Information, not advice: Second Home Visa Indonesia is an independent editorial guide — not the Government of Indonesia, not the Directorate General of Immigration, and not a law firm or licensed adviser. The Second Home Visa is a non-working visa; the IDR 2 billion deposit is IDR-set and FX-exposed, rules change by regulation, and figures are "last verified June 2026" — confirm at the e-Visa portal (evisa.imigrasi.go.id) and with licensed Indonesian immigration/tax counsel before acting. We never promise approval. If you engage a partner we introduce, that partner may pay us a referral fee at no cost to you.
Can you work on Second Home Visa Indonesia? No – you cannot legally take local jobs or run an Indonesia-based business on the Second Home Visa. This stay permit is designed for long-term residents with their own funds, not for people working in the Indonesian labour market.
This page unpacks the “no work” rule in plain English, using the actual regulations – so you can decide if the Second Home Visa fits how you earn and live.
Quick definition: what is the Second Home Visa, and who is it for?
Indonesia’s Second Home Visa (Visa Rumah Kedua) is a long-stay pathway aimed at financially secure foreigners who want to reside in Indonesia for 5 or 10 years without working locally.
- Deposit / asset threshold: proof of funds or investment of at least IDR 2,000,000,000 (two billion rupiah, last verified June 2026, ≈ USD 120–130k depending on FX). This figure comes from Directorate General of Immigration Circular IMI-0740.GR.01.01/2022.
- Legal basis: introduced under PP 48/2021 (Peraturan Pemerintah No. 48 Tahun 2021) and then detailed in the Immigration Circular above.
- Stay period: multiple-entry stay permit for 5 years or 10 years (chosen at application), renewability subject to rules at the time. No path to citizenship is guaranteed.
- Core intent: retirees, financially independent long-stayers, and property owners who support themselves from foreign income or assets – not jobseekers.
Because the visa is marketed loosely as a “long-stay” or “Bali stay” solution, the work rules get blurred by marketing. The law itself is stricter.
Second Home Visa Indonesia work rights: what you legally CANNOT do
The headline: the Second Home Visa gives no work rights in Indonesia.
Under the immigration framework in PP 48/2021 and the normal division between stay permits and work permits, any activity that counts as “pekerjaan” (work) in Indonesia requires the appropriate work authorisation (e.g. a Working KITAS/ITAS tied to an Indonesian employer, with an approved RPTKA/Notifikasi from the Ministry of Manpower).
On a Second Home Visa, you cannot legally:
- Take a job from an Indonesian company – salaried, part-time, freelance, or “commission only”. Example: marketing manager for a Bali villa company, yoga teacher on a local payroll.
- Freelance in Indonesia’s local market – e.g. designing for local cafes, shooting wedding photos for Bali resorts, guiding tours, doing visa agent work, giving paid workshops to the public.
- Operate a local business in your own or a nominee’s Indonesian name – restaurant, café, dive shop, villa agency, driver service, or any “usaha” aimed at the Indonesian or tourist market.
- Be listed as a Director/Commissioner performing active duties of an Indonesian PT or PT PMA without the correct work authorisations and KITAS attached to that role.
- Take “under the table” work, even if paid in cash or via foreign bank accounts, if the activity is carried out physically in Indonesia for Indonesian clients/employers.
Immigration and manpower officials do not care primarily about where your salary is paid; they care what you are doing, where, and for whose benefit.
Remote work Second Home Visa Indonesia: what is generally tolerated?
Indonesia, like many countries, has not yet issued a detailed “remote work” rulebook. There is no specific “digital nomad” visa category in the Immigration Law. However, in practice and in line with the intent of the Second Home Visa, these activities are generally tolerated for Second Home holders:
- Remote work for a foreign employer – e.g. your full-time job with a company legally based outside Indonesia, where:
- Your contract is with a non-Indonesian entity.
- You perform work mainly online (laptop, calls).
- The company does not market or sell to Indonesia in a way that makes you a de facto local representative.
- Remote freelancing / consulting for foreign clients – invoices issued to non-Indonesian clients, with no local advertising or operations targeting Indonesian customers.
- Managing overseas assets – e.g. running your UK/US/AU property portfolio, stocks, or business investments from your laptop, as long as you are not delivering services into Indonesia’s local market.
