Foreign workers (Tenaga Kerja Asing or “TKA”) whose KITAS (Limited Stay Permit) for employment is undergoing an extension process need to carefully consider the status of their stay permit and re-entry permit before travelling outside Indonesia. Although employment regulations do not expressly prohibit foreign workers from leaving Indonesia while an extension is being processed, doing so may have significant immigration consequences.
In principle, if a foreign worker leaves Indonesia when their stay permit or re-entry permit is no longer valid, they may lose the ability to re-enter Indonesia as the holder of a limited stay permit for employment. This may ultimately affect their ability to continue working in Indonesia.
Accordingly, the status of the RPTKA, visa, KITAS, and re-entry permit should be carefully reviewed and kept aligned before a foreign worker travels overseas.
1. The Position of KITAS in the Foreign Worker Employment Framework
To determine whether a foreign worker may travel outside Indonesia while their KITAS extension is being processed, it is first necessary to understand the relationship between employment authorization and immigration status.
Under Government Regulation No. 34 of 2021 on the Employment of Foreign Workers (“GR 34/2021”), a foreign worker is a foreign national holding a visa for the purpose of working in Indonesia. Accordingly, the legality of a foreign worker’s presence and employment activities is fundamentally connected to the validity of their visa and stay permit.
Meanwhile, the RPTKA constitutes the plan for the employment of a foreign worker in a specific position and for a specific period, as provided under GR 34/2021.
Under the foreign worker employment framework, the approval of the RPTKA serves an important function as a recommendation for obtaining a visa and stay permit for employment purposes. This is consistent with Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 8 of 2021 on the Implementing Regulations of Government Regulation No. 34 of 2021 (“MOM Regulation 8/2021”).
In simple terms, the relationship can be illustrated as follows:
RPTKA Approval → Visa Recommendation → KITAS → Basis for the foreign worker to reside, depart from, and re-enter Indonesia for employment purposes.
This framework demonstrates that international travel is not merely an employment matter. It is primarily connected to the foreign worker’s immigration status, which must remain aligned with the RPTKA and the underlying employment relationship.
2. The Relationship Between RPTKA, Visa, and KITAS Extensions
The period of employment of a foreign worker is, in principle, connected to the validity period of the RPTKA Approval.
For employment exceeding six (6) months, the RPTKA Approval may be granted for a maximum period of two (2) years and may be extended. Meanwhile, for temporary employment, the period may not exceed six (6) months and cannot be extended, as provided under MOM Regulation 8/2021.
The RPTKA Approval includes, among other matters, the employer’s identity, the foreign worker’s identity, the work location, and the validity period of the RPTKA Approval. Its issuance is also related to the payment of the Compensation Fund for the Employment of Foreign Workers (Dana Kompensasi Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing or “DKPTKA”), as provided under MOM Regulation 8/2021.
Furthermore, MOM Regulation 8/2021 expressly provides that the RPTKA Approval is used as a recommendation for obtaining a visa and stay permit for employment purposes. Information concerning the prospective foreign worker is also submitted electronically to the immigration authorities.
Accordingly, in the context of a KITAS extension for employment, at least two aspects need to proceed in parallel:
- The RPTKA Approval remains valid or has been extended, taking into account the requirement that an extension application must be submitted electronically before the existing validity period expires; and
- The employment authorization data and validity period remain synchronized with the foreign worker’s immigration process and status.
In other words, an employment KITAS extension cannot be viewed as an isolated process. The foreign worker’s stay permit status is connected to the legal basis for employing the foreign worker under the RPTKA Approval.
3. Can a Foreign Worker Leave Indonesia While Their KITAS Extension Is Being Processed?
Whether a foreign worker may leave Indonesia while their KITAS extension is being processed should be assessed from two perspectives: employment and immigration.
3.1. Employment Perspective
From an employment perspective, GR 34/2021 and MOM Regulation 8/2021 do not expressly prohibit a foreign worker from leaving Indonesia while an RPTKA or stay permit extension is being processed.
