How does retiring in Bali—named the “World's Best Destination”—sound to you? If you are someone who’s hoping to retire in a warm and affordable paradise, then you should seriously consider Bali for your retirement.

One of the many advantages to retiring in Bali is the easy visitor visa requirements. The Indonesian government offers free visas in addition to visas on arrival so you can make sure that Bali is the right place for you before you begin applying for your retirement (Limited Stay) visa.

The free visitor visa I mentioned before is called a “30 Day Free Visa Entry” which you can apply for in 169 countries. Click here for the full list of countries you can apply from. The downside of this visa is that it isn't extendable and cannot be converted into another stay permit. If you want to stay longer you will have to leave after 30 days and apply from outside of Indonesia. The requirements to get this visa are:

A valid passport with minimum validity of 6 (six) months that has at least one complete blank page
Return Ticket or Through Ticket
The purpose for the visit has to be either pleasure / tourism, family, social, art and cultural, government visit, giving lecture or attend a seminar, attend a meeting held by Head office / Representative office in Indonesia or while in transit on the way to another country.

You can see the list where you can enter and exit Indonesia using this 30 day Free Visa Entry by clicking here.

If you need to be able to extend your visit past 30 days, then “Visa On Arrival” (or VOA) is the one that you need. (Note that this visa may only be extend once). The requirements to obtain this visa are the same with the 30 days free one above, except there is a $35 USD fee. You must have a passport from one of these countries to be eligible for a VOA.

On the other hand, if you want to be able to extend your stay multiple times then you need to apply for a Visit Visa at an Indonesian Embassy or Consulates, or if you have a guarantor then he or she can apply on your behalf to the Directorate General of Immigration here. The requirements to get this visa are:

Application Letter & Guarantee Letter
Copy of Passport (validity of 6 (six) months) and Bank Accounts
Return Ticket or Through Ticket
Re-entry permit for stateless people (someone without a nationality)

When your visa is approved, then you can stay up to 60 days and you can extend your stay up to 5 times which each extension is another 30 days stay. The fee for this visa is $50 USD.

If you need a visa that will allow you to re-enter Indonesia multiple times in a year and you want to stay for up to 60 days then you will need to obtain Multiple Visit Visa, however, this visa only allows you to re-visit, you won’t be able to extend your stays during each visit. The procedure and requirements are the same with the Visit Visa with the exception that you need a passport with at least 18 months of remaining validity. The fee for this visa is $110 USD.

Before I move on to the Limited Stay Visa, let me inform you of the overstay penalty. It’s 300,000 IDR (around $23 USD) per day you have overstayed and you may only overstay for up to 60 days. If you stay longer than that, you can be sentenced to a maximum of 5 years or required to pay a 500 million IDR fine (around $38,500 USD) according to UU No.6/2011.

When you are sure that you want to retire in Bali, you can apply for their Limited Stay Visa. This Limited Stay Visa isn't just for retirement purposes; it can be used by non-Indonesians who work, invest, study, or do researching, etcetera in Indonesia. This Limited Stay Visa is known as an ITAS or KITAS, the difference being that a KITAS is a card that you get after your ITAS is approved. For retirees that want to apply for this visa, then here what you should know:

You have to meet thefollowing requirements:

You have to be at least 55 years old
You do not intend to work in Indonesia
You possess a passport or travel documents that still valid for more than 18 months with at least 6 blank pages
You are a citizen of one of the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Austria
Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria
Canada, Cyprus
Denmark
Egypt, Estonia
Finland, France
Germany, Greece
Hungary
India, Iran, Ireland, Iceland, Italy
Japan
Kuwait
Liechtenstein, Luxemburg
Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Monaco
The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway
Oman
Philippine, Poland, Portugal
Qatar
Rusia
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland
Taiwan, Thailand
United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and USA

5. You have a minimum available pension funds of $1,500 USD a month

6. You have health and life insurance that are valid in Indonesia (unfortunately Medicare doesn’t cover this requirement)

7. You have a sponsor from one of the Authorized Travel Agencies

2. Documents that you will need to be submitted to the Indonesian Embassy / Consulates, or if you have a guarantor then he or she can apply it to the Directorate General of Immigration:

Application and Guarantee letter from appointed travel agent
Copy of all passport pages
4 (four) passport photos
Curriculum Vitae or resume
Copy of bank accounts or proof of pension that show $1,500 USD a month minimum
Copy of marriage certificate (if applicable)
Copy of health insurance and life insurance that’s liable in Indonesia
Statement stating that you will employ the domestic helper, you will not be working in the country and you have accommodation in Indonesia.

3. After you have all the documents, then the procedures can be found here.

4. Fees for the visa are US$ 55 (6months), $105 USD (1year) and $180 USD (2years) on the top of Visa Approval Telex fee which is 100k IDR (around $9 USD)

5. You can extend this visa 5 (five) times orup to 5 (five) years.

You can either apply using an agent or you can apply online by clicking here.

You can change your KITAS to KITAP (Permanent Stay Visa) after you obtain your KITAS for five consecutive years. A KITAP is valid for a total of 25 years, however it has to be validated every five years. You are not allowed work if you are a KITAP holder. Here are the documents that you need to convert your KITAS to KITAP:

Valid Passport
KITAS
Domicile Letter
Status Change Request Letter
Application Form
Curriculum Vitae or resume
Photos sized 4cmx6cm, 3cmx4cm and 2cmx3cm with red background, 6 copies of each size.
Sponsor Letter from one of the Authorized Travel Agencies. Your sponsor will need to submit more documents other than just a sponsor letter like their tax ID, business license, business registration, etc. Your sponsor will know what documents they need to submit.

When you are applying KITAS or KITAP, you must have a sponsor and the fees will vary, depending on which travel agency you use as your sponsor.

Becoming an expat retiree can often seem like an insurmountable task. I hope that your mind has been put to ease when it comes to retiring in Bali now that you know what you have to do. To make things even easier, when you buy a home from us, we will guide you through the entire process. Many of the requirements will be taken care of just by buying, and we have a visa agent and sponsorship already setup for you. All you will have to do is fill out a few forms, and get your picture taken. I hope to see you soon in the best place in the world! Start your journey today at https://thebalivillages.com!