Short answer
To move to Bali you need a long-stay visa, such as the E33G remote worker visa for a year, if a company abroad employs you and you earn USD 60,000 a year. Book a month's housing first: a one-bedroom villa in Canggu typically rents for IDR 20 million (about USD 1,110) to IDR 30 million a month.[10, 17]
- Passport validity
- 6 months past arrival
- Arrival card
- Within 72 hours before landing
- E33G income
- USD 60,000 a year
- One-bedroom villa, Canggu
- IDR 20–30 million a month
Questions
Tax residency in Indonesia for foreigners
When a foreigner in Bali becomes an Indonesian tax resident: the 183-day count, the KITAS question, income from abroad and the tax number.
Can foreigners own land or property in Bali?
A foreigner can hold a Bali house on a right-of-use title from IDR 5 billion, an apartment from IDR 2 billion, or a lease, but never freehold land.
Health insurance in Bali: BPJS, private and travel
Who must join BPJS Kesehatan in Bali, what it costs, which visas ask for cover, and what private policies leave out for scooter riders.
In detail
Your plans set where to start:
- Arriving this month: check what must be ready before you fly, then what happens when you land and the phone, bank and rent.
- Staying a year: pick your visa route first, then the licence, and registration and tax in your first weeks. Thinking of buying a house? Read what foreigners can hold before you sign anything.
- Bringing family: start with children and pets before you book flights, as pet papers take months, then shipping your belongings.
- Moving from the US: read what changes for US citizens as well: the US still taxes you here.
Which visa route fits your move?
A move needs a long-stay visa: the E33G remote worker visa for a year on a foreign income, or the E33 second home visa for up to five years on savings or an apartment. The visa on arrival is for a holiday, and a C1 visit visa for a longer look before you commit.[1, 5, 6, 10]
| Route | Who it fits | Stay | What decides it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa on arrival | A holiday | 30 days, extendable once to 60 | IDR 500,000 official fee |
| C1 visit visa | A longer look | 60 days, extendable to 180 | IDR 1 million and a bank statement showing USD 2,000 |
| E33G remote worker visa | Employed by a company outside Indonesia | Up to 1 year | An income of USD 60,000 a year |
| E33 second home visa | Savings or an apartment to commit | Up to 5 years | USD 130,000 in a state bank, or a USD 1 million apartment |
Which Bali visa you need compares every route, fee by fee. The long-stay routes each have their own page: the remote worker visa, the second home visa and the KITAS (limited stay permit).
Apply through the channels immigration lists: evisa.imigrasi.go.id for the long-stay visas, and for the visa on arrival also indonesiavoa.vfsevisa.id or the airport's bank counter. The visa on arrival costs IDR 500,000 today; a rise to IDR 750,000 online and IDR 1 million at the airport was announced on 12 August 2026 with no start date (see Conflicts). These are immigration's official fees, paid direct; a visa agent charges its own fee on top.[7, 43, 51]
Overstaying costs IDR 1 million (about USD 56) a day for up to 60 days. Stay on longer and you face deportation and a ban on returning (overstay fines).[1, 4]
The anti-corruption commission (KPK) is examining alleged requests for payments beyond official fees at the Ngurah Rai and Denpasar immigration offices, within a wider residence-permit case in which it named eight suspects in June 2026, none of them in Bali. If you use an agent, ask for the official fee as its own line on the invoice.[8, 9, 52, 53]
A KITAS and a KITAP (permanent stay permit) are stay permits, issued after the visa. Both come up again below, for the levy, the licence and tax.
Our rule
Type the immigration address yourself, and check the address bar before you enter your passport number.
Fraudulent visa services exist, and the address is the quickest check.[1]
What must be ready before you fly?
Sort these before you fly: a long-stay visa, pet papers and shipping cannot be arranged at the airport; the levy and a visa on arrival can.
Check your passport
Your passport must be valid for at least six months after the day you arrive, with at least two blank pages.[1, 2]
If you lose the passport that holds your visa, leaving on an emergency passport needs an exit permit from Indonesian immigration. That is one more office visit at the end of your stay.[3]
Buy health cover with evacuation
A medical evacuation can cost tens of thousands of pounds, so buy cover that includes it; what else a long-stay policy should cover is on health insurance in Bali.[30]
Save the direct numbers now: police 110, fire 113, ambulance 118 or 119. Bali's regencies pledged on 24 September 2026 to strengthen and join up 112, Indonesia's single emergency number, so call the direct line. Bites from animals that can carry rabies run to thousands a month in Bali, so any dog or monkey bite means a clinic the same day.[31, 32, 41, 42]
Book one month of housing, not a year
Book a month until you know the area. For a villa, ask for the Bali Villa Rental Manager Association verification code, and pay nothing until it checks out. Deposits and terms are below, and prices by area on the long-term rentals page.[21]
Tick the checklist twice
Run through it a month ahead, then again the night you leave.
