RPTKA and DKP-TKA: the work permit that is separate from your KITAS
A KITAS gives you the right to live in Indonesia. The right to work comes from a different document: a hiring plan called RPTKA, approved by the Ministry of Manpower, and the electronic notification issued against it, for which the employer pays the DKP-TKA levy of USD 100 a month. The old standalone work permit, the IMTA, was abolished in 2021, and no work KITAS can be issued without an approved RPTKA.
Updated: 5 September 2026 · Verified by the Malina Visa team
Why a KITAS is not yet a right to work
The most common confusion among people relocating for work: the KITAS card is in hand, so everything must be in order. It is not. A KITAS is a stay permit, issued by immigration. The permission to work is issued by a different authority, the Ministry of Manpower, and it is issued not to you but to your employer.
- !A work KITAS E23 is issued only against an already approved RPTKA. The order is the reverse of what most people picture: hiring plan first, visa second
- !An investor KITAS carries the rights of a shareholder, not of an employee. Working hands-on in your own company is a separate matter — we covered it in our piece on immigration checks
- !A family KITAS carries no right to work at all
The figures from immigration's April operation show how this ends: of 346 foreigners stopped, 112 held a valid KITAS. The card does not protect you if what you do does not match what it was issued for.
What an RPTKA is
RPTKA stands for Rencana Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing — a plan for the use of foreign labour. It is not a payment and not a licence held by the foreigner. It is the company's document: which position it is giving to a foreigner, for how long, and why no Indonesian can fill it. The employer files it through the Ministry of Manpower's TKA Online portal, which is linked to the OSS business registration system.
On the portal itself the plan comes in categories, and the category drives both the timeline and the levy:
- ✓Temporary, 1 to 6 months — short projects, installations, staff training
- ✓Longer than 6 months — the ordinary one-year hire, and the most common case
- ✓Director or commissioner — a separate category for executives named in the company's deed
- ✓Non-DKPTKA — a narrow list of cases where the levy is not charged: diplomatic, certain educational and social projects
Until 2021 a further permit, the IMTA, was issued after the plan. Government Regulation No. 34 of 2021 abolished it. Now, once the plan is approved, the ministry issues the RPTKA approval and an electronic notification, and that is where the permit side ends.
DKP-TKA: what the levy is and who pays it
The levy's full name is Dana Kompensasi Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing, the compensation fund for employing foreign labour, DKP-TKA for short. Older texts call it DPKK; it is the same thing. There is one rate for everyone: USD 100 per position per month, which is USD 1,200 a year.
- ✓The employer pays, not the foreigner. Writing it into the contract as a salary deduction is not allowed
- ✓It is paid upfront for the whole approved period: for a one-year plan, USD 1,200 at filing
- ✓Once the plan is approved the ministry issues a billing code; the notification follows the payment — in the portal's practice, about one working day
A note on terminology: the RPTKA is the plan, the DKP-TKA is the money. When people say "the RPTKA tax", they mean the DKP-TKA. We call things by their names so you know what you are paying for.
How it all adds up to a work KITAS
The chain runs: RPTKA plan → DKP-TKA payment → ministry notification → visa and KITAS E23 through immigration. The first step eats most of the time.
| What we arrange | All-in price | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Work KITAS E23, first issue, RPTKA included | IDR 17,000,000 a year + DKP-TKA levy USD 1,200 | 30–45 working days |
| Work KITAS extension | IDR 15,000,000 a year | 7–9 working days |
| Change of employer or position | as a first issue | 30–45 working days, new RPTKA |
| Onshore filing, if you are already in Indonesia | + IDR 4,000,000 | via a bridging visa |
Why an extension is four times faster than a first issue: at extension the RPTKA is not reapproved — on the portal it is a separate "Perpanjangan" track. Moving to another company, however, is not an extension. It is the TA.03 procedure — change of employer or position — and it means a new plan, a new levy and a new status. An existing KITAS cannot be transferred to another employer.
What else falls on the employer
The RPTKA and the DKP-TKA are not the company's only obligations when hiring a foreigner. The TKA Online portal also requires proof of social insurance, and the type depends on the term:
- ✓Employment longer than 6 months — the state BPJS Kesehatan and BPJS Ketenagakerjaan schemes, as for Indonesian staff
- ✓Employment up to 6 months — short-term foreign worker insurance from one of the accredited insurers
- ✓A commitment to transfer knowledge to Indonesian staff — it is written into the plan itself and reviewed at extension
For the owner of a small company in Bali this means something simple: hiring yourself into your own PT PMA is not a formality but an annual budget of levy, insurance and filing. It needs to be counted before the documents go in, not after.
Where people go wrong most often
- !Starting work before the notification. An approved plan without the levy paid and the notification issued is not yet a permit
- !Changing company and staying on the old RPTKA. The plan is tied to a specific employer and position; a new company means a new plan
- !Leaving the DKP-TKA out of the budget. USD 1,200 upfront is a real sum for a small company, and it cannot be shifted onto the employee
- !Confusing investor status with work status. A shareholding does not give the right to hold a position in the company
These are exactly the situations that appear in immigration statistics under "permit used for something other than its purpose". In the April operation there were 214 such cases against 24 overstays.
Frequently asked questions
Who files the RPTKA — me or the company?
The company. The RPTKA is the employer's document, filed from the company's account on the TKA Online portal. In this procedure the foreigner is only the subject: position, passport, photo, education and experience documents.
How much is the DKP-TKA and who pays it?
USD 100 per position per month — USD 1,200 for a year. The employer pays, upfront for the whole approved period. Passing the levy on to the employee through the contract is not allowed.
Does the director of my own company need an RPTKA?
Yes, if the director holds the position and works. The portal has a separate plan category for directors and commissioners. Being named in the deed alone does not give the right to work.
Can a KITAS be transferred to another employer?
No. A change of employer or position is the TA.03 procedure on the ministry's portal: a new plan, a new levy, a new status. In timing it is like a first issue, 30–45 working days.
Why does a first issue take six weeks and an extension a week?
Because at extension the RPTKA is not reapproved, while at first issue its approval by the ministry takes up most of the time. With us a first work KITAS is 30–45 working days and an extension is 7–9.
We arrange the RPTKA and the work KITAS end to end
Tell us who the employer is and which position you are being hired for. We will count the levy, the insurance and the timeline in advance and take the plan through the ministry without surprises.
Work KITAS C18 visa