Immigration checks in Bali: what counts as working without a permit
Over five days in April, immigration ran 2,499 checks across Indonesia and stopped 346 foreigners. Overstay came fourth, with 24 cases. First place, by a margin of almost nine to one, went to using a permit for something other than its stated purpose: 214 cases. The people being caught are not the ones whose visa expired — they are the ones doing something their visa never covered.
Updated: 3 September 2026 · Verified by the Malina Visa team
What immigration actually finds
Operation Wirawaspada ran from 7 to 11 April 2026 in every region at once. The Directorate General of Immigration published the breakdown of what was found, and it turns the usual picture of risk upside down.
| Violation | Cases |
|---|---|
| Permit used for something other than its purpose | 214 |
| Change of address or personal data not reported | 48 |
| No valid documents | 31 |
| Overstay | 24 |
| Fictitious investors | 17 |
Everyone knows about overstay fines, and that is what people worry about. The numbers say something else. Overstay is rare precisely because it is visible in the system and people track it themselves. The mismatch between what a visa was issued for and what its holder actually does is common — and almost always unintentional.
A KITAS does not put you outside the checks
There is a common belief that once you hold a residence permit, the questions stop. The breakdown by permit type says otherwise.
- !222 people held visit permits — category C visas and B211
- !112 people held a KITAS, a valid limited stay permit
- !7 people held a KITAP, permanent residence
The reason is simple. A KITAS is not issued for living in Indonesia in general. It is issued for one defined activity and one defined sponsor. A work KITAS is tied to a position in the company that had the hiring plan approved. An investor KITAS is tied to a shareholding, not to doing the work yourself. A family KITAS carries no right to work at all. Step outside those limits and you are in the same category as those 214 cases, even with the card in hand and the dates in perfect order.
What counts as work in practice
The key point: what is assessed is the activity, not whether you were paid for it. "Nobody pays me" is not an argument, and it makes no difference whether the money lands in an Indonesian account or a foreign one. These are the situations that raise questions most often — the ones we work through with clients almost every week.
- !An owner of a café or villa working the counter, greeting guests, managing staff — while holding an investor KITAS
- !Filming, photo shoots and content production on Indonesian soil, especially commercial work or barter deals
- !Yoga classes, retreats, workshops and consultations — including free ones and "just for friends"
- !Helping out in someone else's business: covering a shift, setting up their ads, standing behind the bar
- !Volunteering without a proper status — a familiar story at schools and animal shelters
Remote work for a foreign client is its own case. The E33G remote worker KITAS exists precisely for it and settles the question legally. We covered the procedure and requirements in our E33G guide.
How a check actually happens
Of the 2,499 checks in that operation, 2,463 were carried out openly and only 34 covertly. In the overwhelming majority of cases this is not a raid — it is officers arriving with paperwork at a villa, a coworking space, a café, a studio, a building site.
In Bali the checks are run by every office at once: Ngurah Rai, Denpasar, Singaraja, Tabanan and Klungkung, plus the immigration detention centre in Denpasar. In the first half of 2026, 342 foreigners were deported from Bali. Deportation here is an administrative measure rather than a court sentence, and the decision comes quickly.
Worth keeping to hand: your passport, a valid stay permit, proof of your residential address, and your sponsor's documents if you hold a KITAS. That separate line in the statistics — 48 cases — is people who simply never reported that they had moved. It is a standalone violation, and it easily turns into a reason for a much longer conversation. We wrote about address registration in our piece on SKTT and STM.
How to get out of the grey zone
If you recognised yourself above, getting legal is cheaper and faster than dealing with the consequences. Here are the statuses that settle the question, with our prices and realistic timelines.
| Status | Price | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| E33G, remote work for a foreign employer | IDR 12,000,000 | 7–9 working days, offshore |
| E33G converted inside the country | IDR 16,000,000 | all-in, bridging permit included |
| Work KITAS E23 | IDR 17,000,000 + USD 1,200 levy | 30–45 working days |
| Investor KITAS E28A | IDR 17,000,000 for two years | 7–9 working days, offshore |
Two things nobody warns you about. First: if you are already in Indonesia, add IDR 4,000,000 — the switch runs through a bridging visa, which is a separate procedure. Second: those 30–45 working days on a work KITAS are the RPTKA hiring plan being approved by the Ministry of Manpower. Extending the same status takes 7–9 days, because the RPTKA is not reapproved.
Frequently asked questions
Can they check me at home or at my villa?
Yes, and it is routine: the overwhelming majority of checks are carried out openly at residential and work addresses. Officers arrive with paperwork and may ask for your passport and stay permit.
I earn nothing in Indonesia. Does that still count as work?
It can. What is assessed is the activity, not the payment, and it makes no difference whether money arrives in an Indonesian or a foreign account. Free workshops, volunteering and helping in someone else's business fall into the same category.
I hold an investor KITAS. Can I work in my own company?
An investor status gives you the rights of a shareholder, not of an employee. To hold a position and do the work, you need a work KITAS with an approved RPTKA hiring plan. This is the single most common mistake among café and villa owners in Bali.
What happens if a violation is found?
The range is wide, from administrative measures to deportation with a re-entry ban. In Bali, 342 people were deported in the first half of 2026. The decision is administrative rather than judicial, so there is usually no time left to fix the situation.
I moved to a different villa. Do I need to do anything?
Yes. Failing to report a change of address or personal data is a violation in its own right — 48 of them turned up in the April operation. If you hold a KITAS, the address update is filed separately, and it is not worth postponing.
Let us check your status before immigration does
Tell us which visa you are on and what you actually do here. We will say plainly whether there is a risk, and find the status that fits your situation.
E33G KITAS Work KITAS