- Passive income – dividends, interest, overseas pensions, royalties, capital gains, as long as Indonesia tax rules are respected (more below).
Important: these are practical norms, not a blank cheque. There is always a risk that an official interprets your activities as local work if, for example:
- Your “foreign” company actively runs an Indonesian business (e.g. a Singapore holding that in reality operates Bali villas and tours).
- You meet clients in Indonesia, sell to Indonesia-based customers, or advertise services priced in IDR.
- You present yourself publicly as working in Indonesia under your own brand (e.g. “Bali-based coach/photographer/guide”).
If your income is tied in any visible way to the Indonesian market, your situation is less “remote worker” and more “working in Indonesia without the correct permit”. That’s what attracts enforcement.
Running a villa or local business on a Second Home Visa: very high risk
This is the most common – and most dangerous – misunderstanding.
Some foreigners assume the Second Home Visa is a cheap way to live in Bali and “quietly run a villa” or small business on the side. In practice, this is exactly the profile immigration and local authorities focus on.
Examples of risky activities
- Operating a villa rental as a business:
- Listing your property on Airbnb/Booking.com with you as the visible contact and manager in Indonesia.
- Hiring staff directly (housekeeping, gardener, driver) and managing them yourself on site.
- Handling guest check-in, complaints, tours, transport, etc., as your “job” in Bali.
- Running a surf school, yoga shala, café or restaurant:
- You are frequently seen teaching, supervising, or managing publicly.
- Your name and face are on the business Instagram or marketing as the “founder/coach/chef”.
- “Helping” a friend’s business:
- Unpaid or “just helping” is still work if you are visibly performing staff or management roles.
Immigration and local officials in Bali, Lombok, and Jakarta have conducted periodic inspections of villas, cafés, and coworking spaces. Typical triggers include:
- Competitor complaints.
- Neighbour complaints about noise, zoning, or tax issues.
- Social media visibility – it is not unusual for officials to act on Instagram/TikTok accounts where foreigners clearly promote themselves as doing business.
What you should use instead if you want to run a local business
If you plan to run an Indonesian business, the correct structure is typically:
- PT PMA (foreign-owned limited company) or local PT with you as a foreign shareholder; and
- Investor KITAS / Working KITAS connected to that company, with a registered business field and manpower approvals.
Those structures are more complex and costlier but match what you are actually doing. Using a Second Home Visa while you actively manage a villa, café, or tour business is misaligned with your real activity and creates raid / fine / deportation risk.
If you need to explore Investor KITAS or Golden Visa options, you can plan your trip and long-stay with us – we’ll walk you through vetted specialist partners on WhatsApp, so you can compare paths with real numbers.
Tax and the Second Home Visa: resident vs non-resident
Work rights and tax residency are separate issues.
When do you become an Indonesian tax resident?
Based on Indonesia’s Income Tax Law and practice (not specific to the Second Home Visa), you typically become a tax resident if you:
- Stay in Indonesia for >183 days in any 12-month period; or
- Are present in Indonesia and intend to reside here (which a 5–10 year stay visa strongly signals).
As a tax resident, you are in principle taxed on your global income, subject to:
- Indonesia’s tax brackets and rules; and
- Any applicable tax treaties between Indonesia and your home country.
There have been public discussions and policy hints about incentivising foreign-sourced income for long-stay foreigners, but detailed rules have shifted over time. You should treat tax guidance from agents or marketing pages with caution and verify with a licensed tax professional.
Key practical points:
- Even if your remote job or business is fully foreign-based, tax may still apply in Indonesia once you’re a tax resident.
- Indonesia and your home country may both claim taxing rights; double-taxation-relief mechanisms depend on your specific treaty.
- Some expenses (e.g. health insurance, dependants) can influence your effective tax rate – but the rules are technical.
This site provides information, not tax advice. For anything beyond general principles, you should speak with a licensed Indonesian tax consultant. We can connect you to vetted professionals; if you proceed with our partner they may pay us a referral fee at no extra cost to you, and no one can pay to change what we publish.
Why the Second Home Visa bans local work
The “no work” rule is not accidental. It’s baked into the policy logic of the visa.
