Indonesia Work Visa 2027: RPTKA, VITAS and ITAS Step by Step for Chinese Employees Hired Through an EOR

Chinese nationals need work authorization before they can work in Indonesia. The process has three linked steps. First, the Indonesian employer obtains approval of a foreign worker utilization plan (RPTKA) from the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker). Second, the sponsor applies for a work visa, a limited stay visa (VITAS), through Kemnaker's TKA Online system. Third, after arrival, the employee converts to a limited stay permit (ITAS), and an Immigration article says the application is due within 30 days of the entry stamp. A levy of US$100 per position per month (DKPTKA) applies unless exempt. Visitor visas do not permit work. If an Employer of Record (EOR) is used, it must be the Indonesian employer that holds the RPTKA. We found no official 2027-specific change.

Table of Contents

1. The Short Answer: Three Steps, Two Ministries, One Sponsor
2. Who Can Be the Sponsor: Employer Types Under Permenaker 8/2021
3. Step 1: The RPTKA, the Foreign Worker Utilization Plan
4. RPTKA Validity, Extensions and the DKPTKA Levy
5. Step 2: The Work Visa (VITAS) and TKA Online
6. Step 3: Converting to ITAS After Arrival
7. Chinese Passport Holders: Why a Visitor Visa Is Not a Work Visa
8. Position Rules: HR Roles, Concurrent Roles and the Indonesian Counterpart
9. How the Employer Condition Works When an EOR Is Involved
10. How Knit People Supports EOR and Work Visa Hires
11. Illustrative Scenario (Hypothetical, Not a Real Client)
12. Timeline, Checklist, Penalties and What Is Still Unconfirmed for 2027
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Glossary of Key Terms
15. About Knit
16. Related Reading

1. The Short Answer: Three Steps, Two Ministries, One Sponsor

Indonesia does not issue a work visa to an individual on their own initiative. A sponsor, which is the Indonesian employer, starts and carries the process. For a Chinese national, this is no different from any other foreign passport. A Chinese citizen is a foreign national in Indonesia and needs the same work authorization as an employee from any other country.

The process has three steps, and each is run by a different part of government:

1. RPTKA. The employer asks the Ministry of Manpower (Kementerian Ketenagakerjaan, Kemnaker) to approve a Rencana Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing, or foreign worker utilization plan. The plan says which positions will be filled by foreign workers, for how long and by whom.
2. VITAS (the work visa). With the approved plan and a notification, the sponsor applies for the limited stay visa through Kemnaker's TKA Online system. Immigration (Direktorat Jenderal Imigrasi) decides the visa.
3. ITAS. After the employee enters Indonesia on the visa, the employee converts it into a limited stay permit, or Izin Tinggal Terbatas (ITAS). In everyday speech the ITAS is widely called a KITAS, but the official Immigration pages use ITAS, so this article does too.

Two government bodies, three approvals and one sponsor. That is why this process rewards coordination. A missed document at step one delays steps two and three, and a missed deadline at step three can create charges for both the employee and the sponsor.

This article is written for HR heads, global mobility leads, CFOs and founders at Chinese companies that are placing people in Indonesia, either as local hires or as employees assigned abroad. It covers work authorization only. It does not cover permanent residence, citizenship or investor routes.

A few cautions apply throughout:

• We found no official 2027-specific change. The rules summarized below are those in the official texts we reviewed in November 2026. A joint decision issued in September 2026 is described in section 12. Its operative text could not be read, so we do not describe its provisions.
• Older official pages are used for some steps. Parts of the Immigration guidance were first published in 2021 and 2022. We say so each time and recommend confirming current practice.
• Where we could not confirm something, we say so. Fees are the main example.

For background on the EOR model itself, see our explainer on what an Employer of Record is and the Knit global hiring guides.

