Retirement KITAS in Indonesia (E33F): a practical guide
You have decided to spend your retirement in Indonesia. The climate suits you, the cost of living works, and the six-month visa runs are starting to feel like a part-time job. The question is no longer whether you want to stay, the question is which permit lets you stay properly.
For most people over 55 the answer is the retirement KITAS, visa index E33F. This guide covers who qualifies, what exactly you will have to produce, how long each stage takes and what it costs. It is written for people who are about to apply, not for people who are still browsing.
What the retirement KITAS is
The retirement KITAS is a permit for foreigners aged 55 and over. In the official visa classification it carries index E33F and is described as a foreigner aged 55 or older residing in Indonesia for no more than one year.
The classification was established by the Decree of the Minister of Immigration and Corrections of 2 May 2025 — it took effect thirty days after being issued and replaced the 2023 visa classification. This matters when reading older guides: material written before mid-2025 often uses abolished indexes and an outdated description of the process.
There is a neighbouring index worth knowing about. E33E covers foreigners aged 55 and over staying for up to five years without a sponsor — but the absence of a sponsor is paid for with a deposit: USD 50,000 in an account with an Indonesian state bank, to be placed within ninety days of the permit being granted. E33F, the one-year permit with a sponsor, is the route most retirees take, and it is the subject of this guide.
Who qualifies
The age threshold is 55. It is set out in the decree itself; it is not a matter of discretion and not a matter of negotiation.
You do not need to receive a state pension. What you do need is to prove that you can support yourself in Indonesia without working: among the permit holder's obligations the decree lists “having sufficient means of living”. The specific figure is set in the regulation on visas and stay permits: confirmed income or allowance of USD 3,000 per month. Beyond that, immigration looks at the history of your bank account. And one more thing people often discover at the last moment: E33F is a permit with a sponsor, and it is the sponsor who files the application through their account on the e-Visa portal.
If one spouse is under 55, they are not simply added to your application. A separate dependent permit is issued for them along the family reunification route — on the basis of yours and with an official marriage certificate; in the visa classification this is the family KITAS. Children under 18 can obtain the family KITAS as well. The regulation sets no additional income threshold per dependent: beyond the USD 3,000 per month it requires proof of means for yourself and your family, and immigration determines the amount.
What you may and may not do
This is where mistakes are most common, and where it pays to be precise: the consequences fall on the client, not on the agent.
With E33F you may:
Enter and leave Indonesia freely for as long as your re-entry permit is valid.
Carry out activities related to investment, business or the purchase of goods — the decree lists this explicitly.
Bring your family to live in Indonesia, subject to immigration rules.
Travel and visit family within the country.
With E33F you may not:
Stay beyond the validity of your permit. Overstaying carries daily fines and, past a certain point, deportation and an entry ban.
Sell goods or services directly. This is named as a prohibition in the decree.
Carry out activities outside your category without applying to add or change the type of activity.
Employment in Indonesia is not what this permit is for. Formally, the decree expressly prohibits selling goods and services directly. But taking a job with an Indonesian company falls under an entirely different index — the E23 series — and requires a work permit.
The process, stage by stage
Each stage has its own bottleneck, and knowing where you stand tells you whether to push or to wait.
Stage 1. Eligibility check (1–2 days) Confirm the age threshold, match income and bank statements against current requirements, choose between an onshore and an offshore application. A mistake here is the most expensive one possible, because it surfaces only after the fees have been paid.
Stage 2. Collecting documents (1–3 weeks, mostly on your side) Assemble the package from the next section. Translation and legalisation of foreign documents happen here too. This stage moves at exactly the speed you move — and it is the one most often underestimated.
Stage 3. Filing and approval (official timeline: 5 working days after payment, in practice allow 7–10) The application is filed, the approval is issued. When applying from abroad, the approval is what gives you the right to enter.
Stage 4. Entering Indonesia This applies to an offshore application. You enter on the approved visa: it is valid for 90 days from the date of issue. If you have not entered within that window, the visa has to be applied for again.
