Work permits for creatives and the future of freelancers in Bali

The people are flocking to Bali for the winter break. Many are seeking opportunities to earn money, including those in creative professions. The island is seeing an increasing number of photographers, videographers, and musicians looking for gigs.

How realistic is it to find legal short-term employment opportunities for creative individuals in Bali? Is it difficult to legalize one's status? How risky is it to work illegally and what are the consequences?

We discussed these topics as well as the immigration policies regarding tourists with Walter Lehman, the head of a visa agency.

Walter, there is a special work permit for creative individuals called the Entertainment Kitas. Who can legalize their work with such a document?

There are companies that have the right to invite various artists to work. There is a list of 57 professions for which you can obtain this work visa Kitas.

In the list today, there are positions such as operations manager, marketing manager, dive manager, cruise manager, tourist facility manager, tour manager, sports science manager, fleet manager, general manager, show manager, art director, music director, musician, singer, DJ, director, actor, chief lighting technician, dancer, karaoke guide, acrobat, circus artist, magician, bodyguard, advertising model, fashion model, research and development consultant, marketing consultant.

From the sports professions: sports consultant, boxing promoter, referee, football coach, table tennis coach, basketball coach, volleyball coach, softball coach, polo coach, rowing coach, badminton coach, bowling coach, boxing coach, judo coach, diving coach, shooting coach, surfing coach, swimming coach, synchronized swimming coach, taekwondo coach, athletics coach, wushu coach, karate coach, golf coach, volleyball player, football player, basketball player, boxer.

These professions in the list periodically change. For example, photographers were in it before, but now they are not. So, photographers cannot obtain such a Kitas now, although they may appear in this list again. The lists change periodically. Perhaps there are too many photographers and videographers now, so they have been removed from the list.

The government has its own goals and vision for the overall development of the country. Indonesia has a population of 280 million citizens. If someone can take away local jobs that citizens can handle, it becomes a serious issue.

At the same time, Indonesia is open to foreign investors and highly skilled professionals who can share their expertise with local talent. This is the government's perspective on the situation.

However, photographers can be hired to work for specific companies, but not for freelance work. For example, if a company operates in the entertainment industry and organizes events, it can hire a foreign employee for the position of a photographer. However, this photographer would be tied to that specific company.

This type of visa (Entertainment KITAS) is intended for short-term specialists who come for a specific large-scale project, such as filming a movie, working on branding, or performances by a theatrical troupe with circus artists and acrobats. For instance, if a troupe is on tour and has a scheduled performance in Indonesia.

The concept of such a KITAS is that it is not intended for permanent employees who will be working in the freelance sphere in the long term. These KITAS are not designed for people living long-term in Bali.

It usually takes one to two months. The individual receives the documents, leaves Indonesia, obtains the visa, and can start working upon arrival.

The process is the same as with a regular KITAS, and the time required is the same. The difference lies in the availability of quotas. There are not many impresario companies, and various agencies utilize their services. Production agencies, modeling agencies, and agencies like ours. We purchase sponsorship from them.

The approximate cost of such a permit is around 10 - 15 million Indonesian rupiahs for six months, depending on the agency. This cost includes sponsorship and processing. Additionally, there is a separate fee for obtaining the work permit - which is 600 US dollars. Plus, there is a consular fee of 150 US dollars for obtaining the work permit.

This is quite a costly affair. However, for individuals with specific skills and abilities who intend to work with major brands, it is a necessary investment.

They include:

- Scan of the first page of the passport.

- Any tourist insurance for a month.

- Document of bachelor's degree or professional education in the profession for which the person is applying. For surf instructors, for example, special accreditations from the International Surfing Federation are accepted. Some people fake them, but the essence is that these documents must be genuine.

- Recommendation letter from the previous place of employment regarding experience in the position for more than 5 years. This letter will not be verified, no one will call your company to confirm it, but since certain documents are being uploaded into the system, it should also be included.

- Resume that corresponds to the work experience in the profession for which you are obtaining the work permit.

- Payment of a tax in the amount of 600 US dollars.

- Consular fee of 150 US dollars.

- Bank statement with a minimum balance of 1500 US dollars in the account.

- Email address, address of residence in Bali, phone number.

- Photograph.

The question is not that these documents are difficult to obtain and submit, but that it may be expensive for someone.