2. Who Can Be the Sponsor: Employer Types Under Permenaker 8/2021

The core Indonesian rule is Ministry of Manpower Regulation No. 8 of 2021 (Permenaker 8/2021), which implements Government Regulation No. 34 of 2021 on the use of foreign workers. The Kemnaker legal database page for it was last read in November 2026 and shows the regulation as in force ("Berlaku"). It was enacted on 31 March 2021 and promulgated on 1 April 2021, and it revoked the earlier Permenaker 10/2018. You can check this yourself on the Kemnaker legal database status page and read the full text in the official PDF of Permenaker 8/2021.

One caution on status. The status page lists no amendments in its text history, but its relationship map is graphical and could not be read. So we cannot rule out later changes. Ask local counsel to confirm that no amending instrument applies to your case.

Article 3 of the regulation lists who may use foreign workers. In summary, the list includes:

• Government agencies, foreign diplomatic and consular missions and international bodies.
• Foreign trade, company and news offices operating in Indonesia, which is the representative office route.
• Foreign private companies operating in Indonesia.
• Indonesian limited liability companies (PT) or foundations, and registered foreign business entities. The regulation states that individually owned PTs are excluded.
• Social, religious, educational and cultural institutions.
• Impresariat services, meaning entities that manage performers and similar talent.
• Other business entities that the law permits to use foreign workers.

For a Chinese company, the practical reading is this. The sponsor must be an eligible Indonesian entity, usually a PT that is a foreign-owned company, or a representative office. A Chinese parent company in China is not the sponsor. A person cannot be sponsored by an entity that does not exist in Indonesia.

That has a direct consequence for the EOR question, which we cover in section 9. If you do not have your own Indonesian entity, the sponsor on the RPTKA has to be some other eligible Indonesian entity, and the question becomes whether and how that entity can act for you. Our guide on EOR versus entity setup and the real cost math explains the trade-off between the two routes.

Business registration and other conditions. An eligible entity must also hold the registrations and licences that Indonesian law requires for its business activity. This article does not list them, because we did not confirm them on a fetched official page. Ask counsel to confirm that your entity's registration status and permitted business activities match the positions in your RPTKA.

3. Step 1: The RPTKA, the Foreign Worker Utilization Plan

Every employer that uses foreign workers must hold an approved RPTKA. Article 2 of Permenaker 8/2021 sets that rule, and Article 30 lists exemptions for specific situations. The exemptions in Article 30 include certain shareholder-directors and commissioners, diplomatic staff, emergency production work, vocational work, technology start-ups, business visits and research, some for limited periods. Because exemptions are detailed and narrow, do not assume that one applies. Ask counsel to confirm it against the current text.

Who approves it. The approval level depends on the number of foreign workers. According to Articles 6 and 14, the Director General approves where an employer plans to use 50 or more foreign workers, and the Director approves where the number is fewer than 50. Before approval, Kemnaker carries out a feasibility assessment. Under Article 18, the Director may reject an application if the worker's qualifications do not match the position.

What the plan must show. From the regulation's text, the main points are:

• Education that matches the position. The worker's education should fit the role.
• At least five years of relevant competence or work experience. Article 4 sets this.
• Transfer of expertise. The worker must transfer technology and expertise to an Indonesian counterpart worker (tenaga kerja pendamping). We discuss the counterpart in section 8.
• A match between role and plan. The foreign worker's actual job must match what the RPTKA approved.

Three practical points for Chinese employers:

Qualification fit matters. A role that looks routine to you may look different to a reviewer. Write the job description and the candidate's qualifications so that the link between them is easy to see. Do not assume that a senior title carries the application.

The plan is tied to the position, not only the person. Because the RPTKA lists positions, changes to a role after approval can create a mismatch. Article 49 treats work that does not match the approved RPTKA as a violation.

Counterpart planning starts early. The counterpart requirement is easier to meet when the Indonesian colleague is named before the application, not afterwards.

The Immigration article on work visa applications confirms where the process starts: the sponsor registers the RPTKA on Kemnaker's TKA Online portal. We cover that article in section 5.

A note on terminology. Some older materials and service providers use other labels for the manpower approval. This article uses the terms that appear on the official pages we reviewed: RPTKA, VITAS, ITAS and DKPTKA. If a provider quotes you a different label, ask which step it corresponds to.