Stage 5. The stay permit and the re-entry permit are generated automatically when you are cleared at the border. In some cases biometrics are required after entry, at a personal visit to the immigration office.
Stage 6. Registration and reporting Once the permit is issued, local registration obligations apply: the SKTT and the domicile letter are handled separately from the KITAS itself.
An extension is filed in a narrow window: no earlier than thirty days before expiry and no later than the day the permit ends. An earlier application will simply not be accepted, so collect the documents in advance and plan the filing for that final month. If the application is filed and paid for before expiry, a delay in processing does not count as an overstay.
Which documents you will need
A passport valid for at least 18 months. The regulation requires a minimum of six, but we ask for a margin: the permit runs for a year, and a passport expiring mid-term will have to be replaced along with the permit.
Bank statements for the last three months, in English, showing the name, the period and the balance; the minimum balance is USD 2,000. The account may be yours or your sponsor's.
Proof of a pension or regular income — USD 3,000 per month, over the same three months. This figure comes straight from the regulation, not from the practice of one particular office.
Insurance valid for at least one year.
A marriage or divorce certificate translated into English, where applicable.
Photographs meeting immigration requirements.
A short CV covering work and education history.
A travel itinerary.
What it costs
Item | Price |
Retirement KITAS, 1 person, 1 year | Rp 16,000,000 |
Annual extension | Rp 17,000,000 |
KITAS closure | Rp 1,500,000 |
Dependent permit (spouse or child) | Rp 12,500,000 per year |
What is included: all government visa fees are included in this price — you will not be asked for an additional official payment on the spot. Our work covers document review, preparation and filing of the application, dealing with the immigration office and accompanying you to the biometrics appointment.
What is not included: translation and legalisation of foreign documents, insurance, accommodation rental, and the SKTT and domicile letter.
We accept payment by bank card, in cash at our Bali office and in cash to a courier on Bali.
What happens next
The retirement KITAS is issued for one year and extended annually, and limited stay permits may not exceed six years in total as long as the type of activity stays the same. Moving to a KITAP — a permanent stay permit — is possible sooner: the regulation allows a change of status if you have stayed in Indonesia continuously for at least three years from the date the first permit was granted, and the application must be filed no later than thirty days before the current one expires. A KITAP is issued for five years, can be extended, allows multiple entry and exit, and removes the annual paperwork cycle.
The six-year ceiling is worth keeping in mind from the start: it counts across all limited stay permits, not only retirement ones. If you plan to stay longer, a KITAP is not a “someday” option but a step worth preparing for in your third year.
Frequently asked questions
From 55. The visa classification decree defines index E33F as applying to foreigners aged 55 and over.
55 is what applies — that is what the current visa classification states. The figure 60 appears in documents adopted before the current classification and in older guides.
Yes, through a dependent permit along the family reunification route (the family KITAS) rather than through a retirement visa of their own, and an official marriage certificate is required. Unmarried children under 18 can obtain the family KITAS as well.
Both onshore and offshore applications are possible. Applying from abroad, approval takes 7–10 working days, then entry and around three weeks for biometrics and issuance; applying on the spot, the whole path takes about a month.
No: BPJS Health is not issued to holders of the retirement permit, so private insurance here is not a formality but your only cover.
Allow roughly one to two months from the first document to the permit in your hands, with the biometrics stage adding around three weeks.
Applications are accepted no earlier than thirty days before expiry and no later than the day the permit ends. So prepare in advance, but file in that final month.
Not after five years, as is often written, but after three years of continuous stay from the date the first permit was granted. The application is filed no later than thirty days before the current KITAS expires.
We handle the retirement KITAS from the first eligibility check to the finished permit in your hands, and we will tell you before you pay if your situation does not meet the requirements. If you are weighing up whether the E33F route suits you, get in touch and we will go through your case.
Director of Legal Indonesia
Patrecia Christy