- Protection of the local labour market: One of the core principles behind Indonesia’s immigration and manpower rules is that foreign workers must be skills additions, not competitors for local jobs. That’s why working foreigners usually need:
- An approved RPTKA (foreign manpower utilisation plan); and
- A KITAS tied to a specific employer and role.
- Second Home is a residence, not employment, class: The deposit / asset rule in Circular IMI-0740.GR.01.01/2022 and the framing in PP 48/2021 make clear that Indonesia expects Second Home holders to be financially self-sufficient.
- Different tools for different users: Entrepreneurs and investors are meant to use the Investor KITAS or, for large investments, various flavours of Golden Visa. Salary-earning professionals use standard Working KITAS routes. The Second Home Visa is a separate lane.
Trying to “bend” the Second Home Visa into an informal work permit puts you out of step with how officials are trained to interpret it.
What happens if you work illegally on a Second Home Visa?
Illegal work risks range from a warning to detention and deportation, depending on the severity, visibility, and how cooperative you are in any investigation.
Under Indonesia’s Immigration Law and enforcement practice, potential outcomes include:
- Questioning & inspection – officials can visit your place of stay or business premises, ask for your passport, take statements, and review devices or documents relevant to alleged work.
- Administrative sanctions – cancellation of your visa/stay permit, requirement to leave the country within a set time, blacklisting / entry ban for a period.
- Detention – in immigration detention facilities while your case is processed, sometimes for weeks if documents or flight arrangements are delayed.
- Deportation – removal from Indonesia, with costs often borne by you or your sponsor, plus possible future re-entry restrictions.
- Fines and potential criminal charges – especially if your business has unpaid taxes, violates zoning, or employs staff without proper contracts/coverage.
Enforcement is not constant or predictable. Some people work for years without issue; others are caught within months because of a single complaint or viral TikTok. Relying on “my friend did it and it was fine” is not a strategy.
Second Home Visa vs Investor KITAS vs Golden Visa: work and business rights
If you’re trying to choose between visas, comparing pure work and business rights helps. The table below is simplified and focuses only on the economic-activity angle.
| Visa type | Typical duration | Local work allowed? | Can you run a local business? | Financial threshold (last verified June 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second Home Visa | 5 or 10 years | No local work rights. Remote work for foreign employers generally tolerated, subject to tax. | No active management. You can own assets, but business operations should be arm’s length. | Proof of funds / assets of ≥ IDR 2,000,000,000 (≈ USD 120–130k, FX varies) | Self-funded residents, retirees, remote workers whose income is foreign-based. |
| Investor KITAS (via PT PMA) | 1–2 years, renewable | Yes, in your role as investor-director/commissioner within your PT PMA, subject to manpower rules. | Yes, you can actively manage and be legally responsible for a registered company. | Company capitalisation rules apply; minimum paid-up capital often advised in the billions of IDR (varies by sector / last verified June 2026). | Entrepreneurs and investors actively building an Indonesian business. |
| Golden Visa (investment-based) | 5–10 years (varies by scheme) | Can include work/management rights linked to substantial investment, subject to scheme rules. | Yes, but requires significantly higher investment thresholds and approvals. | High – often several million USD-equivalent depending on route (figures evolve; check most recent regulations). | High-net-worth individuals wanting long-term status tied to major investment. |
Retirement Visa (non-Second-Home) and family-dependent KITAS similarly do not grant work rights. If you expect to earn from Indonesia, you should be assessing Investor KITAS / Golden Visa, not trying to twist the Second Home Visa into a work vehicle.
Owning property or assets on a Second Home Visa: passive vs active
A frequent question is: can you own a villa or apartment on a Second Home Visa and earn from it?
There are two separate issues:
- Property ownership rules (Hak Pakai, Hak Guna Bangunan via PT PMA, nominee risks – complex and beyond the scope of this page).
- Whether your role is passive investor or active operator.
On a Second Home Visa you can, within Indonesia’s separate land and property rules:
- Hold certain property/usage rights correctly structured via notaries and licensed advisors.
- Receive income that is properly declared and taxed as rental or investment income.
What you cannot safely do is personally act as the day-to-day operator of that asset (marketing, check-in, cleaning coordination, guest communication) in a way that looks like a job. Structuring your involvement as:
- Passive shareholder; and
- Letting a properly set-up operator company with its own local staff run the business
is far closer to the policy intent of the Second Home Visa and aligns with your “no work” status.