4. RPTKA Validity, Extensions and the DKPTKA Levy

How long an RPTKA is valid

Article 20 of Permenaker 8/2021 sets maximum validity periods. The table summarizes them.

Extension applications must be filed at least 30 working days before the RPTKA expires (Article 22). Put the date in the project calendar at the start, because 30 working days is well over a month.

Two cautions. First, the 5-year period is for Special Economic Zones, so it should not be treated as a general option. Second, these are maximum periods. The period that is actually approved depends on the position, the contract and the authority's decision. Check the approved period on the RPTKA itself.

The DKPTKA levy

Employers must pay a compensation fee for the use of foreign workers, known as DKPTKA (Dana Kompensasi Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing). Under Articles 35 and 36:

• The rate is US$100 per position, per person, per month. It is paid as non-tax state revenue or a regional levy.
• Engagements of less than one month are charged a full month.
• Payment is made in advance for the whole RPTKA period. This matters for cash planning. A two-year RPTKA means a payment covering the period, not a monthly bill.
• Some employers and positions are exempt. Article 35 lists exemptions, including government bodies, foreign missions, international bodies, social and religious institutions and certain education positions.

For a rough sense of scale, one position for 24 months at the stated rate corresponds to US$2,400 in levy. That arithmetic is ours, based on the published rate, and not a quote. Confirm the amount, the payment method and any exemption with Kemnaker or counsel before budgeting. Failure to pay is also one of the violations that can lead to sanctions, which we cover in section 12.

Is the rate still current?

The US$100 rate comes from the 2021 text. We did not find an official page showing a different current rate, but we also could not rule out a later change. Treat it as the published rate in the text we reviewed.

5. Step 2: The Work Visa (VITAS) and TKA Online

Once the RPTKA is approved, the sponsor applies for the work visa. The Immigration article "How to apply for a work visa for prospective foreign workers" describes the sequence for the C312 work visa:

1. The sponsor registers the RPTKA on Kemnaker's TKA Online portal.
2. The sponsor receives Kemnaker's approval and a notification.
3. The notification triggers a visa request to the Immigration system.
4. The sponsor uploads the visa documents on TKA Online. The page states that this visa must be submitted through TKA Online, not through the general Immigration visa portal.

The documents the page lists for the sponsor are the foreign worker's passport, an application letter and a guarantee letter, and the sponsor's financial proof. If the visa replaces an expired ITAS that can no longer be extended, proof of an Exit Re-Entry Permit is also needed. If the application is delayed for missing documents, the page says the sponsor can contact Immigration's visa unit by email or live chat.

Important caveats on this page.

• It is an older article. It was first published in August 2021, and the page shows a last-updated date of January 2024. Procedures, portals and document lists may have changed since.
• It focuses on the C312 work visa. The page does not list visa index codes, validity periods or the conversion to ITAS, and it refers readers to a separate visa list. The Immigration ITAS page we reviewed lists work-related categories under codes such as E23 (sponsored work), but we did not find an official page that sets out the work visa validity period for a person applying from abroad.
• It mentions a 2021 entry restriction. The page says that, at the time, work visa applications from applicants abroad could not be processed under an entry-ban rule (Permenkumham 27/2021). It does not say whether that restriction still applies. This is exactly the kind of point to confirm before you plan travel dates.

In short, we can confirm the sequence (RPTKA, approval and notification, then the visa through TKA Online), but we cannot give you a verified processing time or visa validity period from official pages. Do not build a start date around an assumption.

What this means for planning. The visa and the RPTKA are linked. If the RPTKA is approved for a position and period, the visa application relies on it. So errors in the RPTKA, such as a wrong job title or a mismatched qualification, tend to surface again at the visa stage.

6. Step 3: Converting to ITAS After Arrival

The third step happens in Indonesia. The employee enters on the limited stay visa and then converts it into an ITAS.