As long as the foreign worker continues to be employed in accordance with the RPTKA Approval and a valid employment agreement, the foreign worker’s physical presence inside or outside Indonesia is not specifically prohibited under the foreign worker employment regime.
The employer remains responsible for ensuring that:
- the RPTKA Approval is available and extended if the employer intends to continue employing the foreign worker, as provided under GR 34/2021 and MOM Regulation 8/2021; and
- the employment of the foreign worker does not exceed the validity period of the RPTKA Approval, as provided under GR 34/2021 and MOM Regulation 8/2021.
Accordingly, from an employment perspective alone, there is no express prohibition against a foreign worker travelling overseas while an extension is being processed.
However, this does not mean that such travel is automatically safe from an immigration perspective.
3.2. Immigration Perspective
The more critical issue arises when the foreign worker’s travel is considered in relation to the validity of their stay permit and re-entry permit.
Because the RPTKA Approval serves as a recommendation for obtaining a visa and stay permit for employment purposes under MOM Regulation 8/2021, a foreign worker’s ability to remain in Indonesia and work ultimately remains subject to compliance with applicable immigration requirements.
In practice, a foreign worker intending to leave Indonesia when their stay permit is approaching expiry or is undergoing an extension process should, at a minimum, ensure that:
- the stay permit remains valid when required for departure and re-entry; and
- the re-entry permit remains valid both when the foreign worker travels and when they return to Indonesia.
The greatest risk arises where a foreign worker leaves Indonesia after the existing KITAS has expired while the extension application has not yet been approved.
In such circumstances, the foreign worker would no longer hold a valid stay permit under the expired KITAS. As a result, they cannot automatically rely on the previous KITAS as the basis for returning to Indonesia and continuing their employment.
This is also relevant to the definition of a foreign worker under GR 34/2021, which requires a foreign worker to be a foreign national holding a visa for the purpose of working in Indonesia.
Therefore, even though there is no express prohibition against travelling, the key risk lies in the foreign worker’s ability to legally re-enter Indonesia and resume employment if their stay permit and/or re-entry permit has expired.
4. What Are the Risks If a Foreign Worker Leaves Indonesia While Their KITAS Extension Is Being Processed?
A foreign worker’s decision to travel while their KITAS extension is still being processed may create several risks if the extension is not completed before the existing immigration status expires.
4.1. Risk of Being Unable to Return to Work
If a foreign worker leaves Indonesia and subsequently cannot return because their stay permit or re-entry permit is no longer valid, the underlying employment relationship may, in practice, be disrupted because the foreign worker cannot perform their work in Indonesia.
This is important because the employment of a foreign worker is based on an approved employment arrangement and a specified period of employment. The foreign worker’s employment agreement also has a defined term in accordance with the provisions governing fixed-term employment agreements (PKWT), as generally referenced under Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2022 and its implementing regulations.
Accordingly, the continued validity of the RPTKA Approval does not, by itself, resolve the issue if the foreign worker no longer has an immigration basis to enter and work in Indonesia.
4.2. Employer Compliance Risks
If an employer continues to record and treat a foreign worker as an active employee while, in practice, the foreign worker does not hold a valid employment-related stay permit that enables them to return to Indonesia, potential compliance issues may arise.
These risks may include issues concerning the employment of a foreign worker who no longer meets the applicable requirements to hold a visa for employment purposes as defined under GR 34/2021.
In addition, employers should be mindful of reporting obligations relating to the employment of foreign workers. GR 34/2021 provides for certain reporting obligations, including annual reporting and reporting concerning the expiration of a foreign worker’s employment agreement.
Non-compliance with such obligations may result in administrative sanctions, including the temporary suspension of the RPTKA Approval application process, as provided under GR 34/2021.
Accordingly, from a corporate compliance perspective, a foreign worker’s status while outside Indonesia should also be managed carefully and consistently with the applicable RPTKA, stay permit, and employment status.