- Passport valid six months past arrival, with two blank pages.
- Visa approved on the official site, its terms printed.
- International driving permit from your home country.
- Health insurance with evacuation cover.
- Pet paperwork, including Bali's written confirmation.
- First month's housing booked, with the verification code checked.
- Arrival card filed in the last 72 hours; levy paid and voucher saved, or KITAS ready to show.
What happens when you land in Bali?
Two online steps stand between the plane and the road: the All Indonesia arrival card, which carries the customs declaration, and the tourist levy.
File the arrival card
The arrival card is free and filed at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id in the 72 hours before landing.[1] Any site asking a fee for it is a copy. Each screen is walked through on the customs declaration page.
Complete the customs declaration
The customs declaration is made through the same All Indonesia service. Declare cash of IDR 100 million (about USD 5,570) or more; phones are covered below, and the allowances under what to declare.[11]
Pay the tourist levy, or show your KITAS
Foreign tourists pay IDR 150,000 (about USD 8.4) for Bali, the levy often called the Bali tourist tax. Pay on lovebali.baliprov.go.id and keep the QR voucher it emails you; if the email fails, payment can be checked against your passport. More on the tourist levy page.[12]
With a KITAS or KITAP you are exempt; how to claim it is on the tourist levy page.[12]
How do you sort a phone, a bank account and rent?
A local SIM card needs your passport and a valid stay permit, a bank account usually needs a KITAS, and the IMEI rule turns on how long you stay. Rent is the big cost.
Get an Indonesian SIM card
You register a SIM card with your passport and a valid stay permit; ask the seller which document it accepts. On Telkomsel's price list, a 30-day package gives 6 GB for IDR 55,000, VAT included (October 2026); more on phones in living in Bali.[22, 23, 24]
Register your phone's IMEI
Your phone's IMEI is its serial number. Whether you register it depends on how long you stay and whose SIM card you use, on customs guidance from 2023 and 2024.[25, 26]
Your stay What you do Under 90 days Nothing on your home SIM card. With an Indonesian SIM card, the operator's outlet registers the IMEI for you, temporarily. Over 90 days Register it through customs with your passport, boarding pass, the IMEI registration QR code, the phone and its invoice. The limit is two devices. Open a bank account
With a KITAS, banks ask for your passport, your KITAS or KITAP, proof of address and a tax number (NPWP). Expect an opening deposit of about IDR 1 million or USD 100 (December 2024 figures). Without a KITAS, one company-formation firm offers to open an account through its partner banks; ask what it costs first.[27]
Rent month by month at first
A one-bedroom villa in Canggu typically rents for IDR 20 to 30 million a month. Listed medians run higher: on agency listings in October 2026, a one-bedroom monthly rental in Canggu asks a median of IDR 26.6 million (about USD 1,480), across six listings; the lowest listed, about IDR 17 million, is an apartment in Berawa. Each owner sets the minimum term: some accept one month, others three, six or twelve. The deposit is typically one month's rent, refunded minus deductions.[17, 18, 19]
A yearly lease is usually paid as one lump sum at the start, which makes it hard to leave. See the street at night and in the rain first. Everyday costs are on the cost of living page.[20]
Which driving licence do you need in Bali?
On a visit visa, you drive on your home licence plus an international driving permit from home. A UK licence alone, for example, is not valid in Indonesia; with a UK-issued international permit, it is.[28, 29]
With a stay permit, you may switch to an Indonesian licence (SIM). A KITAP qualifies, and so does a KITAS held as an expert worker or a student; with any other stay permit, ask before you apply. Where to apply, the fees and the tests are on the scooter licence page.[29, 36]
A 2026 allegation of extra payments at the Denpasar licence unit went to an internal police review. Apply at the counter yourself, without an intermediary, and pay only the official licence fees.[54]
Get the international driving permit at home: a permit issued in Indonesia is not valid in Indonesia, so a missing one can't be fixed after you land.[29]
Can you move to Bali with children or a dog?
Children aged 7 to 15 must be in school or home schooled, so plan the school before the move. A dog or cat may not be allowed in, because Bali still restricts their entry, so get written confirmation from Bali Quarantine first.[33, 36]
The national list is not enough on its own. It means a microchip, rabies vaccination, a rabies titre test, an import licence from the Directorate of Livestock and Animal Health, and a health certificate. Bali also needs written confirmation from Bali Quarantine and the provincial animal-health authority.[33, 36]
For school, an international school run with a foreign partner institution is licensed as an SPK (Satuan Pendidikan Kerja Sama, a joint-cooperation school). Ask to see that licence, then pay the deposit.[37]
Our rule
Get Bali's written confirmation from Bali Quarantine first, and book the pet's flight only once that letter is safely in your hand.
