Bali’s digital nomad visa – what’s going on? Indonesia raises hopes again this month, but the saga continues
- Indonesia’s tourism minister made positive noises earlier in September over the introduction of a digital nomad visa before appearing to contradict himself
- At present, digital nomads wishing to stay in Bali will have to continue applying for other classes of visas on false grounds, or invest in Indonesian start-ups
In the film Groundhog Day (1993), actor Bill Murray is stuck in a time loop where he wakes every morning to discover it is always February 2, with the same song, Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe”, playing on the clock radio.
The story draws parallels to the long held-ambitions of Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia’s minister of tourism and creative economy, to introduce a new class of visa for digital nomads – remote workers and freelancers who travel the globe and earn a living anywhere with a fast and reliable internet connection.
In January 2021, only a month after taking office, Uno began dividing his time between Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, and Bali – and encouraged others to do the same.
“I want to invite businesspeople and other professionals to start considering working from Bali,” the minister said.
In June 2021, the minister told the Reuters news service that digital nomads would be granted five-year visas and face no taxation on foreign-sourced income.
“If they earn income within Indonesia they will be taxed, but if it’s solely from overseas there will be zero tax,” he said. But nothing transpired.
