Indonesia opens office doors to remote workers with 5 year visa offer
Temping tourists to travel to Indonesia shouldn’t be a difficult task. After all, the largest archipelago in the world is rich with cultural gems, stunning beaches, and every kind of natural beauty. But the Indonesian government has decided against taking the scenic route, instead they are tempting the business community with an appetising 5 year visa.
The nation’s Tourism Minister, Sandiaga Uno, believes he can attract around 3.6 million travellers with a package that includes ecological tourism, sporting events and, of course, a special 5 year visa for remote workers, which will create over 1 million job openings.
“In the past, the three ‘S’s were: sun, sea and sand. We’re moving it to serenity, spirituality and sustainability. This way we’re getting better quality and better impact to the local economy.”
Indonesia has lifted most of its travel restrictions, allowing fully-vaccinated visitors to come without testing. As a consequence, tourist arrivals jumped 500% to 111,000 in April, its highest monthly increase since the pandemic. And, by simplifying the visa process and reaching out to employees of global companies to come and work remotely, the southeast Asian country have targeted the 95% of surveyed digital nomads who chose Indonesia as their Number 1 work destination.
Uno says the special visa for remote workers and business-leisure travellers would allow its holders to stay for as long as five years without paying taxes if they don’t earn their income within Indonesia.
“Now with the pandemic handled and all the ministries getting involved and cooperating from the health side to the immigrations office, we believe that this is an opportune time to relaunch this idea.”
SOURCE Bangkok Post