Without it, a full set of national papers still stops at the island, however complete it is.
Can you ship your belongings to Bali?
Yes, if you come to work or study and will live in Indonesia for at least 12 months. Your personal-use goods can arrive with you, or up to 90 days before or after you.[34, 35]
Vehicles, boats and aircraft and their parts, alcohol, tobacco and other excise goods, and goods in unreasonable quantities are left out. The rule does not say whether a remote worker or retiree counts, so ask customs before you book the container.[34, 35]
How do you register where you live, and when does tax start?
The owner or manager of the place you stay gives immigration your details when its officers ask, through the APOA app (immigration's foreign-guest reporting app). Your village may also want you to report to its office.[14, 15]
Villages set their own rules for foreign residents, and some want you to report within 24 hours of arrival.[15]
You no longer self-report to the police. With a KITAS, you register at the civil registration office within 14 days of getting it, for an SKTT (residence certificate).[16]
Some offices have asked for a police letter (STM) before they issue the SKTT, so get one only if asked.[40]
Tax can start well before day 183: a KITAP, or a KITAS valid for more than 183 days, can be enough to make you an Indonesian tax resident. How the count works, and what it means for income from abroad, is on tax residency in Indonesia.[38]
What changes if you move from the US?
The US still taxes you. As a citizen or resident you generally file a US return each year, and your income from everywhere counts, wherever you live.[44, 45]
Living abroad brings two reliefs. You get an automatic two months to file, to 15 June. And if your work and your home are abroad, once you have been abroad for 330 full days in 12 months, or a resident abroad for a whole tax year, you can exclude up to USD 132,900 of income earned abroad in 2026.[45, 46, 47]
If your accounts outside the US add up to more than USD 10,000 at any point in the year, you also file an FBAR, the US report of foreign accounts.[48]
The US and Indonesia have a tax treaty, so ask an adviser who knows both countries which one taxes what once you are resident here.[49]
For a driving permit, only AAA and AATA issue one in the US; permits sold online by anyone else are a scam.[50]
Our rule
Count your days abroad and add up your foreign accounts before your first 15 June.
The days decide whether you can exclude your pay; the accounts, whether you file an FBAR as well.
Next steps
FAQ
Is Bali safe to move to?
Yes, with increased caution: the US rates Indonesia at level 2 of 4, citing natural disasters, unrest and terrorism. Read your own government's current advice before you book.[39]
If someone from immigration asks you for cash, ask for the written basis, and pay immigration fees only through immigration's own channels: its visa sites, the airport bank counter, or the billing code at a bank, against a receipt.[1, 6]
Conflicts
Sources differ on what the visa on arrival costs, who registers a foreigner in private accommodation, and which stay permits qualify for an Indonesian licence.
What does the visa on arrival cost?
Pay IDR 500,000: the rise to IDR 750,000 online and IDR 1 million at the airport is announced, not in force.
Immigration's own visa page, read on 18 October 2026, still lists IDR 500,000 under PP 45/2024, whose immigration fees PP 30/2026 left in place (VO7); neither report names a start date or a legal instrument, and the RRI headline's "implements" is the only wording that calls it in force.
See what each source says
The official B1 visa on arrival page lists Rp 500,000 for 30 days, paid by debit or credit card online or at the bank counter on arrival.[51]
not stated; read 18 October 2026
The visa on arrival costs IDR 500,000 and can be paid by cash or card.[1]
published 18 September 2026; read 18 October 2026
The visa on arrival fee has been adjusted from IDR 500,000 to IDR 750,000 for an e-VOA processed before departure and IDR 1 million for a visa arranged on arrival; no start date given.[55]
published 12 August 2026
Indonesia has announced a rise to IDR 750,000 for an e-VOA completed before arrival and IDR 1 million on arrival; no start date given.[56]
published 12 August 2026
The immigration directorate plans to raise the fee to IDR 750,000 online and IDR 1,000,000 on arrival; no start date or regulation is named.[7]
published 12 August 2026
Who registers a foreigner in private accommodation?
Owners give guest details when immigration officers ask; your village may also want you to report.
The IDR 5,000,000 fine appears only in the UK advice.
See what each source says
You register at the nearest police station and face a fine of IDR 5,000,000 if you do not.[1]
published 18 September 2026
The owner or manager gives information on foreign guests through APOA when immigration officers ask.[14]
published 26 March 2025
The police self-report letter for foreigners stopped on 1 January 2014.[16]
published 21 August 2023
Denpasar immigration says villages set their own reporting rules.[15]
published 22 November 2024
Which stay permits let you apply for an Indonesian driving licence?
A KITAP qualifies, and so does a KITAS held as an expert worker or a student; with any other stay permit, ask the SIM unit at Polresta Denpasar before you apply.