How application and sponsorship tie into work rules
The Second Home Visa application process (based on IMI-0740.GR.01.01/2022 and current DGI practice) focuses on:
- Your identity and clean record.
- Proof of the required funds/assets (IDR 2bn, last verified June 2026).
- Basic supporting documents (passport validity, etc.).
Crucially, unlike a Working KITAS, there is no Indonesian employer sponsor and no manpower plan. That absence is not an accident; it is a clear sign that immigration does not expect you to be part of the domestic labour force.
Agents sometimes market “Second Home sponsorship” or packages that sound like employer relationships. In reality:
- Your sponsor (if used) is administrative – not an employer.
- They cannot legally grant you work rights that your visa class doesn’t have.
Be cautious of any service that implies the Second Home Visa lets you “work quietly” if you use “their” company. If the permit type is still Second Home, the underlying rule is unchanged: no local work.
How to decide if the Second Home Visa fits your situation
The Second Home Visa is a strong fit if:
- Your income is mostly foreign-sourced (employment, pension, investments), and you’re comfortable addressing Indonesian tax residency if you stay long-term.
- You do not need to appear publicly as working in Indonesia or running a local business.
- You value a 5–10 year horizon and can meet the IDR 2bn (last verified June 2026) requirement without financial strain.
It’s a weak or dangerous fit if:
- You plan to teach, coach, guide, photograph, or consult in Bali or elsewhere to local or tourist clients.
- You want to actively run a villa, café, studio, or shop and be on the ground every day.
- Your entire financial model requires you to earn in rupiah and handle local customers.
In those cases, it is usually better to start from: “What visa class actually covers what I’m doing?” than to force your life into a visa that was not designed for it.
If you want to stress-test your plan (retirement, remote work, or business) against current Indonesian options, you can plan your trip and long-stay strategy with us. We coordinate by email and WhatsApp, give you comparison frameworks, and – if you choose – connect you to specialists. If you proceed with our partner they may pay us a referral fee at no extra cost to you, and no one can pay to change what we publish.
Independence and scope of this page
This page is prepared by Second Home Visa Indonesia as an independent information resource. We are:
- Not the Government of Indonesia.
- Not the Directorate General of Immigration.
- Not a law firm or tax advisory practice.
We base our coverage on formal regulations (such as PP 48/2021 and Immigration Circular IMI-0740.GR.01.01/2022), official statements, and cross-checking with licensed practitioners. That said, immigration and tax rules change; some interpretations vary by local office and evolve over time.
This is information, not personalised legal or tax advice. For your specific case, you should consult a qualified professional. If you proceed with one of the vetted partners we introduce, they may pay us a referral fee at no extra cost to you. Our editorial coverage is independent: no one can pay to change what we publish.
FAQs: Work on Second Home Visa Indonesia
Can I work remotely for my foreign employer while on the Second Home Visa?
Typically yes, remote work for a foreign employer with no Indonesian presence is generally tolerated, but you may become an Indonesian tax resident and owe tax on your income. This does not give you the right to take local Indonesian jobs or clients.
Can I own a business in Indonesia on a Second Home Visa?
You can hold investments or shares, but you should not act as the active, day-to-day manager of an Indonesian business on a Second Home Visa. Active management and visible operational roles usually require an Investor KITAS or Working KITAS linked to a properly structured company.
Can my spouse work in Indonesia if I hold a Second Home Visa?
No, dependants of Second Home Visa holders do not automatically gain work rights. Your spouse would need their own appropriate work-based stay permit and authorisations if they want to work in Indonesia’s local market.
What are the penalties if I get caught working illegally on a Second Home Visa?
Penalties can include cancellation of your stay permit, detention in immigration facilities, fines, deportation, and a future entry ban. Outcomes depend on the specifics of the case and the discretion of the authorities.
Is running my own villa on Airbnb considered “work” on a Second Home Visa?
If you are actively managing the villa – handling bookings, guest communication, check-in, staff, or maintenance – officials can treat this as working or running a business in Indonesia, which is not allowed on a Second Home Visa. Using a proper company structure and visa type is safer if you want to operate rentals commercially.