Indonesia moves foreign-worker KITAS permits to the investment ministry

Indonesia moves foreign-worker KITAS permits to the investment ministry

6 October 2026: Indonesia's Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming will take over the issuing of limited stay permit cards (KITAS) for foreign workers, with a target of six days from application to permit, Minister Rosan Roeslani has said. He expects all KITAS to be issued by his ministry within two months.

Not yet independently verified. Single source: one news agency report of a minister's remarks. We have not seen the joint decrees or a ministry notice. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Roeslani spoke at the 2026 Indonesia International Sustainability Forum. "KITAS applicants only need to wait six days, and we will issue it automatically," he said, as reported by ANTARA. The aim, he said, is to give applicants a clear service timeline and improve the investment climate.

The change follows an agreement among the ministries of Investment and Downstreaming, Manpower, and Immigration and Correctional Affairs, formalised in joint decrees dated 9 September. The decrees connect the Online Single Submission (OSS) system with national employment and immigration databases. The integrated flow covers four steps: approval of the foreign worker utilisation plan (RPTKA), the limited stay visa (VITAS), the limited stay permit (ITAS) and the permanent stay permit (ITAP).

Until now the Manpower Ministry handled worker plans while the Immigration ministry handled visas and stay permits, with the data passed into OSS. The government had earlier aimed for a maximum of five days under the integrated system, which was due to start in late September 2026. Roeslani's remarks put the figure at six days.

He also said the investment ministry has approved more than 370 business permits through a mechanism that issues a licence automatically when the agencies involved miss their service deadlines. That is up from 300 reported in mid-September. The mechanism sits within the risk-based OSS system required by a 2025 government regulation.

The report does not say when the six-day clock starts, or whether it includes the RPTKA approval or only the card itself. Employers planning an Indonesian hire should not build a schedule on six days until the ministry publishes its service standard.

Sources

• ANTARA: Indonesia's Investment Ministry to issue foreign workers' stay permit, 6 October 2026