The 30-day conversion deadline

An Immigration news article titled "Foreigners entering Indonesia with a VITAS must convert to ITAS within 30 days" states that the ITAS application must be submitted within 30 days of the date of the entry stamp. It says the application is made at the local immigration office. It cites Government Regulation No. 48 of 2021 for the deadline and a charge for late filing under an earlier regulation. The article also says that the rule applies to the foreign national and, by its call to action, to the sponsor.

Two cautions. This is a 2022 news article, and the page shows a January 2024 update. Also, the main Immigration ITAS page does not itself state a post-arrival deadline. So we treat the 30-day figure as the published Immigration guidance, and we recommend that your sponsor confirm the current deadline with the local immigration office before the employee travels.

The practical rule: count the 30 days from the entry stamp, not from the employee's first day of work, and book the immigration office visit in advance.

What the ITAS page says

The Immigration ITAS page describes the permit as a limited stay permit granted for specific purposes. Key points relevant to work authorization:

• Initial validity. Depending on the visa index, the initial ITAS is 180 days, 1 year or 2 years.
• Maximum total duration for work. For most work-related categories (the E23 series, E23G, E23R and E24E), the page says the total ITAS may not exceed 6 years.
• Work categories. The work-related categories include sponsored work (E23 and the sector-specific E23B to E23W), digital-sector categories (E24 series) and roles such as commissioner, director, manager and supervisor (E25 series).
• Extension timing. For an ITAS of up to one year, the page says to apply no earlier than 30 days before expiry and no later than the expiry date. For an ITAS of more than one year, it says no earlier than three months before expiry and no later than the expiry date.
• Overstay protection. The page says that if the fee is paid before expiry, the application is not treated as overstay even if processing runs past the expiry date.

A note on source quality. The ITAS page itself contains inconsistencies. We saw a duplicated visa index, an ITAS-related item that refers to a different permit type and conflicting extension wording. The page's own table also leaves the mapping of a 3-year cap to particular categories unclear. For that reason, read the visa index on the employee's actual visa and confirm the cap that applies to it.

Fees: why we do not quote a number

The Immigration fee page lists amounts for the limited stay permit by duration, but we do not state them here. Three reasons:

• The page says it was last updated in October 2023, while the site footer shows 2026.
• One row is priced per person while the others are priced per application, and two longer durations show the same figure, so it is unclear whether the table is fully accurate.
• The ITAS page itself gives no ITAS amount, and our review of the Immigration fee page did not show work visa fees.

The Immigration pages and older sources we saw also differ on ITAS amounts. The controlling source is the fee page on the Immigration website, as confirmed with the local immigration office at the time of filing. Budget with a range, and replace it with the confirmed amount.

Converting from a visit status

An Immigration article from July 2022 describes a route for foreigners already in Indonesia on a visit visa or visit stay permit who are accepted for work by an Indonesian company: the sponsor files for the work ITAS through a status conversion. The page repeats the RPTKA, DKPTKA and counterpart requirements. It also notes that this article dates from 2022 and cannot be confirmed as current. Do not plan an employee to arrive as a visitor and switch to work status without written confirmation from counsel that this route is currently open for the case. We cover the visitor point further in the next section.

7. Chinese Passport Holders: Why a Visitor Visa Is Not a Work Visa

A common and costly mistake is to send an employee on a short visit "to get started" before the paperwork is complete. The official Immigration e-Visa page for the visitor visa lists its permitted purposes as tourism, government visit, business meeting, goods purchasing and transit. Work is not on the list. The same page shows China on the list of eligible passports for that visitor visa, and says the permitted stay is 30 days with a 90-day validity period. You can read it on the Immigration e-Visa information page.

Two points follow.

Eligibility to enter is not permission to work. That a Chinese passport can obtain a visitor visa tells you about entry. It says nothing about employment. A business meeting is a permitted purpose. Performing the job is not.

The page does not settle every question. It mainly describes the online visitor visa, and it refers to visa on arrival only in passing, directing readers to the Immigration website for requirements. So we cannot confirm the visa on arrival rules for Chinese passport holders from that page. Check them separately if you plan any visit.

What counts as work?

