Found out a huge chunk of nomads in Bali are actually on tourist visas

I was reading a report from the Bali government last week, and it said something like 70% of the digital nomads there are just using tourist visas. I always assumed most people had the proper business or social visas, you know? The report was from the local immigration office, and they did a survey of 500 people in Canggu and Ubud. It surprised me because I've been on a tourist visa myself for 3 months, just doing border runs to Singapore. Makes you wonder how sustainable that is for everyone long term, especially with all the new visa rule talks. Has anyone here actually gone through the process to get a proper work permit for Indonesia, and how hard was it?

3 comments

3 Comments

walker.julia16d ago

Honestly that number sounds low to me, feels like everyone i know is just doing visa runs. The real issue is the official process is a total nightmare and crazy expensive. You basically need a local sponsor company and the fees can hit thousands, so no wonder people just wing it. The government keeps talking about a digital nomad visa but it's been years with no real plan. This whole situation is a time bomb, they'll either crack down hard or finally make a real system. Until then, most of us will keep rolling the dice on tourist visas.

sean_barnes2416d ago

Got my work permit in Thailand last year, cost about $1200 with a local lawyer's help. They set up a shell company to sponsor me, whole thing took maybe six weeks. Still cheaper than the fines and stress of doing visa runs every few months.

julia_carter6116d ago

Rolling the dice on tourist visas" is my official job title at this point. I'm basically a professional gambler, but the only thing I win is another 60 days before I have to figure it out again. My lawyer quotes were way higher than yours, so I just decided to live with the low grade panic instead. Maybe I'll get my act together right before they finally announce that digital nomad visa they keep talking about.