There is a special type of visa for short-term work in the entertainment industry. This is a short visa issued to specialists coming for a few days. In practice, it is valid for a month. The individual arrives, receives a special stamp at the airport, and can work in a specific position.

Large clubs like Cafe Del Mar, Omnia, for example, bring their DJs precisely under this type of permit.

There are also other ways to obtain a work permit in the form of monthly work permits, about which you can learn more from agents.

There are photographers who take groups of people to popular tourist spots - they are clearly at risk, and there are photographers who take people to places where even locals may not venture. If you take one or two people on exclusive tours and don't publicize your activities too much, the risk is significantly lower.

The same applies to surf instructors. Not those who teach on crowded beaches, push the board, and take people to the same spots in Kuta repeatedly with lots of students. They are part of that crowded scene. It's obvious they are teaching and working.

Then there are those who guide, with just 1-2 people who come by word of mouth. They pick them up, drive to the spot, get out of the car, and hit the waves. At the spot, it's not clear if you're friends or if you're teaching them.

It's also a matter of luck. Some people work for years with no issues. And some get caught after just a few days.

Sometimes it depends on the establishment where a person works, like a club or restaurant. There are places that find ways to make arrangements.

But if you work in such an establishment, you're immediately categorized as an unprotected individual. For example, you perform, everything goes well, but the owner decides to pay you half of the agreed fee. And you have no rights to dispute it.

Well, here the question is more directed towards the organizers and what measures they take, whether the event is paid or simply a gathering of like-minded individuals at some establishment.

Generally, the concept of "Presumption of Innocence" in Indonesia is very vague. The question is how you would prove your innocence.

By the way, volunteering in Indonesia is also not common. It exists, but the process of registration is very complex. You need to reach out to a specific organization that would provide an invitation.

When the earthquake happened in Lombok, many foreigners wanted to come and provide volunteer assistance. However, official aid camps for the affected did not accept foreign volunteers.

It was believed that foreigners often "hype up" their involvement - such as participating in beach clean-ups, helping the underprivileged, etc. In reality, such information campaigns portray countries in a negative light, demonstrating that the government cannot handle such problems on its own and thereby tarnishing the country's image in the international community.

Indonesia is stepping onto the international stage, developing, and has plans to attract new tourists, foreign investments, and infrastructure development. If foreigners engage in cleaning up garbage there, it seriously damages the country's image.

Foreigners who clean up garbage on beaches are simply overlooked. "Well, okay. You do what you do."

But if you start hyping it up or collecting money for it, sooner or later you may encounter problems.

Checks are conducted every day. Most often, groups travel on "assignments," meaning if certain information is provided and employees go somewhere purposefully.

But there are also unplanned cases. Recently, some guys were building a restaurant. Local workers were employed by the owner. At a certain moment, a pipe burst at the construction site, and instead of calling the workers, the owner took off his shirt and started fixing the problem himself. And a couple of minutes later, immigration police officers approached him.

They were driving by in a car and saw a foreigner doing construction work. Arguments about him being the owner of the establishment didn't work.

- But I'm the owner! I'm supervising everything at the construction site.

- Yes, you may, that's correct. But you were fixing the pipe yourself, while there should have been a foreman and workers whom you can supervise and control. And you cannot do that yourself.

Or it may happen that immigration police officers go to eat at a restaurant. They sit down, eat, and see a foreigner in the kitchen. After eating, they go to the kitchen, check the documents. Such cases happen.

Sometimes, they come to check on certain guesthouses. Representatives from immigration, police, local government, and military gather. It happens sometimes if they are looking for someone or have leads on foreign criminals.

There are fewer gray schemes and processes now, and I really like that. I never liked any gray stories or "gray stamps." Several years ago, many agents were involved in "gray stamps" for extensions. Any immigration officer would do it, and there was no risk. Now you can get up to five years in prison for it.

For example, there are "corridors" for people who haven't left Indonesia for several years and have large visa overstay fines. And these corridors can be closed at any moment, leaving people who use these services in a very difficult situation.

At a certain point, they started conducting checks, installing cameras everywhere, sending anti-corruption committee employees, introducing electronic systems, and it immediately put everyone in line.

