Indonesia’s remote worker visa wants $60,000 a year and an employer, not a client list
Everyone pictures Bali as a place where you open a laptop and the visa sorts itself out. It doesn’t. Indonesia’s remote worker visa, known as the E33G, has a very specific idea of who deserves a year on the island.
The short version: it’s built for people on a foreign company’s payroll. If you’re a freelancer juggling six clients, read on before you book that villa.
Before you keep reading: if “moving abroad” has been a someday thought, I turned everything I wish I’d known into one guide. Visas, jobs, country picks — check it out.
The income bar is $60,000 a year
Indonesia asks for proof of at least $60,000 in annual income, which works out to roughly $5,000 a month. That money has to come from outside Indonesia, so a local side gig won’t help you clear it.
You’ll also need a bank statement showing at least $2,000. Is that a lot? Compared with some nomad visas, it’s not the scary part. The income line is.
Your paycheck has to come from a foreign company
Here’s where plenty of remote workers get tripped up. The visa asks for an employment contract with a company registered outside Indonesia.
Reporting on the visa describes it as a fit for employees of foreign companies rather than freelancers who invoice a mix of clients, and whether freelance contracts qualify is described as unsettled. Yes, really: the “digital nomad” visa may not be built for the most common kind of digital nomad. If you freelance, check the current rules on Indonesia’s official eVisa system before you commit to anything.
One rule you can’t bend: no Indonesian money
Holders can’t work for Indonesian companies or individuals, can’t take payment from Indonesian sources, and can’t sell goods or services locally. That includes the friendly cafe owner who wants help with her website, even if it’s one small job.
Want to earn locally? That takes a different kind of authorization, not this one. Think of the E33G as permission to spend your foreign income in Indonesia, and nothing more.
The cost, the clock, and the tax question
The government fee is reported at 7 million Indonesian rupiah, roughly $430, and the stay runs up to one year. You apply through the eVisa system, and you need to enter Indonesia within 90 days of the visa being issued.
Then there’s tax, which is the part nobody puts in the Instagram caption. Spend more than 183 days in a 12-month period in Indonesia and you can become an Indonesian tax resident, with registration and filing duties attached. No separate nomad tax holiday exists, so talk to a tax professional who knows both your home country and Indonesia before you settle in.
So is it worth it?
If you’re a salaried remote employee clearing the income line, I think it’s one of the more appealing ways to base yourself in Southeast Asia for a year. If you’re a freelancer or earn under the threshold, you’re probably better off looking at other options before you pay anything.
Wondering what day-to-day life looks like once the visa is sorted? One guest writer shares her experience in living in Bali as a digital nomad, based in Ubud.
Rules like these change, so confirm every number on Indonesia’s official immigration portal before you apply. Are you an employee or a freelancer, and which one does your dream destination actually want?
If Indonesia has you curious, my Indonesia archive has more.
