Investor KITAS and work: what a PT PMA owner can do

On an Investor KITAS E28A you can run your own PT PMA without a separate work permit: make decisions, sign contracts and hire a team. You cannot take a job at another company, freelance for outside clients, or do the day-to-day operational work in your own company that you would normally hire someone for.

Updated: 24 September 2026 · Verified by the Malina Visa team

An investor, not an employee

The Investor KITAS E28A (KITAS is Indonesia’s limited stay permit) is issued on the strength of your stake in a PT PMA, a foreign-owned company. Under the official eVisa requirement the stake must be at least IDR 10 billion — how it is assessed is explained in How much you need to invest for an Investor KITAS.

It is an owner’s status, not a worker’s. It lets you run your own company without a separate work permit, but it does not make you an employee who can take on any job in the country.

The line runs between strategic management and day-to-day operational work. And the authorities judge what you actually do, not the title on your company documents.

What you can do on an Investor KITAS

Inside your own PT PMA, an owner on investor status handles board-level and ownership decisions:

✓Take part in board and shareholder meetings and make decisions for the company.
✓Sign contracts on the company’s behalf as a director or authorised representative.
✓Hire and dismiss staff and set people policy.
✓Negotiate and represent the company with partners and clients.
✓Oversee the company’s investments, finances and bank accounts.
✓Receive dividends as a shareholder.
✓Supervise the production of goods and services — at the level of control, not execution.

The key difference from a Work KITAS. Running your own company needs no RPTKA (the foreign workforce utilisation plan approved by the Ministry of Manpower) and no DKP-TKA levy. Government Regulation No. 34 of 2021 exempts directors and commissioners holding a qualifying stake from the RPTKA requirement.

Director and commissioner: different jobs

A PT PMA must have both positions, and the Investor KITAS is issued to directors and commissioners alike. But the roles work differently: the director runs the company, the commissioner supervises the directors.

	Director	Commissioner
Signing contracts for the company	Yes	No — that is the director’s job
Hiring staff and running operations	Yes	No
Shareholder meetings	Yes, as a shareholder	Yes, as a shareholder
Supervising the directors	—	Yes
Receiving dividends	Yes, as a shareholder	Yes, as a shareholder

If you are a commissioner but want to run the business yourself, discuss a change of position before you apply. Your role shapes both what you are entitled to do and how immigration reads your activity.

What is not allowed

The limits cover both work outside the company and the kind of work you do inside it:

!Employment at another company. That needs a Work KITAS arranged by that employer.
!Freelancing or remote work for outside clients and companies.
!Earning income from activities outside your own PT PMA.
!Activities outside the company’s KBLI codes — the business classification it is registered under.
!Day-to-day operational or hands-on work: serving customers, production, anything a hired employee would do.
!Filling a position the company could give to an Indonesian hire.

A real-life example. The owner of a dive centre on an Investor KITAS runs the business, hires instructors and signs contracts. What they cannot do is teach students to dive themselves: that is an instructor’s operational job, and it requires a Work KITAS E23 with an approved RPTKA. A café owner working the counter or a villa owner checking in guests falls into the same category.

A director’s salary: the grey area

The regulations do not say outright whether a director on an Investor KITAS may draw a salary. The logic behind the rules is clear, though: investors earn through dividends, while employees on a Work KITAS earn salaries.

In practice, a regular salary paid to a director-investor through a standard payroll can be read as employment, and immigration may then require a Work KITAS. Taking income as dividends is the safer route.

It is best to settle how you pay yourself in advance with an accountant, so it fits both your status and the tax rules. PT PMA reporting, including the quarterly LKPM investment report, is mandatory even with zero revenue — you can hand it to our monthly accounting service.

How compliance is checked

Inspections in Bali are routine, and an Investor KITAS does not shield you from them. Officers check whether what you actually do matches what the status was issued for — and it makes no difference whether you are paid for the work.

!Unannounced on-site checks at coworking spaces, cafés, villas and business premises.
!Social media and professional profiles: posts about your work are compared with your KITAS status.
!Cross-checks against OSS (Indonesia’s business licensing system) and company documents: what is on file versus what happens in practice.

The typical situations that trigger questions are collected in Immigration checks in Bali. The consequences of a breach are a fine, cancellation of the KITAS, deportation and an entry ban. The Immigration Law (UU No. 6/2011) allows fines of up to IDR 500 million for misusing a stay permit.

When you need a Work KITAS

An Investor KITAS does not convert into a work permit. If you need an operational role, the answer is a Work KITAS E23: the company gets an RPTKA approved and pays the DKP-TKA levy of USD 1,200 a year, and the process takes 30–45 business days.

✓An Investor KITAS is enough if your stake is at least IDR 10 billion, you are a director or commissioner, you draw no salary and you focus on strategic management.
✓You need a Work KITAS if you do hands-on or day-to-day operational work, draw a salary, hold a stake below the threshold or work for someone else’s company.

If your case sits on the line — say, you direct a small business and handle some processes yourself — it is worth reviewing before you apply. Terms, documents and prices are on our Investor KITAS page, and the status is explained in full in The Investor KITAS guide.

FAQ

Can I work in my own PT PMA on an Investor KITAS?

Yes, at management level: making decisions, signing contracts, hiring staff and overseeing finances. Day-to-day operational work that a hired employee could do requires a Work KITAS.

Does a director on an Investor KITAS need an RPTKA?

No, as long as they hold shares and are managing their own company. Directors and commissioners with a shareholding are exempt from the RPTKA and the DKP-TKA levy.

Can I draw a salary on an Investor KITAS?

There is no explicit ban, but a regular payroll salary can be treated as employment. Taking income as dividends is safer, and it is worth agreeing the payment set-up with an accountant in advance.

Can a commissioner on an Investor KITAS run the company?

A commissioner’s role is to supervise the directors, not to run operations. If you want to manage the business yourself, discuss moving into a director position before applying for the KITAS.

Can I work for another company or freelance on an Investor KITAS?

No. The status covers managing only the company it was issued against. Working for another company needs a Work KITAS from that employer, and freelancing for outside clients is not allowed on investor status.

Official sources: evisa.imigrasi.go.id — Indonesia’s official eVisa portal · imigrasi.go.id — Directorate General of Immigration

Let’s get your status right

Tell us what you do in the company. We’ll tell you whether an Investor KITAS is enough or you need a Work KITAS, and file it correctly the first time.

Investor KITAS E28A