The official pages do not give an exhaustive definition of work for visitor purposes, and we did not find one. As a planning rule, treat any productive activity that you would normally assign to the employee, such as running a team, delivering services or operating equipment, as work. Keep visitors to the permitted purposes. If a task falls in a grey area, such as a short installation or a training session, ask counsel before the trip, not after it.

The cost of getting this wrong

Permenaker 8/2021 provides for administrative sanctions where a foreign worker is found working without an approved RPTKA. We describe those in section 12. In addition, Immigration consequences can follow under immigration law. We do not describe them here because we did not confirm them on a fetched official page. The safe approach is to keep the employee out of any work until the visa and permit are in place.

8. Position Rules: HR Roles, Concurrent Roles and the Indonesian Counterpart

Permenaker 8/2021 contains rules about which roles foreign workers may hold and what the employer must do around them. Three matter most for companies placing Chinese staff.

Foreign workers cannot hold personnel management positions

Article 49 prohibits using foreign workers in positions that handle personnel matters, which the text calls "jabatan yang mengurusi personalia". Article 56 lists it among the serious violations that can lead to revocation of the RPTKA.

This matters more than it might seem. A Chinese company often wants to send a trusted HR manager to set up and oversee an Indonesian team. Under this rule, that role cannot be filled by a foreign worker under an RPTKA. Plan to staff the personnel function locally, for example with an Indonesian HR lead or through your local legal employer, and keep your Chinese managers in operational or technical roles that qualify.

We did not find an official definition of exactly which job titles count as handling personnel matters. If a role mixes people management with other duties, ask counsel to review the job description against the rule before filing.

One approved position, one job

Article 49 also prohibits a foreign worker from holding concurrent positions with the same employer, and treats work that does not match the approved RPTKA as a violation. In practice:

• Write the RPTKA position to cover the real job.
• Do not add duties later that fall outside the approved role.
• If the role changes materially, ask counsel whether the plan needs to be amended before the change takes effect.

The Indonesian counterpart and training

The employer must designate an Indonesian counterpart for transfer of technology and expertise. The regulation exempts some positions from this duty, including directors, commissioners, heads of representative offices, foundation officers and temporary work. It also sets out training and localization duties:

• Counterpart training must match the position, and training institutions must meet accreditation requirements stated in the regulation (Articles 39 to 42).
• The employer must facilitate Indonesian language training, with the same exemptions (Article 43).
• The employer must report annually on the program (Article 44).

Social security enrollment

Article 49 also lists failure to enroll the foreign worker in social security or insurance, failure to report and failure to pay the DKPTKA among the violations. The regulation does not tell you which scheme to use, so ask local counsel and your payroll provider how enrollment applies to each employee.

The table summarizes the position rules in one place.

9. How the Employer Condition Works When an EOR Is Involved

None of the official pages we reviewed mentions an Employer of Record. So what follows is our reading of how the official rules apply to an EOR structure, not a statement from the authorities. Treat it as a planning framework and confirm it with local counsel.

The sponsor must be an eligible Indonesian employer

The RPTKA is requested by the employer that will use the foreign worker, and that employer must fall within the categories in Article 3. For a company without its own Indonesian entity, an EOR can only support a work visa hire if the EOR is itself an eligible Indonesian entity and is the one that holds the approved RPTKA for the position. In other words, write the structure conditionally:

• If the EOR is an Indonesian PT that qualifies under Article 3 and obtains an RPTKA for the position, it can be the named employer and sponsor on the application.
• If the EOR cannot qualify or does not hold the RPTKA, it cannot carry the sponsorship, and another structure, such as your own PT, is needed.

Questions to ask any provider

These questions decide whether an EOR route can work for your hire:

1. Which Indonesian entity will be named as the employer and sponsor on the RPTKA and the visa application?
2. Does that entity hold the registrations needed for the position's business activity? Ask for the details in writing.
3. Who pays the DKPTKA and who budgets for it? The levy is a cost of using foreign workers, so agree who bears it in the service agreement.
4. Who appoints the Indonesian counterpart? The counterpart must be a real colleague, usually on the client's team, so agree how the client and the local legal employer will document it.
5. Who tracks renewals, the 30-day ITAS deadline and the extension window?
6. What happens at the end of the engagement? The Immigration article on status conversion says the employer is responsible for repatriating the foreign worker at the end of the work agreement, so agree who handles it.

