Bali at a Glance

Bali’s Business World

Indonesian rupiah are a colorful currency!

If your heart is set on working in a country that promises ideal vacations, you’ll feel right at home in Bali. However, working in Bali requires some physical and emotional adjustments. InterNations gives you a brief introduction to working in Bali, including job-hunting, business culture and more.

Work Visa

There are two options to acquire a visa for working in Bali. One of them is the so-called “business visa”, which is a visa assigned to people who are interested in conducting business negotiations or carrying out a project with a Balinese company. The catch is that this visa is only valid for 60 days, meaning there is barely enough time to finish said project. What some expats now working in Bali have done is conduct negotiations with their Indonesian partners to see whether these can somehow acquire the IMTA in order to enable them to extend their stay.

The other option is quite simply to contact an Indonesian immigration agency or headhunter to have them help you find a job and take care of all the paperwork for you. Some employment agencies have immigration agents on staff that, for a fee, may be willing and able to find you work in Bali.

Business Culture

When you do business in Bali, be it for a special meeting or the daily grind, it is important that you be aware of how important social stature is in Indonesia. In addition, Bali follows the Hindu and Muslim calendars; therefore it is of utmost importance that you remember the central holidays and festivals and do not arrange business meetings on these dates.

The following are some pointers about business etiquette in Bali:

Wearing appropriate business attire is a sign of respect. This goes for men and women alike: pant suits of light material, which will also make the heat more bearable.
A right-handed shake is considered the proper way of greeting both men and women in Bali. However, the Balinese prefer a light-handed shake to a firm one.
Address your business partners by their title only and avoid using first names until your contacts offer you the opportunity to call them by their given names.
Handing out business cards when first meeting the other person as well as requesting theirs is considered a sign of interest. Please have these printed both in English and Bahasa!
Be aware that it is not customary for Indonesians to talk “straight”. In other words, it is wise to rephrase their sentences in order to ensure that you understood correctly and avoid misunderstanding during business meetings this way.

Taxation

First of all, keep in mind that Indonesia has a double taxation treaty with 48 other countries, among them the United Kingdom and the United States. Please ensure that you visit either the website or the office of your country’s internal revenue service before moving abroad, as tax fraud may result in severe penalties.

As of 1984, all those working in Indonesia are required to obtain a tax number, called an NPWP. Contacting the Directorate General of Taxes of the Republic of Indonesia is a good way to get informed about which tax form you are required to fill out as well as how much you are required to pay. Bali’s resident tax payers are subject to taxes based on international income, while non-residents are liable to pay based on Indonesia-wide income.

The NPWP is an important number to get, as applying for an Indonesian driver’s license, opening a bank account, and building or buying a house will require you to show this tax identification number.

If you are working in Bali on an expat assignment, you usually need not worry about taking care of your taxes. Your employer will usually do this for you, either by including tax in your gross salary beforehand, or calculating your net pay and then adding this to your personal income tax.