KITAS for Bali property owners: which stay permit, and how long it lasts

One word, many permits. Which one sits behind a foreigner's home decides its clock, its sponsor and its road to permanent stay.

KITAS, the limited-stay permits, as a property owner meets them

“KITAS” is one word for many permits. Which one a foreign owner holds decides how long the immigration document behind the home lasts, whether a sponsor is involved, and whether there is a road to a KITAP.

Is a KITAS actually required to own a home?

The land regulation asks for a valid immigration document (PP 18/2021 art. 69(1)), and its elucidation defines that as a visa, a passport, or a stay permit issued by the competent authority under the immigration laws (PP 18/2021, elucidation to art. 69(1)). On the text, a stay permit is one of three documents that can satisfy the requirement, not the only one. What the land office asks to see on application and on extension is set in the ministerial regulation, which we have not re-read for this page; a buyer should expect the land office’s list, not the elucidation, to decide in practice. An heir is defined the same way: an Indonesian citizen, or a foreigner with an immigration document under the immigration laws (PP 18/2021, elucidation to art. 69(2)). The ministerial regulation.

The law above the regulation

Every foreigner in Indonesia must hold a stay permit (Immigration Law (Law 6/2011) art. 48(1)); the kinds are diplomatic, service, visit, limited-stay and permanent (Immigration Law (Law 6/2011) art. 48(3)). A KITAS is the limited-stay kind. The law itself gives one to foreigners lawfully married to Indonesians, and their children (Immigration Law (Law 6/2011) art. 52(e)-(f)), and lets those married to Indonesians and their family may work and/or run a business to support themselves and their family (Immigration Law (Law 6/2011) art. 61).

What every holder must do

Each holder must give identity information and report every change of civil status, citizenship, work, sponsor or address to the local immigration office (Immigration Law art. 71(1)(a), as amended by Law 6/2023 art. 106). A move from one villa to another is a change of address. A sponsor, where there is one, is responsible for the foreigner's presence and activities, must report changes in civil status, immigration status and address, and pays for removal if the permit expires or the foreigner is deported (Immigration Law art. 63(2)-(3), as amended by Law 6/2023 art. 106). And a property owner who lets rooms is on the other side of the rules too: owners or managers of lodging must give data on the foreigners staying there when asked by immigration or police officers (Immigration Law art. 72(2), as amended by Law 63/2024). The villa license.

The purposes

Limited-stay visas are given for work as an expert or worker, work offshore, clergy, foreign investment, research, education, family reunification, repatriation, the second-home family, medical treatment, and working holiday (Permenkumham 22/2023 art. 33(2)). The ones a Bali home owner usually holds are the investor, second-home, retirement and remote-worker permits, or the family permit of someone married to an Indonesian. One more exists for younger visitors: the working-holiday visa, for nationals of certain countries with a cooperation agreement with Indonesia, for certain work for a certain time (Permenkumham 22/2023 art. 33(3)-(4)).

Whichever permit it is, the law’s duties run with it: report changes of status, work, sponsor or address, and show the permit when asked (Immigration Law art. 71(1)(a), as amended by Law 6/2023 art. 106).

How long each runs

Conversion rule: Permenkumham 22/2023 art. 179(1) and Permenkumham 22/2023 art. 179(3); activities that can convert: Permenkumham 22/2023 art. 173.

Sponsors

Certain foreigners must have a sponsor who guarantees their presence (Permenkumham 22/2023 art. 191(1)); exempt are foreigners married to Indonesians, foreign investors under the investment law, and nationals of reciprocal countries (Permenkumham 22/2023 art. 191(2)); the law sets the same exemptions: foreigners married to Indonesians, foreign investors under the investment law, and nationals of reciprocal countries (Immigration Law art. 63(4), as amended by Law 6/2023 art. 106). A permit with a sponsor ties the foreigner’s stay to that sponsor’s continued guarantee — a reason to know which kind of KITAS sits behind a home.

The permit and the property

A foreigner’s home requires a valid immigration document (PP 18/2021 art. 69(1)), and the heir needs one too (PP 18/2021 art. 69(2)–(3)). The permit decides the clock the owner lives on; the land right runs on its own. A buyer on a one- or two-year permit holding a 30-year hak pakai has two clocks to keep in step. KITAP, the permanent permit. Can foreigners own property in Bali?

This is commentary on the official text, not immigration advice. We do not arrange permits.

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