Review the structure with counsel

Indonesian law has rules about who the employer of a worker may be and in what circumstances. The EOR structure should be reviewed by local counsel against that rule. This is not a reason to avoid the model. It is a reason to confirm, in writing, that the contracts, the RPTKA and the day-to-day management of the employee are consistent with each other.

Employees assigned abroad by a Chinese company

Some Chinese companies prefer to keep an employee on the China payroll and send the person to Indonesia on assignment. The Indonesian rules above still turn on the Indonesian user of the worker. So an assignment does not remove the need for an RPTKA held by an eligible Indonesian entity. It also raises tax, social insurance and contract questions in both countries, which are outside the scope of this article. Take advice in both China and Indonesia before choosing between an assignment and a local employment contract.

Local hire or assigned employee: a short comparison

10. How Knit People Supports EOR and Work Visa Hires

The three-step process above has many moving parts: a plan approval, a visa application on a government portal, a deadline after arrival, a levy, a counterpart and a renewal calendar. Our service value in this area is coordination. In a hire through an Employer of Record, Knit People can act as the local legal employer where the structure and the rules allow it. Confirm the scope for your destination with the Knit team, because coverage and structure depend on the country and on the position. You can read more on the Knit Employer of Record in Indonesia page and on the general Employer of Record services page.

Knit People supports employers with employee work visa applications, including document preparation, form completion, and communication and follow-up with local authorities, to help employees obtain compliant work authorization under local rules. Approval is always decided by the local authority. Knit does not guarantee approval.

A standalone work visa service is also available as a value-add; confirm the scope for your destination with the Knit team.

How Knit People Compares

Three questions matter more than any brand name when you compare providers. Who is the named employer or sponsor on the application? What does the provider do during the application? Who tracks renewals and changes afterward? In Indonesia, where one hire passes through three approvals, the answers to these questions show you who owns each step.

Approval is decided by the local authority whichever provider you choose. For a wider view of providers in the region, see our overview of the best EOR providers in Asia-Pacific.

11. Illustrative Scenario (Hypothetical, Not a Real Client)

The following example is invented to show how the steps fit together. It does not describe a real client, and the dates are placeholders.

Company B is a mid-sized Chinese equipment maker with no Indonesian entity. It wins a contract in Indonesia and wants a senior service engineer, Employee A, a Chinese national, to lead installation and technical training. It also wants Employee C, a Chinese HR manager at headquarters, to help set up the local team.

Step 0: choose the structure. Company B decides to use an EOR rather than set up its own PT for now, and asks the provider which Indonesian entity will be the named employer and sponsor. The provider confirms, subject to counsel's review, that its Indonesian entity can apply for the RPTKA. Company B asks counsel to review the EOR structure against Indonesian rules on who may employ a worker.

Step 1: the RPTKA. The local legal employer drafts the position for Employee A as a service engineer role. It records the candidate's degree and more than five years of relevant experience, and it names an Indonesian technician from the client's team as the counterpart for knowledge transfer. Because the plan is for a single foreign worker, it falls in the fewer-than-50 category. The employer budgets for the DKPTKA at the published rate for the approved period.

Step 2: the visa. After approval and notification, the sponsor uploads the passport, application letter, guarantee letter and financial proof on TKA Online. The sponsor asks counsel to confirm the current rules on applications from abroad, given the older entry restriction mentioned on the Immigration page. Employee A does not travel for work until the visa is issued. A site visit before then is limited to meeting-type purposes, and the team does not assign any hands-on tasks.

Step 3: arrival and ITAS. Employee A enters on the visa. The sponsor counts 30 days from the entry stamp and books the immigration office visit in the first week. It records the ITAS expiry date and the extension window in a shared calendar.

The HR role. Counsel points out that Employee C's proposed role handles personnel matters, which the regulation says foreign workers cannot hold. Company B decides to hire an Indonesian HR lead locally, and Employee C supports the team from China without being placed in a personnel management position in Indonesia.

