Indonesia Now Offers A Five-Year Digital Nomad Visa With Tax Exemption

Brunno Braga
·2 min read

For people who love sunny destinations, with stunning beaches and exquisite landscapes, Indonesia is known as a good place to visit. Now, this Southeast Asian country will also be a dreamland for remote workers. Indonesia has recently announced a five-year digital nomad visa with tax exemption. This visa would allow its holders to stay for as long as five years without paying taxes if they don’t earn their income within Indonesia. it will soon start offering a visa that will allow remote workers to live there tax-free as long as their earnings come from outside the country. Also, the country is planning to launch a five-year “digital nomad visa”, said Indonesia’s tourism minister Sandiago Uno.

These new visa scheme aims to attract nomad workers, mainly betting on Bali, its world-famous paradisiac archipelago. Uno said in a press conference, that this new resident visa might attract over 3.6 million visitors to Indonesia, creating one million jobs for its nationals.

Aerial view of the small island of Nusa Batumategan and Nusa Batupadasan Island from the Atuh Rija Lima shrine on Nusa Penida Island near Bali, Indonesia. | Canva
Aerial view of the small island of Nusa Batumategan and Nusa Batupadasan Island from the Atuh Rija Lima shrine on Nusa Penida Island near Bali, Indonesia. | Canva

The Indonesian minister also stated that this digital nomad visa with tax exemption will mean freelancers across the globe can live on islands like Bali, provided their earnings come from companies outside of Indonesia.

“In the past, the three S was: sun, sea and sand. We’re moving it to serenity, spirituality and sustainability. This way we’re getting better quality and better impact to the local economy,” the Indonesian minister told Bloomberg.

As remote work becomes the norm, Indonesia works to become one of the best destinations for nomad workers worldwide. This goal is based on research that showed Indonesia was “top of mind” for 95% of the remote workers that took part in the survey, according to the minister.

In March, Indonesia lifted all quarantine requirements for overseas visitors, two years after it imposed border restrictions to stem the spread of Covid-19. With the loosening of travel restrictions, the country expects to boost the number of foreign tourists to over 3 million in 2022.

“Now with the pandemic handled and all the ministries getting involved and cooperating from the health side to the immigration office, we believe that this is an opportune time to relaunch this idea,” Uno added.

Currently, the local government offers visas to remote workers wanting to visit Indonesia, including Visa on Arrival (VoA), Tourist of Cultural Visa and the country’s Free Visa. They last between 30 and 180 days.