Regulation Watch · Business Licensing · Indonesia, including Bali
Foreign-Worker Licensing Moves to a Single OSS Entry
A three-ministry joint decision makes OSS the single entry for investment-related foreign-worker applications, connects SIAPKerja and All Indonesia, and requires system-issued approvals under a positive-fiction mechanism when the applicable service-level period is exceeded.
- Published
- Joint Decision Nos. 1/2026, MIP-GR.07.02-11/2026, and 253.S/2026 was issued on 9 September 2026; it was not separately promulgated in the State Gazette
- Effective
- 9 September 2026
- Updated
- 26 September 2026
Who is affected
PT PMA companies and other Indonesian employers using foreign workers for investment activities; foreign investors, experts, directors and commissioners; company representatives; and advisers handling RPTKA, manpower, OSS, VITAS, ITAS and ITAP processes.
Practical impact
The joint decision makes OSS the single entry and integration gateway for investment-related foreign-worker applications. The Ministry of Manpower continues to assess and issue RPTKA approvals through SIAPKerja, while the immigration authority verifies and issues VITAS, ITAS and ITAP approvals through All Indonesia. If the applicable service-level period is exceeded, the relevant system must issue the approval under a positive-fiction mechanism and transmit the result to OSS. The integration does not remove the underlying requirements for the approved employer, position, work location, RPTKA, compensation-fund payment, visa, stay permit, or reporting.
The Ministry of Manpower's official JDIH has now published the joint decision signed on 9 September 2026. Its three numbers are 1/2026 for the manpower minister, MIP-GR.07.02-11/2026 for the immigration and corrections minister, and 253.S/2026 for the investment minister and BKPM head. The instrument took effect on the date it was issued and covers investment-related foreign workers, specifically investors, experts, directors and commissioners.
OSS is the single entry and integration gateway. The employer submits through OSS; SIAPKerja remains the Ministry of Manpower system for assessing and issuing the RPTKA approval; and All Indonesia remains the immigration system for verifying and issuing VITAS, ITAS and ITAP approvals. Each ministry retains its statutory authority, and the systems exchange the resulting approval data with OSS.
The material implementation detail is the positive-fiction mechanism. If the applicable service-level period for the RPTKA approval is exceeded, SIAPKerja must issue the RPTKA approval under that mechanism. If the service-level period for the VITAS, ITAS or ITAP approval is exceeded, All Indonesia must issue the corresponding approval. Businesses should not equate silence or an expired clock with a usable permit: the relevant system must issue the approval and transmit the result to OSS before the company relies on it.
This is workflow integration, not deregulation. It does not remove the legal requirements governing the employer, foreign worker, approved position and work location, compensation-fund payment, visa, stay permit, or mandatory reporting. During implementation, companies should align the OSS, SIAPKerja and All Indonesia data, preserve timestamps and system evidence, and escalate a failed handoff without allowing work to begin prematurely.
Required action
- For every new or renewed foreign-worker case, begin with the current OSS workflow and confirm whether the integrated route is active for the specific service before using an older standalone process.
- Reconcile the employer's NIB, legal name, address, KBLI, work locations, responsible officers, and contact details across OSS and SIAPKerja before submission.
- Use identical passport, job-title, work-location, employment-period, and sponsor data across the RPTKA-related filing and the connected visa or stay-permit process in All Indonesia.
- Record the submission time and applicable service-level period, and keep the OSS receipt, SIAPKerja output, immigration confirmation, payment evidence, and screenshots of every system handoff or error.
- If a service-level period expires, verify that SIAPKerja or All Indonesia has actually issued the positive-fiction approval and that the result appears in OSS; elapsed time by itself is not a document authorising work or stay.
- Do not allow the foreign national to work until the required manpower and immigration approvals for the actual activity, position, location, and employer are complete.