In this version, no single step is hard. The difference comes from deciding who owns each step, and from checking the role design against the rules before filing.

12. Timeline, Checklist, Penalties and What Is Still Unconfirmed for 2027

A planning timeline

The table below shows the order of events and the date-driven items. It gives sequence and rules, not processing times, because we did not confirm official processing times for the work visa.

Pre-filing checklist

Penalties under Permenaker 8/2021

The regulation sets out administrative sanctions in Articles 47 to 57. As written in the 2021 text we reviewed:

• Fines (Article 50). Rp6 million per position, per person, per month for one month, rising to Rp36 million for six months or more. The calculation can run from the foreign worker's entry into Indonesia if an inspector finds the person working without the required approval.
• Late payment (Article 52). A charge of 2% per month on late DKPTKA, capped at six months.
• Suspension (Article 54). Temporary suspension of RPTKA processing for up to three months.
• Revocation (Article 56). Revocation of the RPTKA for serious breaches such as using a foreign worker in a personnel position, concurrent positions or non-payment of the levy. Article 57 provides for Immigration action to follow.

These figures come from the 2021 text. Confirm the amounts and the procedure with counsel before relying on them, and note that Immigration law has its own consequences that we did not review.

What is new, and what is still unconfirmed for 2027

We found no official 2027-specific rule change. The headline title uses "2027" because employers are planning hires for that year, not because we found a rule with that effective date. Plan against the current texts and recheck before each filing.

Joint Decision No. 1 of 2026. The Kemnaker legal database lists a Joint Decision of the Minister of Manpower, the Minister of Immigration and Corrections, and the Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of BKPM, No. 1 of 2026, dated 9 September 2026 and shown as in force. According to the Kemnaker legal database entry, it concerns integrating the Online Single Submission (OSS) system with Kemnaker's systems and Immigration's application, so that RPTKA approval can be processed for investment-related visas and stay permits. The page shows no separate effective date, and the operative articles were available only as a PDF that we could not review. So we describe it as recently issued, with details to confirm. Ask the Knit team or counsel how it affects your filing path, in particular whether the steps and portals described in this article have changed for your entity type.

Other open points. Fees for the ITAS, the visa validity period for a person applying from abroad, official processing times and the full list of positions that count as personnel management are not confirmed here. Rules change, so confirm each one with the authority.

13. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can a Chinese citizen work in Indonesia on a visitor visa?

No. The Immigration e-Visa page lists the visitor visa purposes as tourism, government visit, business meeting, goods purchasing and transit, and work is not among them. Chinese nationals need an approved RPTKA, a work visa and then an ITAS. Ask counsel about any task that is not clearly a meeting.

Q: What is the difference between RPTKA, VITAS and ITAS?

The RPTKA is the foreign worker utilization plan that Kemnaker approves for the employer. The VITAS is the limited stay visa used to enter Indonesia, and the ITAS is the limited stay permit that the employee obtains after arrival. They are sequential steps, and each depends on the one before it.

Q: How long does the employee have to convert the VITAS to an ITAS?

An Immigration news article from 2022 states that the ITAS application must be submitted within 30 days of the entry stamp. The main ITAS page does not state a deadline, so confirm the current rule with the local immigration office before travel. Count from the entry stamp.

Q: How much is the DKPTKA?

Permenaker 8/2021 sets it at US$100 per position, per person, per month, paid in advance for the RPTKA period, unless an exemption applies. Engagements shorter than one month are charged as a full month. Confirm the current rate and exemptions with Kemnaker or counsel.

Q: How long is an RPTKA valid?

The regulation sets maximum periods: 6 months for temporary work with no extension, 2 years for work of more than 6 months and for exempt positions, and 5 years in Special Economic Zones. Extensions are possible under immigration rules, and the application must be filed at least 30 working days before expiry.

Q: What is the maximum total ITAS duration for a work permit?

