A signed job offer from an Indonesian company is not permission to start work. For an ordinary locally hired foreign professional, the company normally needs an approved Rencana Penggunaan Tenaga Kerja Asing (RPTKA)—its plan to employ a foreign worker—and the worker needs immigration permission matching that employer, job and activity. If you are moving from one Indonesian employer to another, do not use your old sponsor's residence permit as proof you can begin the new job.
The practical order is employer approval and immigration clearance, then work—not offer, first shift, paperwork later. The Ministry of Manpower's Regulation 8/2021, still listed in force, gives the employer the RPTKA filing responsibility. The Immigration visa list separately lists E23 as a work-visa family. An eligible category and a filed request are not the same as an issued permission.
Three job situations that look similar but are not
| What is happening | Real next decision | Risk to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| A Jakarta company offers you your first Indonesian job | Ask HR which approved RPTKA covers your precise position and which E23 or other correct immigration route it will sponsor | Flying in as a tourist and beginning paid local work while a visa request is pending |
| You already work for company A and accept company B's offer | Have B coordinate its own manpower approvals and the Immigration alih penjamin (change of sponsor) or correct new-status procedure before you move | Assuming company A's valid ITAS authorizes employment for B |
| Your existing employer changes your role or location | Ask the same employer whether an amendment to its RPTKA and a separate Immigration change are required | Treating an internal transfer as either automatically permitted or automatically a brand-new employer |
| You work remotely for a company outside Indonesia | Read the separate E33G overseas-worker route | Using an overseas-work visa to take an Indonesian client-facing local job |
ITAS means Izin Tinggal Terbatas, a limited-stay permit. TKA means tenaga kerja asing, a foreign worker. An ITAS allows a particular residence arrangement; it does not erase the conditions on the employment and sponsoring entity. The labour and immigration authorities review different pieces of the same move.
What HR actually needs to arrange
Under Government Regulation 34/2021 and Manpower Regulation 8/2021, an employer who hires foreign staff is generally responsible for an approved RPTKA. The plan concerns the employer, position and period of foreign employment; the regulation also addresses competency, an Indonesian counterpart for skills transfer where applicable, filings and the foreign-worker compensation fund. It is not an individual licence you can buy and carry to unrelated employers.
There are narrow statutory exemptions and special employment arrangements. A shareholder/director, diplomatic appointment or qualifying short-term activity should not simply be inserted into the ordinary employee flow without identifying the exact exemption. Nor is a company-registration number alone enough: an Indonesian company can exist without possessing approval to employ you in the promised role. Ask HR for the RPTKA approval number, approved role and period, and whether the case needs another regulator's authorization.
Once the employment side is correctly handled, the sponsor must match it to the applicable Immigration work-visa classification, entry/stay procedure and subsequent ITAS record. The actual issued electronic visa, stay permission and related re-entry permission govern travel and residence. Keep the employer's paperwork and your own approved immigration documents separately; neither replaces the other.
Worked first-job example. An employer proposes a Jakarta engineering role starting Monday, but HR has only submitted RPTKA materials and you hold a visit permission. You have a genuine offer, not yet two approvals. Move the start date to after the necessary manpower and immigration authorisations are effective; do not treat the salary contract or pending application number as permission to work. If HR cannot identify the approved role, ask for the specific filed/issued record rather than paying an agent for a vague “working KITAS.”
Changing employer: what moves and what does not
The Immigration office's change-of-sponsor procedure describes alih penjamin as a request made while the residence permission is still valid, subject to Immigration and relevant technical-agency approval. It lists a new sponsor's letter, valid passport and ITAS/ITAP, an old sponsor's release letter where applicable, technical recommendation if required, and new sponsor's company evidence. A published Serang Immigration service standard also identifies RPTKA among documents for an employed ITAS-holder's sponsor transfer.
This is not automatic portability. Company B must establish its own authority to hire you; company A's RPTKA is not B's approval. Immigration may determine that a transfer procedure is appropriate, or that your visa/stay category requires a different route. Do not resign, travel or start B's paid work based solely on an agent saying “the KITAS can be moved.” Agree a conditional joining date and have both employers clarify handover timing, status and any cancellation.
Worked employer-switch example. Your ITAS expires in six weeks, and B wants you in its Bali office in three. A valid card with A's sponsor details is useful evidence of your existing stay, but not evidence of B's work clearance. Before setting the first day, ask B for its RPTKA position and period, the Immigration sponsor-change plan, the documents required from A and what happens if the transfer is not approved before the card expires. The fallback may be postponing the move and arranging an appropriate new status—not working under A's permission for B.
Same employer, new position, or two jobs?
The distinction matters. Regulation 8/2021, Articles 28–29 gives a procedure to request changes to an RPTKA approval for relevant employer, worker or location details. The Kendari Immigration office separately describes change/addition of positions and technical recommendations.
If the same legal employer moves your work from Jakarta to Surabaya, ask for a written review of whether the approved place of work and immigration record need amendment. If another legal entity will pay you, treat that as a different sponsorship question even if both entities share a brand. Some limited categories of concurrent foreign employment exist under Regulation 8/2021 Article 5, but they require their own approvals; a blanket “you can have two employers” claim would be wrong.
Visitor entry, family members and exceptional cases
The Jakarta Pusat Immigration instructions distinguish visitor-to-limited-stay changes and specifically say Visa on Arrival and visa-exempt visit stays cannot be converted to another residence category by that procedure. Do not enter on that assumption. Filing a conversion request from another eligible visit category also does not permit work before approval.
A spouse or child is not added to your work permission. Indonesia lists distinct E31 family-visa categories. Their own eligibility and stay documents need checking, and being a dependant is not generic permission to take a local job. If you hold a family, investor, permanent-stay or other special status, first identify the statutory rule for that exact activity instead of assuming the standard E23/RPTKA answer covers every circumstance.
A September 2026 joint government decision integrates online investment, manpower and immigration steps for foreign workers in the investment context. That is a useful process update, not evidence that every Indonesian local hire has one universal visa or shortcut.
Before your first paid day
Ask HR to put four items in one email: approved job and RPTKA details; intended work-visa/ITAS basis; named sponsor and current approval status; and the earliest lawful start date. If you are changing companies, add the old sponsor's release and the approved transfer or replacement immigration path. Match the documents to the actual employer legal name and the work you will do, not just to a recruitment brochure. If the approvals or dates do not line up, postpone the start and use the general Indonesia long-stay overview to re-evaluate your permitted activity.