Bali Property Owners Visa

This is one of the questions we get a lot. Some people think that owning property in Bali in one or another way, may give them special rights to obtain a visa. Unfortunately this is not the case. People who own property through a PMA (Indonesian Ltd.) get a visa because they own a company, but not because they (their company) own property. If you just are for short periods in Bali, and don’t use your property (or rent it out), a tourist visa may be enough. If you spend longer periods in Bali, a Social Visa (Sosial Budaya) may be a good solution. This Visa is valid for 6 months. The ‘SosBud’ is issued at first for 2 months, and then can be renewed (in Bali) each month for a total period of 6 months.

The Social Visa requires an Indonesian to be your sponsor, and a so called Sponsor Letter is part of the application process. This Visa is not issued in Bali, it can only be issued outside of Indonesia. Some people who want to stay longer then 6 months in Bali, do the so called Visa runs; after 6 months fly up and down to Singapore or any other nearby place with an Indonesian Embassy or Consulate, and get a new Social Visa. This Visa does not allow you to work. If you are over 55, you can get a Retirement Visa. This is issued for a year, and can be renewed each year for a total period of 5 years. There are certain rules and regulations (and costs) to obtain such a Retirement Visa, but they are not very strict.

Also with this Visa, you are not allowed to work. If you are, besides buying property, planning to do business in Bali, a PMA is probably the best solution. A PMA is a Ltd. which can be owned by foreigners. This company can hold property, and can obtain Visas and working permits for its directors and employees. Obtaining some right to stay in Bali seems to worry a lot of future buyers. Practically however, there are no real problems. It is advisable however, to use a good and well known Visa agent, such as Bali IDE, to make your life more easy.

And, obey the rules that apply to your Visa. Sometimes bending the rules a bit seems easy, but if you own property in Bali, you better not… Important to know is that only people who have a Kitas, either a Retirement Kitas, or a Kitas / Working Permit, can ship containers with household goods etc to Bali. Also, in most cases, Kitas holders have more advantages.

Kitas holders can obtain an Indonesian driving license, its more easy to open Indonesian bank accounts, and you can put cars, motorbikes and such on your own name. Mobile phone and other paid subscriptions are also easier.