MERP in 2026: leaving and coming back on a KITAS or KITAP

What the document is and why it exists

In Indonesian it is Izin Masuk Kembali, a re-entry permit. The English abbreviation MERP — multiple exit re-entry permit — is what everyone actually says. The logic is simple: a KITAS gives you the right to live in Indonesia, but not the right to enter it. Government regulation requires a foreigner holding a KITAS or KITAP to present a valid, unexpired MERP on arrival, on the same footing as the passport.

Hence the standard misunderstanding. People assume MERP is what lets them leave. It is not — leaving is never the problem. MERP is what lets them back in.

For a KITAS it is no longer a separate application

This is written into the rules, not just common practice. An application for the VITAS visa counts simultaneously as the application for the KITAS and for the MERP. The stay permit is granted together with the MERP, and with the electronic e-KITAS card the permission arrives inside it. The validity matches the KITAS exactly: one year means one year, two means two.

What it costs

The state fee is set by the tariff regulation in force since 17 December 2024. You pay per permit, not per trip: a valid MERP covers as many journeys as you like.

You do not choose the term — it equals the term of your KITAS. A one-year work KITAS lands on the "up to 1 year" line. An investor KITAS or Golden Visa for five years lands on "up to 5 years". A remote worker on E33G gets a one-year KITAS, so a one-year MERP.

For contrast, EPO — leaving without return — costs IDR 100,000. The gap in price says plainly that these two documents mean opposite things.

KITAP: where the law and the ministerial rule disagree

The third amendment to the immigration law, in force since 17 October 2024, set the MERP term equal to the KITAP term. It used to be two years; now it is "as long as the KITAP lives". Five years for a five-year permit, unlimited for an unlimited one.

But the 2023 ministerial regulation that immigration offices actually work from still says the old thing: MERP for a KITAP runs two years and is issued separately from the card. A law outranks a ministerial regulation and there is no real argument about that — except the regulation has not formally been rewritten, which is exactly why you will find both claims online, each stated with total confidence.

One KITAP-only rule worth knowing: if the MERP expires while you are abroad, you can apply for a new one without coming back. You need a valid passport and the KITAP, and it is issued within three working days of payment. KITAS holders have no such option.

Leaving without a MERP, or not making it back in time

The common phrasing "your KITAS dies the moment you leave" is legally inaccurate. The law says something else: the permit ends if the holder returned to their home country with no intention of coming back, or went home and failed to return within the MERP's validity. The clock measures non-return, not departure.

The practical outcome is no gentler for that. At the border you will not be admitted on the old KITAS, because there is no valid MERP. Coming back means a new VITAS and a new KITAS from the beginning, with a sponsor, documents and fees. And you cannot extend a KITAS from outside the country: applications to grant or extend a stay permit are only accepted while the foreigner is physically in Indonesia.

• ✕Do not schedule a flight across your KITAS extension: between the old permit ending and the new one being issued there is no MERP.
• ✕Do not count on fixing it from abroad. KITAS has no such route; KITAP does.
• ✕Do not leave "for good" without closing anything. If you are not coming back, the right document is an EPO, and it can be filed from another country — see our guide to closing a stay permit properly.

KITAP carries its own separate limit that people often confuse with the MERP rule: a permanent permit ends if the holder stays outside Indonesia for more than one continuous year.

The "no more than a year abroad" myth on a KITAS

The line "with a MERP you can be out of the country for a maximum of one year" really is printed on a few regional immigration websites, and it travels well on forums. Neither the law, nor the government regulation, nor the ministerial rule contains that limit for a KITAS — all three tie you only to the MERP's own validity.

It most likely migrated across from the KITAP rule. Still, since the wording sits on official pages, an officer at the border could in theory lean on it. So a long absence — six months or more — is better discussed with your sponsor in advance than tested in person in the arrivals hall.

What else changed for people who travel

• ✓Autogates opened to KITAS and KITAP holders. Since 2 November 2024 stay permit holders cross the border through automatic gates — Ngurah Rai has 90 of them. They used to serve electronic visas only. On the gates themselves see autogate and All Indonesia.
• ✓KITAS extension now requires showing up. Since 29 May 2025 extending a stay permit means a photograph, biometrics and a short interview at the office. Documents still go in online, but a fully remote extension is over — and so is getting a new MERP without a visit.
• ✓MERP went electronic. The virtual permit is on immigration's official list of electronic products. There is no paper sticker to wait for.

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