Indonesia: Deployment and work authorisation
Last reviewed
The short answer
A foreign national working in Indonesia needs a foreign worker plan validated by the Ministry of Manpower for a named position and period and then a work visa and a stay permit, both issued on the recommendation the validated plan provides. The plan is validated to the employer, not to the worker and not to the client.
Before the validation is issued the employer files at least its application letter, its business identification number and constitutional documents, its manpower report, the draft employment agreement and the organisation chart. It undertakes to appoint an Indonesian companion worker and to run the training behind it. It pays the compensation fund at the same stage. The Ministry then runs an appropriateness assessment once the application is complete and correct; a change of address, worker identity, work location or companion worker is issued within two working days of a complete application.
Aspirock coordinates that sequence on deployments into Indonesia and confirms the achievable start date before mobilisation rather than after.
What does an employer settle before it nominates someone?
The position, the period and the competence behind them, because the foreign worker plan the Ministry of Manpower validates names all three and that validation is what the work visa and the stay permit are issued on.
A foreign national may be employed in Indonesia in an employment relationship, for a certain position and a certain period and only where their competence matches the position. Which positions are open to a foreign worker is set by the Minister and the Constitutional Court has held that the rule is to be read having regard to the prioritisation of the use of Indonesian workers. Dual positions in the same company are not permitted and an employer may not employ a foreign worker in a position handling personnel, with the positions concerned set by the Minister.
That is work done at the front of a deployment rather than discovered part way through it. Because the plan names the position and the period, the question of whether a role can be filled by a foreign national at all is answered when the plan is drafted, not after an offer has been made. The compensation fund lands in the same place: it is paid up front and payment is a condition of that validation.
What order does an Indonesian deployment run in?
The order matters more than the paperwork, because the early steps are conditions of one another and the validated plan is what gates the immigration steps rather than running alongside them.
The first steps below are conditions of each other. The last are duties that run from the start of the engagement to the end of it.
- 01
Position and period fixed
The plan names a certain position and a certain period, and the worker's competence has to match it.
- 02
Compensation fund paid
US$100 per position per person per month, paid up front, and payment is a condition of the validation.
- 03
Foreign worker plan validated
The Ministry of Manpower carries out an appropriateness assessment once the application is complete and correct.
- 04
Work visa and stay permit issued
Both are issued on the recommendation the validated plan provides, under the immigration legislation.
- 05
Social security route settled
The national programme where the work runs more than six months, an insurance policy with an insurance company where it runs less.
- 06
Companion worker in place and trained
Trained to the qualification level of the foreign worker's position, alongside Indonesian-language training for the foreign worker.
- 07
Repatriation when the contract ends
The employer returns the worker to their country of origin at the end of the employment contract.
The immigration steps run on their own timetable.
That is why an achievable start date is worth confirming against a specific engagement rather than taken from a standard figure and why the plan, not the employment paperwork, is the item to start first.
What does the employer carry once the worker is on site?
The registrations, the companion worker and the training behind them, Indonesian-language training for the foreign worker, monthly payroll with income tax withheld at source, the religious holiday allowance and repatriation when the contract ends.
The social security route is decided by the length of the engagement. Where a foreign worker will be working for more than six months, the employer registers them in the national social security programme. Where the work runs for less than six months, the employer covers them under an insurance policy with an insurance company instead.
| Obligation | Work running less than six months | Work running more than six months |
|---|---|---|
| Social security | An insurance policy with an insurance company | Registration in the national social security programme |
| Foreign worker levy | US$100 per position per person per month and a full month is due even under a month | US$100 per position per person per month |
| Repatriation at the end of the contract | The employer returns the worker to their country of origin | The employer returns the worker to their country of origin |
| End-of-contract compensation on a fixed-term contract | Does not reach a foreign worker | Does not reach a foreign worker |
Alongside that, the employer appoints an Indonesian companion worker for technology and skills transfer, runs education and job training for that worker to the qualification level of the foreign worker's position and facilitates Indonesian-language training for the foreign worker. Those duties do not apply to directors and commissioners, heads of representative offices, foundation officers, or foreign workers employed for temporary work. The repatriation duty applies to all of them.
The cost breakdown prices the compensation fund, the registrations and the severance position against a specific engagement.
The provider
About Aspirock
Aspirock is an Employer of Record and payroll provider operating across 70+ countries from six global offices, founded on more than 22 years of operational EOR experience and supporting more than 5,000 workers. Every client works with a named account team that owns the deployment end to end, so contracts, payroll, visas, and compliance filings in each market are handled by people accountable for the outcome.
In Indonesia, Aspirock provides Employer of Record and payroll services for imported specialist and project roles, coordinating work authorisation and stay permits, monthly payroll with income tax withheld at source, social security and health insurance registrations, the statutory religious holiday allowance and the severance position at the end of an engagement. Deployments elsewhere in Southeast Asia are coordinated by the same account team.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Last reviewed
The sequence starts with a foreign worker plan validated by the Ministry of Manpower, which names the position and the period, and which may only be granted for a position and period for which the worker holds matching competence. Payment of the compensation fund is a condition of that validation. The validated plan is then the recommendation for the work visa and for the stay permit, both issued under the immigration legislation and the Ministry passes the worker's data across as part of the process. The plan is the gate, because the immigration steps are issued on its recommendation rather than running alongside it.
The employer does, and the regulation defines that employer as a legal entity established under Indonesian law, or another body, that employs the foreign worker for wages. The categories the regulation names include government bodies, foreign state representations and international organisations, foreign trade and company representative offices and news bureaux carrying on activities in Indonesia, foreign private companies doing business there, limited companies and foundations established under Indonesian law, foreign business entities registered with the competent authority, social, religious, educational and cultural institutions, impresariat services and business entities so far as statute permits them to use foreign workers. A limited company that takes the form of an individual legal person is excluded and an individual person is prohibited from employing a foreign worker.
The foreign worker plan is the gating item rather than the employment paperwork, because the visa and the stay permit are issued on its recommendation. The Ministry assesses an application once it has been declared complete and correct and issues a change of employer address, worker identity, work location or companion worker within two working days of a complete application. Each extension of a validated plan runs for up to two years, or up to five in a special economic zone, and must be applied for at least thirty working days before the current one expires. Aspirock confirms the achievable start date for a specific engagement before mobilisation begins, rather than committing to a date the sequence cannot support.
It depends on the length of the engagement. Where a foreign worker will be working for more than six months, the employer must register them in the national social security programme. Where the work runs for less than six months, the employer must instead cover them under an insurance policy with an insurance company. The employer also appoints an Indonesian companion worker for technology and skills transfer, runs education and job training for that worker to the qualification level of the foreign worker's position, facilitates Indonesian-language training for the foreign worker and repatriates the worker to their country of origin when the employment contract ends. The companion worker, training and language duties do not apply to directors and commissioners, heads of representative offices, foundation officers, or foreign workers employed for temporary work. The repatriation duty applies to all of them.
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General guidance on Indonesia employment rules, reviewed 6 August 2026. Rates and rules change. This is not legal or tax advice for a specific situation.