For most work-related categories, including the E23 series, the Immigration ITAS page says the total may not exceed 6 years. The page has some inconsistencies, so confirm the cap for the specific visa index. The initial period is 180 days, 1 year or 2 years depending on the index.

Q: Can a foreign worker be the HR manager of an Indonesian team?

Permenaker 8/2021 prohibits using foreign workers in positions that handle personnel matters, and treats it as a ground for revoking the RPTKA. If your role mixes people management with other work, have counsel review it. Plan to staff the personnel function locally.

Q: Can an EOR sponsor a Chinese employee's work visa in Indonesia?

Only if the EOR is an eligible Indonesian entity that holds the approved RPTKA for the position. No official page we reviewed mentions EORs, so confirm the structure with local counsel and the provider. Ask which entity is named as employer and sponsor.

Q: Does Knit People guarantee that the visa will be approved?

No. Approval is always decided by the local authority. Knit People supports employers with employee work visa applications, including document preparation, form completion, and communication and follow-up with local authorities, to help employees obtain compliant work authorization under local rules. Confirm the scope for Indonesia with the Knit team.

Q: Has anything changed for 2027?

We found no official 2027-specific change. A joint decision on integrating OSS with the manpower and immigration systems was issued in September 2026, but we could not read its operative text. Recheck the current rules before filing.

14. Glossary of Key Terms

RPTKA (Rencana Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing): The foreign worker utilization plan that an Indonesian employer must have approved by the Ministry of Manpower before using a foreign worker, unless an exemption applies.

Kemnaker: The Indonesian Ministry of Manpower (Kementerian Ketenagakerjaan), which approves the RPTKA and runs the TKA Online system.

TKA Online: Kemnaker's online system for foreign worker services. The Immigration article says the work visa application is filed through it.

TKA (Tenaga Kerja Asing): Foreign worker, the term used in Indonesian regulations.

DKPTKA (Dana Kompensasi Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing): The compensation fee for using foreign workers, set at US$100 per position per month in Permenaker 8/2021, unless exempt.

VITAS (Visa Tinggal Terbatas): The limited stay visa that a foreign national uses to enter Indonesia for a purpose such as work, before converting to an ITAS.

ITAS (Izin Tinggal Terbatas): The limited stay permit issued for specific purposes, including sponsored work. In everyday speech it is often called KITAS.

Sponsor (penjamin): The Indonesian entity that guarantees and applies for the foreign worker's visa and permit.

Indonesian counterpart (tenaga kerja pendamping): The Indonesian worker designated to receive knowledge and technology transfer from the foreign worker.

Employer of Record (EOR): A locally registered entity that acts as the local legal employer of a worker on behalf of a client company. For a work visa hire in Indonesia, it must qualify as an eligible employer and hold the RPTKA.

OSS (Online Single Submission): The Indonesian online business licensing system. A 2026 joint decision concerns its integration with manpower and immigration systems.

Visitor visa: An entry visa for purposes such as tourism and business meetings. It does not permit work.

15. About Knit

Knit People was founded in Canada in 2015 and has about 11 years of experience supporting international employers. It serves 4,000+ clients across 172 countries and regions, processes over USD 600 million in annual payroll, operates 60+ owned entities, and maintains a China operations hub in Shenzhen. Its services include Employer of Record, PEO, Global Payroll and Contractor of Record, along with headhunting and recruitment, background checks, entity registration, global tax, insurance and work visa support. Knit holds MSB license No. M23187879. To discuss your overseas team or a cross-border hiring plan, contact the Knit team or review the Employer of Record services page.

16. Related Reading

• Knit People home
• Global Hiring Guides
• Employer of Record in Indonesia
• What Is an Employer of Record?
• EOR vs. Entity Setup: The Real Cost Math
• Best EOR Providers in Asia-Pacific 2026
• Knit Blog

This article is general educational information about work authorization in Indonesia for employees of Chinese companies. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Indonesian rules change, and some official pages cited here are older articles whose current status we could not confirm. The article reflects public official texts reviewed in November 2026. Before relying on any step described above, confirm the current position with the relevant Indonesian authority, with Knit's local team and with licensed local counsel.