In early 2026 Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower issued an administrative sanction of IDR 2.17 billion against a single company operating at the Ketapang industrial estate. The violation was 164 foreign workers performing duties without a ratified RPTKA. The Ministry publicised the case on its own website.
That is the context for everything below. Indonesia’s foreign worker framework has always been documented. What changed recently is that it is being enforced, and that the evidence the Ministry accepts has become harder to produce after the fact.
The sequence
Hiring a foreign national in Indonesia is not one permission. It is a chain, and each link depends on the one before it.
RPTKA first. The foreign worker placement plan is approved by the Ministry of Manpower and is the foundation of everything else. It has to demonstrate that the role genuinely requires a foreign national because the skills are not readily available locally. Approval typically takes one to three weeks depending on document completeness. The RPTKA runs for a maximum of five years and is renewable for a further five.
Then the compensation fund. Employers pay USD 100 per foreign worker per month, through designated banks. For a twelve month placement that is USD 1,200, paid upfront rather than monthly. Government bodies, foreign country representatives and international organisations are exempt. Everyone else budgets it.
Then the visa and stay permit. The temporary stay visa takes roughly one to two weeks, and converts to a limited stay permit on arrival. That permit allows a stay of up to two years, extendable by a further two, with a ceiling of six years in total.
The candidate also has to qualify. At least five years of relevant experience in the field, and a valid employment contract with the Indonesian employer. Which entity that employer should be, a representative office or a PT PMA, is covered in which structure does what in Indonesia.
Plan the whole chain, not the first link. An RPTKA approved in three weeks is of no use if nobody budgeted the compensation fund or started the visa.
The position that is simply closed
This one catches out international companies more than any other rule, because it has no equivalent in most markets.
All human resources and personnel management positions are fully closed to foreign nationals. Not conditional, not subject to justification. Closed.
If your regional structure assumes an expatriate HR director sitting in Jakarta, that structure does not work in Indonesia. It is worth knowing before the org chart is signed off rather than after the RPTKA is refused.
Other roles are conditionally open and require specific justification for why a foreign candidate is necessary.
The counterpart rule, and why it got harder
Every RPTKA submission must name a specific Indonesian counterpart, the Tenaga Kerja Pendamping, who is to be trained by the foreign worker. The policy intent is knowledge transfer: the foreign hire is there to build local capability, not merely to occupy a seat.
For years this was, in practice, a form to complete.
In 2026 the Ministry changed what it accepts as evidence. Paperwork submissions are no longer sufficient. At renewal, employers are expected to produce training attendance records carrying the counterpart’s signature, and competency assessment results at defined milestones, demonstrating that the programme actually ran.
That is a significant practical shift, and the difficulty is obvious. Attendance records and assessment results cannot be created retrospectively with any credibility. A company that named a counterpart two years ago and never ran the training has nothing to show at renewal, and no way to fix it in the weeks before.
If you have foreign workers on RPTKAs approaching renewal, the question to ask now is not whether a counterpart was named. It is whether anyone can produce signed evidence that the training happened.
What this adds up to
Three things distinguish Indonesia from its neighbours.
The cost is explicit and per-head. USD 1,200 a year per foreign worker, paid upfront, on top of salary and the statutory employer contributions.
One function is off limits entirely. HR and personnel management cannot be filled by a foreign national.
The obligation continues after approval. Most work permit regimes in the region test eligibility at application and renewal. Indonesia now expects documented evidence of an ongoing training programme in between.
What to do
Check your renewal pipeline for counterpart evidence. Anyone coming up for RPTKA renewal needs attendance records and assessment results, not just a name on a form. This is the single most urgent item in this article.
Budget the compensation fund upfront. USD 1,200 per foreign worker per year, paid in advance, not accrued monthly.
Check your org chart against the closed positions. If an HR or personnel management role is earmarked for a foreign national, it needs restructuring.
Sequence the chain and start early. RPTKA of one to three weeks, then the fund, then a visa of one to two weeks, then conversion on arrival. None of those run in parallel.
Confirm the five year experience threshold for the candidate before you make an offer, not after.
Where this sits in our work
People Profilers Indonesia supports employers hiring here through our locally-incorporated Jakarta entity, with a team that handles Indonesian statutory processes as routine work rather than as an occasional exercise.
What we commit to is filing quality: an honest view of whether a role can be filled by a foreign national at all, a realistic sequence and timeline, and complete documentation. Approval decisions themselves always rest with the authorities.
If you are planning a foreign hire into Indonesia, our work permit service in Indonesia covers the process. If you are hiring Indonesian nationals, employer of record is the relevant starting point, and our article on what it really costs to employ someone in Indonesia covers the statutory side including THR.
Sources
Verified September 2026. Rules and enforcement practice change, so confirm before relying on any of this for a live application.
- The RPTKA as the foundational Ministry of Manpower approval, approval in one to three weeks, maximum five year validity renewable for a further five, the USD 100 per foreign worker per month compensation fund totalling USD 1,200 upfront for twelve months, the exemptions for government bodies and international organisations, the temporary stay visa in one to two weeks, the limited stay permit of up to two years extendable by two with a six year ceiling, and the five years of relevant experience requirement: Acclime Indonesia
- The administrative sanction of IDR 2.17 billion over 164 foreign workers without a ratified RPTKA: Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia, reported also by Detik
- All HR and personnel management positions being fully closed to foreign nationals, the Tenaga Kerja Pendamping counterpart requirement, and the 2026 shift to requiring training attendance records with counterpart signatures and competency assessment results at defined milestones: Live and Work Indonesia