In some respects, the process becomes more complicated, but from the perspective of foreign investment, it becomes simpler. For example, backpackers and people involved in downshifting are not interesting to the state. They do not bring significant profits to the economy. In fact, downshifters take away jobs from locals, do not spend much, take up space, and sometimes create unnecessary hassle. They are simply not needed.

The vector of state policy is now aimed at attracting foreign investment, training and employing local staff, collecting taxes, developing new technologies, infrastructure, attracting a new category of tourists. The so-called "quality tourists" and the development of other tourist zones in Indonesia.

People who somehow wander back and forth and live on $800 a month are not interesting from the perspective of state policy. The hippie times are over.

Most likely, legislative restrictions will become more complex for people without a certain level of income and for people who want to earn some money to hang out here. That's why in May 2019, they increased the cost of overstay fines, raised immigration fees for visa extensions, started introducing "telexes" for visa processing, and some embassies began refusing to issue social visas if there were already many of them in the passport.

These processes are becoming more complicated so as not to produce the “chernukha” that existed before, when no one paid any taxes and it was unclear how they worked and generally did not understand what. But in the end, this brought losses to the state treasury.

If you are an investor, if you come to invest $200 - $300 thousand, then everything becomes easier. An investor KITAS for two years costs only a thousand dollars. Two years of multiple entries and exits, live, work. And if you are in a director's position, then after five years you get a KITAP for 5 years, and after 10 years you get a lifetime residency permit.

Nowadays, there are more and more companies with one hundred percent foreign capital. The central apparatus is trying to simplify bureaucracy and centralize the issuance of licenses and permits. All this is done precisely to make it easier for foreign investments.

For a tourist who doesn't have money, everything becomes more complicated. For those who have money and are ready to invest, the government is trying to simplify, improve, and speed up all bureaucratic processes.

The history of "free visas" has been considered a failure, at least it's discussed within government structures. They wanted to boost tourism statistics through this and also heavily targeted the Chinese market. Indeed, Chinese tourists flooded in, and statistically, tourism increased. However, from an economic perspective, this didn't bring anything good. The average tourist who comes to Bali spends around $1,200 - $1,500 over two weeks. Moreover, they spend this money in various places - restaurants, shops, etc.

On the other hand, Chinese tourists mostly pay in China. They pay for their tours in China, and then they come to Bali and only go to places where they are taken. And they are taken to places owned by Chinese people.

Any immigration officer in any country has the right to refuse you entry without explanation, citing "immigration reason." Therefore, when going through passport control, smile, behave courteously, avoid talking on the phone, and have a normal story about your planned vacation, including how you earn money. It's better not to mention that you work online if you do.

With a tourist visa, you are only allowed to engage in tourism.

But you can simply sit in a cafe with a computer without working.

There was a story with a company that bought hardware and sent guys to work in Bali. They stayed in a villa and worked on social visas.

Then immigration police came. They asked them, "What are you doing?" If they had said, "We're playing games online," there would have been no questions. But the guys said, "We work online.  And they got into trouble.

If a company wants to base itself here without earning income from Indonesia, it must open a representative office.

An office is opened, and local employees can be hired for this office. Two work visas are also granted: one for the representative director and one for his personal assistant. And this office can act as a sponsor for a business visa. 

A business visa is issued for business negotiations, establishing partnership relations, signing contracts, and meeting with management.

And if a person flies often just because they like to fly, I recommend everyone to get a business visa.

From the perspective of official legislation, it should be organized differently.

For example, I have a marketing agency in my country. And some hotel in Bali orders promotion from me. They need to make a video, create a couple of posts on the internet. In theory, they should send an invitation for a business visa to my specialist, he should get a business visa for this company, come to the place and shoot some material there.

But in practice, nobody does it like that. Most either enter on a stamp, a visa on arrival, or a social visa. And with this visa, you can't do anything other than tourism.

But in reality, tourists are not so heavily restricted. Many live on Bali for years, travel to Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and other countries every six months, get a "social visa," and return. In some countries, this would be impossible.

People often get upset without realizing that they actually have many opportunities. Sometimes clients complain that it's difficult to get a work visa. I believe that to get a work visa in America or Europe, you have to go through hell and back.

But in Indonesia, it's becoming easier for investors, entrepreneurs, people willing to work officially, invest money in Indonesia's development, or place orders here. Backpackers, financially unstable individuals who take away jobs from locals, are not valued.