Regulation Watch · Business Licensing · Indonesia. The documented cases concern Yogyakarta, Gunungkidul and Badung, Bali, while the stay-permit scope and compliance lesson apply nationally.
Immigration Deportations Show Stay Permits Must Match Actual Work
Immigration deported an investor-ITAS holder whose actual activity and sponsor did not match the permit, then deported seven foreign nationals in Bali for tourism and villa marketing under visit or remote-worker permissions.
- Published
- Official Immigration Yogyakarta investigation and enforcement bulletins were published on 11 and 14 September 2026. Ngurah Rai Immigration published the Bali enforcement bulletin on 29 October 2026. No new legal instrument was promulgated.
- Effective
- Not applicable. The bulletin documents current enforcement of existing immigration rules.
- Updated
- 29 October 2026
Who is affected
Foreign shareholders and directors holding an investor ITAS; E33G remote-worker ITAS holders; foreign nationals using a visit stay permit or Visa on Arrival; PT PMA sponsors; resort, hotel, villa, accommodation, travel and tourism businesses; directors, commissioners, company representatives, virtual-office users, employers, marketing teams and advisers responsible for immigration, corporate, OSS and manpower compliance.
Practical impact
Immigration is checking what a foreign national actually does, which Indonesian business benefits, the permit category, the sponsor and the sponsor's registered address. The Yogyakarta case ended in deportation after an investor-ITAS holder's poultry activity and inactive sponsor did not match the recorded purpose. The Bali bulletin records seven further deportations after officers found foreign nationals promoting travel, resort services or villa accommodation under visit stay permits, Visa on Arrival or E33G remote-worker ITAS. Ngurah Rai Immigration's official E33G guidance states that the permit is for remote work for an overseas company and prohibits work or payment from an Indonesian individual or legal entity. A valid stay permit is therefore not general permission to take a local marketing, operating or management role.
This is an enforcement development, not a new regulation. Immigration Yogyakarta published its investigation bulletin on 11 September 2026 after an administrative review on 28 July, a field check on 31 July, and checks of the sponsoring company's Jakarta address from 26 to 28 August. A follow-up published on 14 September confirms the enforcement outcome: Immigration imposed an administrative immigration action and deported the foreign national on 13 September.
The foreign national was recorded as an investor and president director of the sponsoring PT but told officers that he had stopped working for that company and had operated a poultry activity since 2023, employing about ten local workers. Officers also reported that the sponsor could not be identified at its registered address and that its office was no longer operating. Immigration concluded that the factual activity did not match the investor ITAS and removed the holder from Indonesia. The follow-up does not announce a specific entry-ban period for this individual.
The official E28A guidance is specific. A holder may invest, conduct investment-related business activity, act as a director or commissioner of the company in which the holder invests, and supervise that company's production. The same guidance prohibits work inconsistent with the stay permit. It also requires at least Rp10 billion in shares in the sponsoring company and directs a director or commissioner below that threshold to the work-visa route for the position.
PT PMA sponsors should treat the registered address and the foreign investor's real activity as active compliance data. A valid-looking ITAS does not cure a dormant sponsor, an obsolete address, a role that exists only on paper, an activity outside the sponsor's licensed business, or a missing manpower route. The safest control is a coordinated review of immigration, AHU, OSS, tax, LKPM, address, shareholding, and daily operating evidence before renewal or inspection.
The 29 October Bali bulletin materially broadens the enforcement evidence. Ngurah Rai Immigration reported that two foreign nationals used visit stay permits to promote tourism, three worked as marketing staff for the same resort while holding Visa on Arrival or E33G remote-worker ITAS, and two used visit or E33G permissions while marketing accommodation or villas through Telegram. All seven were deported during the 13 to 23 October enforcement period.
The official E33G guidance defines the permit as a route for a foreign national who works remotely for a company outside Indonesia while living in Indonesia. It expressly prohibits work or payment from an Indonesian individual or legal entity and identifies deportation and possible entry restriction as consequences. Resort, villa and travel businesses should therefore treat local marketing as substantive activity even where it is performed on a website, social media or messaging platform.
A business should test the real facts rather than rely on the permit label. The review should identify who directs the activity, who receives the leads or revenue, which company is promoted, where payment comes from and whether the role requires an Indonesian work-authorised route. The same evidence should be consistent across immigration, manpower, AHU, OSS, tax, payroll, contracts, websites, social accounts and messaging channels.
Required action
- Map every foreign national's daily activity, customer, employer, payment source, work location and beneficiary to the exact visa or stay-permit scope and any required manpower approval.
- For an E33G holder, retain the overseas employment contract and evidence that the work is performed for the overseas company, and prohibit local resort, villa, travel, accommodation, sales or marketing work and payment from an Indonesian individual or entity.
- Do not assign local promotional, lead-generation, messaging, sales, booking or customer-acquisition tasks to a visitor or Visa on Arrival holder merely because the activity is online, unpaid, short term or described as networking.
- For an investor ITAS holder, match the daily activity to the exact E28A scope, sponsor company, licensed KBLI activities, deed position and any required manpower approval.
- Confirm that the sponsor company is active and identifiable at its registered address, with current AHU, OSS, tax, lease or virtual-office, signage, contact, and operating records.
- Verify the E28A shareholding threshold. Immigration's current guidance requires at least Rp10 billion in shares in the sponsoring company; a director or commissioner below that threshold must use the work-visa route appropriate to the position.
- Keep evidence of genuine investment and company activity, including the deed and AHU profile, shareholding, company bank statements, OSS licences, LKPM, tax filings, payroll or manpower records where applicable, and records showing what the foreign national actually does.
- If the activity, role, sponsor, address, or permit category no longer matches reality, stop the incompatible activity and correct the corporate, licensing, manpower, and immigration position before the next renewal or field inspection.