each expatriate must demonstrably train Indonesian understudies—failure to document this skills transfer jeopardizes future work permit allocations.

We manage complete immigration lifecycles for clients—from initial RPTKA planning through annual renewals and family dependent processing. Our proactive calendar management has maintained 100% renewal success rates for clients over the past 3 years, avoiding the operational disruptions that occur when expatriates must leave Indonesia due to missed deadlines.