See what each source says
With a temporary or permanent stay permit you can apply for an Indonesian driving licence.[36]
updated 4 February 2026
Foreigners with a passport and a KITAP, or with a KITAS or service visa as an expert worker or student, may apply (Perpol 5/2021, Article 9(2), restated unchanged by Perpol 2/2023).[29]
published 2021
UK nationals who live in Indonesia and have a limited stay permit card (KITAS) can apply for an Indonesian national driving licence.[28]
read 18 October 2026
Sources
Our summaries of Indonesian rules are unofficial; the Indonesian text governs.
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Indonesia travel advice: entry requirements
Directorate General of Immigration, Indonesia, Official e-Visa site FAQ: passport validity
Royal Danish Embassy, Jakarta, Passport: practical information
Government of Indonesia (Ministry of State Secretariat copy), PP 45/2024 (Government Regulation 45 of 2024) on non-tax state revenue types and tariffs at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights
Directorate General of Immigration, Indonesia, C1 single-entry visit visa (tourism): stay, fee and documents
Directorate General of Immigration, E33 Visa Rumah Kedua (second home visa)
Directorate General of Immigration, Indonesia, E33G remote worker visa (Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh)
Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Indonesia, Customs Declaration (BC 2.2)
Bali Provincial Government, Love Bali, FAQ
Ministry of Finance, Indonesia, Fiscal Policy Agency, Kurs Pajak (tax exchange rate), weekly
Directorate General of Immigration, Indonesia, Accommodation operators must report foreign guests through APOA
Antara Bali (news agency), Denpasar Immigration on village reporting rules for foreigners
Hukumonline (Indonesian legal explainer), Certificate of self-report and certificate of residence for foreigners
the balianswered editorial team, First-hand, confirmed by the owner: rents and kos rooms by area
Bali Home Immo (rental agency), Monthly rentals: Seminyak, FAQ on deposits
Bali Home Immo (rental agency), Yearly rentals: Canggu, with FAQ
bali.live (media), Villa rental in Bali: check the code or kiss your deposit goodbye
Telkomsel (mobile operator), SERU internet packages
Selular.id (Indonesian telecoms news), Must foreigners register a SIM card with biometrics?
Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, Indonesia (JDIH), Permenkomdigi 7/2026 on cellular subscriber registration
DDTC News (Indonesian tax news), quoting the customs directorate, Foreign tourists staying under 90 days: do they need to register an IMEI?
DDTC News (Indonesian tax news), Indonesians coming home: the 90-day temporary IMEI is for foreign tourists only
Emerhub (business-services agency), Opening a personal bank account in Bali without a residence permit
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Indonesia travel advice: safety and security
Indonesian National Police (BPK legal database copy), Perpol 5/2021 on driving licences, Articles 1(7), 3 and 9
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Indonesia travel advice: health
Good News From Indonesia (news), Emergency phone numbers in Indonesia and what 112 is for
Antara Bali (news agency), 45,365 bites by rabies-carrying animals in Bali from January to August 2026
Bali Home Immo (property agency), How to bring a pet to Indonesia
RCTI+ (Indonesian news), PMK 25/2025 in force: customs sets the rules for importing household goods
Republika, summarising PMK 25/2025 (Finance Minister Regulation on household goods) for the customs directorate, PMK 25/2025 in force: household goods of people moving to Indonesia
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Living in Indonesia
Ministry of Education and Culture, Indonesia (pasal.id copy), Permendikbud 31/2014 on cooperation between foreign and Indonesian education institutions (SPK)
Directorate General of Taxes, Indonesia, PER-23/PJ/2025: domestic and foreign tax subjects
US Department of State, Travel advisories feed: Indonesia, Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution
Expatindo (expat guide site), Surat Tanda Melapor (police report)
Good News From Indonesia, Indonesia's emergency telephone numbers and what 112 does
Metro TV News, Rollout of the 112 emergency number strengthened
Bara Visa Bali (seller's price page), E33G Remote Worker KITAS Multiple Entry
US Internal Revenue Service, U.S. citizens and residents abroad: filing requirements
US Internal Revenue Service, Publication 54: Tax guide for U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad
US Internal Revenue Service, Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion
US Internal Revenue Service, Foreign earned income exclusion
US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Report foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR)
US Internal Revenue Service, United States income tax treaties: A to Z
US Federal Trade Commission, Planning to drive in another country? Here's how to avoid international driver's permit scams
Directorate General of Immigration, Indonesia, B1 visa on arrival (Visa Kunjungan Saat Kedatangan): stay, fee, how to apply
RRI (Indonesian public radio), Indonesia implements tiered visa fees for efficient arrivals
The Star (Bernama, citing Antara), Indonesia to raise visa-on-arrival fee to up to RM230
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