Context
For years remote workers came to Indonesia on tourist and socio-cultural visas and worked in a grey zone: those visas did not contemplate work at all. In April 2024 the Directorate General of Immigration introduced a dedicated category — the Remote Worker Visa with index E33G, commonly called the digital nomad KITAS. It is Indonesia's first status that expressly allows a foreigner to live in the country while working for an employer abroad.
What the E33G Is
The E33G belongs to the KITAS family — temporary stay permits. The visa is issued for one year, allows multiple entries and is extendable. The state's logic is transparent: legalise the presence of in-demand professionals while keeping them out of the local labour market. Hence the key condition — income comes from sources outside Indonesia.
Who Qualifies and the Conditions
The visa targets employees of foreign companies and freelancers with foreign clients; the gravitational centre is Bali. The core requirements: verified annual income from US$60,000 (about $5,000 a month), a bank balance of roughly $2,000 over the last three months, a passport valid at least six months, health insurance, a CV and a contract with a foreign employer or proof of a foreign company. Indonesian-source income and local work are excluded: payment in rupiah or services to local clients already fall outside the status. The visa must be used for entry within 90 days; at the border it converts into the KITAS — the temporary stay permit.
The Tax Side
The visa itself carries no tax benefits. As a general rule, a person spending more than 183 days in Indonesia over twelve months — or intending to reside there — becomes a tax resident taxed on worldwide income. Since 2025 practice has hardened: the tax administration treats holding a KITAS as evidence of intent to reside (overviews link this to a circular cited as PER-23/PJ/2025, though the document number is not confirmed in primary sources — the operative base remains Art. 2 of the Income Tax Law and PMK 18/2021), and an E33G holder risks being deemed resident effectively from arrival, without waiting for the 183-day threshold. Whether foreign income is actually taxed depends on the length of stay, the income source and the applicable double-tax treaty; in dual-residency cases the treaty tie-breaker decides. The popular "zero tax for nomads" claim has nothing to do with the E33G status itself.
How to Get It: Process, Timelines, Cost
Applications go online through the immigration portal (evisa.imigrasi.go.id); you need not be in the country when filing. After payment and document checks the decision usually takes about five working days. The official one-year package — visa fee, stay permit and re-entry permit — runs about US$315–430 (around Rp 7m); agency support adds a few hundred dollars and speeds things up. The visa allows multiple entries; an extension is formally possible, but in 2026 practice "renewal" often means leaving and refiling, with two to four weeks outside the country — verify the regulator's current position in advance.
Family, Limits and Enforcement
An E33G holder may bring immediate family — spouse and children — on dependent KITAS for the same term. The core restriction stays hard: work only for clients outside Indonesia; rupiah payments or services to local companies are treated as illegal employment. Enforcement tightened notably in 2025 — Bali's immigration formed a dedicated task force patrolling Canggu, Seminyak and other hubs, and over three hundred deportations passed through Ngurah Rai airport in a year. Legal status works as insurance against sudden removal.
E33G and Second Home: Different Tools
The E33G is not Indonesia's only long status. In parallel runs the Second Home Visa (index E33) for wealthy movers: it requires a deposit of about US$130,000 in a state bank or property from US$1m and is issued for five or ten years — but grants no right to work at all. The E33G covers the other need: living and working remotely at a moderate income bar. For those comparing Asian routes, it is worth weighing against Thailand and Malaysia — the conditions and tax logic differ notably.
Place in the Flag System
In Five Flags terms the E33G closes Flag 5 — physical presence, the place where you actually live. Flag 2, tax residency, remains a separate question: a long life on Bali can quietly make you an Indonesian tax resident. The route is therefore usually paired with a deliberate tax base in another jurisdiction — the traveller's logic works only when the flags are carefully kept apart.
Q/A
What work does the Indonesian E33G permit?
E33G is for living in Indonesia while performing remote duties for a company established outside Indonesia. It is not a general permit to take an Indonesian job, sell services locally or receive Indonesian remuneration. A change in client, employer or activity should be checked against the authorised activity before work begins.
What financial evidence is required for an E33G application?
Current immigration materials require proof of annual salary or income of at least US$60,000 and a personal bank statement showing at least US$2,000 or equivalent for the preceding three months, together with an overseas employment contract and other application documents. The live eVisa checklist should be rechecked before filing.
Does staying fewer than 183 days guarantee non-resident tax status in Indonesia?
No. More than 183 days in any 12-month period is one residence test, but residence or an intention to reside is an alternative test. Indonesian tax rules list a VITAS or ITAS valid for more than 183 days among documents that can evidence that intention, so the tax analysis cannot rely only on day counting.
Does E33G itself exempt the holder’s foreign salary from Indonesian tax?
No. E33G is an immigration status, not a tax exemption. Once a person is an Indonesian domestic tax subject, Indonesian and foreign income can enter the tax base, subject to the income-tax law and any applicable treaty. The limited regime for some qualifying foreign experts is separate and is not granted merely by holding E33G.
Can a spouse or child live and work in Indonesia under the holder’s E33G?
Family members do not simply share the principal holder’s visa: immigration lists separate E31 family categories for a spouse and an unmarried child under 18 joining an ITAS or ITAP holder. A family permit is generally for family reunification, not a blanket work authorisation, so each dependant’s intended activity needs its own status check.