Indonesia is getting ready for Digital Nomads

Digital nomadism has already been on the rise even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit around the world, and ever since, this lifestyle has been receiving a major boost, especially among the younger generation of workforce. Though ranking among the most popular locations world-wide for digital nomads, Indonesia does not yet provide a suitable legal environment to accommodate digital nomads.

Ride into the danger zone

Digital nomads are described as people who earn a living by working online while travelling. They have been observed widely across the globe, including Indonesia. Indonesia, however, does not yet have a positive law regulating this kind of activities, making it a grey area in terms of law enforcement by the immigration authorities. In practice, foreigners staying in Indonesia who are found working (formally and informally) here without proper working visa and working permit, would be deemed as law offenders and may be subject to sanctions and/or deportation.

Paving the way for properly regulated digital nomadism

Many countries have been offering visa options to accommodate digital nomads. It is only predictable that Indonesia, as one of the most popular destination countries for digital nomads, will follow in introducing similar visa.

Responding to the flow of digitalization and the change of work behavior towards remote working, the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (“MTCE”) along with other ministries are currently working together to formulate a regulation based on the digital nomad visa. This plan was on hold because of the pandemic, but it is now being pushed forward since President Joko Widodo addressed visa issues and instructed on a more streamlined process of visas, particularly for incoming investors in a recent coordination meeting with all of the ministers.

Interim solution

The details on requirements and conditions for this new visa are in progress, however, in a press release MTCE informed that meanwhile, digital nomads can enter Indonesia applying for a visa for social and culture purposes (or visa B211A).

Under the new regulation, the government plans to provide a long term visa (that is valid for five years) which targets digital nomads and the silver economy. With the availability of this visa, it is expected that the number of tourists visiting Indonesia would be increased, and the longer stay would provide a positive impact on local economies.