4.3. Risk of Having to Start a New Application Process
A further risk arises if the RPTKA and stay permit expire and are not extended while the foreign worker is still required to return to Indonesia to work.
In such circumstances, the required process may no longer be a straightforward extension of the existing permits. The employer may, in principle, need to undertake a new process, including obtaining a new RPTKA Approval and applying for a new visa and stay permit.
Therefore, allowing the relevant permits to expire while the foreign worker is outside Indonesia may turn what was initially an administrative extension process into a requirement to restart the foreign worker employment and immigration process.
TAMA Global Mobility Perspective
From an employment perspective, there is no express prohibition against a foreign worker travelling outside Indonesia while their KITAS or RPTKA extension is being processed.
However, this does not mean that a foreign worker can travel without considering their immigration status.
The key risks relate to the validity of the visa, stay permit, and re-entry permit. If a foreign worker leaves Indonesia while their KITAS and re-entry permit remain valid, the situation is materially different from a scenario where the foreign worker leaves after the stay permit has expired while the extension application remains pending.
If the foreign worker is outside Indonesia and their stay permit or re-entry permit subsequently expires, they may lose the basis for returning to Indonesia using the existing permit. In such circumstances, the continued validity of the RPTKA Approval does not, by itself, grant the foreign worker an immigration right to enter and work in Indonesia.
Accordingly, foreign workers should ideally travel during the KITAS extension process only after the status of the RPTKA, visa, KITAS, and re-entry permit has been reviewed and confirmed to support the intended departure from and return to Indonesia.
In other words, the key question is not simply whether “a foreign worker may leave Indonesia while their KITAS is being extended,” but rather whether the foreign worker will have a valid immigration basis to leave Indonesia and subsequently return to Indonesia.
In practice, employers should review the status of each relevant permit before a foreign worker travels. This approach is important to avoid a situation where what was initially intended to be a routine extension process becomes a requirement to initiate a new foreign worker employment, visa, and stay permit process.
How TAMA Global Mobility Can Assist
TAMA Global Mobility assists multinational companies, HR teams, and employers in managing the immigration and employment-related risks associated with the renewal of KITAS and RPTKA for foreign workers in Indonesia.
For employers whose foreign employees need to travel outside Indonesia while their KITAS or RPTKA renewal is in process, our services include:
- KITAS & RPTKA Renewal Assessment, reviewing the status and validity of the foreign worker’s RPTKA, visa, KITAS, and re-entry permit before international travel;
- Travel Risk Assessment for Foreign Workers, assessing whether a foreign worker can safely depart from and return to Indonesia during an ongoing renewal process;
- Immigration Status & Document Review, reviewing the consistency between employment authorization and immigration status to identify potential gaps before travel;
- RPTKA, Visa & KITAS Coordination, assisting employers in coordinating the renewal process to minimize disruption to the foreign worker’s ability to remain and work in Indonesia;
- Re-entry & Return-to-Indonesia Strategy, advising on the appropriate immigration strategy where a foreign worker needs to travel while an extension application remains pending;
- Employer Compliance Advisory, advising HR and employers on the potential compliance implications of a foreign worker remaining outside Indonesia while their immigration status is being renewed; and
- Strategic Immigration Support for Complex Cases, assisting with cases where an expired or pending KITAS, visa, or re-entry permit may require a new immigration process rather than a straightforward extension.
Through a practical and risk-based approach, TAMA Global Mobility helps employers assess immigration risks before foreign workers travel, coordinate the relevant renewal processes, and reduce the possibility of unexpected disruption to their employees’ ability to return to Indonesia and continue working.
For foreign worker mobility, the key question is not simply whether a TKA may leave Indonesia during a KITAS renewal process, but whether the employee will have a valid and workable immigration basis to return to Indonesia and continue working lawfully.
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TAMA Global Mobility
WhatsApp: +62 821-1015-402
Email: info@tamaglobalmobility.com
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