All You Need To Know About Indonesia's 'Golden Visa' Scheme

Indonesia has launched a new “Golden Visa” program which hopes to attract foreign investors, professionals and entrepreneurs from around the world to stay in the country for five or 10 years. The Southeast Asian country is already a popular tourist stop for travellers all over the world with its lush, natural landscapes, powdery beaches, superb surf spots, stunning temples, wellness retreats and delicious food.

Here’s what you need to know about the “Golden Visa” program.

A Long-Term Visa

The five-year "Golden Visa" requires individual investors to set up a company worth INR 209 million (USD 2.5 million), while a 10-year visa requires an INR 418 million (USD 5 million) investment.

Individuals not looking to set up a company must deposit INR 29 million (USD 350,000) and INR 58 million (USD 700,000) to gain a 5-year and 10-year permit, respectively. The money can be used to buy Indonesian government bonds, public company stocks or to place deposits.

Corporate investors are required to invest INR 2 billion (USD 25 million) to get five-year visas for directors and commissioners. They need to invest INR 4 billion (USD 50 million) to gain a 10-year visa.

If the investment is made in the new USD 32 billion capital city currently being built in the jungles of Borneo island, INR 418 million (USD 5 million) will gain investors a 5-year visa and INR 837 million (USD 10 million) a 10-year visa, the Directorate General of Immigration said.

Who Can Apply?

President Joko Widodo personally awarded the first “Golden Visa” to Shin Tae-yong, the South Korean coach of the Indonesian national football team, during a ceremony in Jakarta. OpenAI CEO Samuel Altman was also awarded a 10-year “global talent” permit. Widodo said, “The golden visa will ease foreigners’ investments and contributions in Indonesia as well as attract more quality travellers who will invest and be productive while staying.”

The immigration agency chief, Silmy Karim, revealed that nearly 300 applicants have already been granted “Golden Visas” since the program’s pilot phase began last year, bringing in INR 10 billion (USD 123 million) in investments.

Karim highlighted that the new visa would benefit foreign companies operating in the country saying, “For example, a mining company that would like to expand downstream would be able to earn ‘Golden Visas’ for their foreign workers.”

Indonesia plans to issue an additional 1,000 "Golden Visas" before the year’s end, he added. There are also plans to introduce a special status for foreign nationals of Indonesian descent, modelled after India’s Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), which could be implemented by October 2024.

The new visas are expected to reduce the number of digital nomads and other long-stayers who contribute little to the local economies while using tourist visas to live in vacation spots like Bali.

The Bigger Picture

The initiative is part of Indonesia’s broader strategy to attract significant investments as it targets USD 101.5 billion in domestic and foreign direct investment for 2024. This ambitious goal is designed to support the country’s aim of achieving a GDP growth rate of 5.2 per cent.

By introducing golden visas, Indonesia comes in line with other Southeast Asia countries including Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore which offer similar visas designed to attract investments and stimulate local economies. However, some nations such as Canada, Britain and Singapore have recently scrapped these programs, citing concerns that they do not generate sufficient jobs and may facilitate speculative investments.

The United Arab Emirates launched its “Golden Visa” scheme in 2019 to boost the country’s economic and investment profile.

(With inputs from multiple news agencies)