I’ve never had to apply for one myself, but I’ve done the homework so you don’t have to. Here’s every digital nomad friendly visa worth knowing in 2026.

I’m a local, so I’ve never needed a visa to live here myself. But I’ve done my homework – I’ve gone straight to the official government sources, and talked to fellow digital nomads from a handful of different countries who’ve been through it. Because if you’re a digital nomad, the visa is the one conversation that never stops. It’s the chatter you’ll overhear at every coworking space in Bali.

A quick heads-up before we start: visa rules here change often. The fees and requirements below are current as of 2026, but worth double-checking on the official eVisa site before you commit, and I’ll point you there throughout.

Do you actually need a visa to work remotely in Bali?

Short answer, yes. You can absolutely live and work remotely in Bali legally, but only on a visa that permits it. Indonesian immigration cares about where your body is, not where your money comes from. So if you’re physically in Bali doing professional work, even for an overseas client, it counts as work.

It isn’t the wink-and-nudge situation it used to be either. Enforcement has tightened, right down to immigration checking social media for “working from Bali” posts and coworking tags. Get caught working on the wrong visa and the usual penalty is deportation, a hefty fine, and a ban of six months to two years, all at your own expense.

So let’s go through the visas that actually fit for a digital nomad in Bali, starting with the short-stay options and building up to the real one.

The visiting visas: C1 and C2

If you just want to come over, get a feel for the island and sort your paperwork before committing to being a digital nomad in Bali, these are your entry points. Neither lets you legally work, so treat them as look-around passes.

C1 Visa Kunjungan Wisata (Tourist Visa)

C1 Visa is the standard tourist visa and the successor to the old B211A, which has been phased out. It’s for tourism, personal development, and you can extend it without leaving the country. Just remember the golden rule (and kind of the whole point), on a C1 Visa you’re banned from selling goods or services, or receiving any wage or payment for work from a person or company in Indonesia.

Price: Rp1,000,000
Duration: 60 days on arrival, extendable twice, totalling 180 days
Good to know: Heads up, once issued, you’ll need to enter the country within 90 days or you’ll have to reapply.

C2 Visa Kunjungan Bisnis (business visa)

C2 Business Visa is a step up if you’re here for work meetings rather than simply checking out the beach. It covers business meetings, negotiations, signing agreements and inspecting goods, and you can still do the usual tourist things alongside. Same hard limit as the C1 though: no paid work or income from anyone in Indonesia.

Price: Rp2,000,000
Duration: 60 days on arrival, extendable twice, totalling 180 days
Good to know: You’ll need an invitation or supporting letter from a government body or company explaining your link to them. That’s the main difference from the C1.

So both C1 and C2 are fine for testing the waters, sorting a villa and meeting people, then switching to the proper remote-work visa once you qualify. Plenty of nomads do exactly that.

The E33G Remote Worker Visa (the one you actually want)

This is the Indonesian visa built specifically for digital nomads, officially the “E33G Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh” (Second Home Remote Worker Visa). Launched in 2024, it’s the visa built specifically for remote workers like us: AKA the legitimate way to live in Bali while working for clients or a company based outside Indonesia.

Who it’s for and what you get

The E33G Remote Worker Visa lets you live in Indonesia for a year while doing work for an overseas company. As long as your re-entry permit is valid, you can freely come and go, plus do normal tourist things. The visa is also extendable online through the official website. Beyond being fully legal, the big draws are that your foreign income stays tax-free for the first few years, and you can stop doing the 6-month visa runs entirely.

Price: IDR 7,000,000 total
Duration: One year, extendable, and you can freely come and go while it’s valid
Good to know: As per international taxation laws, if you spend more than 183 days in Indonesia within a 12-month window, you automatically become a tax resident. This means you are liable for tax in Indonesia on your worldwide income. The E33G softens this with a foreign-income exemption for the first few years, but after that, you are subject to Indonesia’s national tax rate. If your situation is complex, a tax advisor who works with expats is money well spent.

The E33G Remote Worker Visa requirements

This is where most people struggle to qualify, because one of the key requirements for the E33G Remote Worker Visa requirements is a minimum income amount. You need to show a bank account proving a salary or income of at least USD 60,000 per year, plus a work agreement with a company established outside Indonesia. There’s no charming your way around this one, it’s the hard line.

The documents you’ll need

• A passport valid for at least six months beyond your stay
• Three months of recent bank statements in your name showing at least USD 2,000 (or equivalent)
• A bank account proving income of at least USD 60,000 a year
• A work contract with a company based outside Indonesia
• A recent colour passport photo
• A CV and a travel itinerary

How to apply, step by step

The whole thing is done online. First, create an account at evisa.imigrasi.go.id. Then log in, upload your documents, and the process runs through a completeness check, payment verification, profiling, approval and issuance. Processing takes five working days after your payment is received. Once issued, the visa is valid for 90 days, meaning you have to actually enter Indonesia within that window, or you’ll have to apply again. So don’t apply months before you fly.

Should you use a visa agent in Bali?

Honest take, though I can’t speak from personal experience here. Every friend who’s made the move recently went through an agent, and not one regrets paying for the peace of mind. Only do it yourself if you’re comfortable with online forms, your income documents are clean and straightforward, and you’ve got time to handle any back-and-forth. The eVisa portal is quite easy to understand, but going with an agent is hassle-free.

The process can be tedious and time consuming. So if you’re on a tight deadline or if your paperwork is messy, it’s worth the extra agent fees to let them do it for you. For most first-timers juggling a move, the fee buys real peace of mind.

Avoid getting scammed with these tips

This is where people get burned, so a few rules:

• Check the visa agent is a registered company, with a real office address and an actual PT (company) registration, not just a WhatsApp number and an Instagram page.
• Look for recent, specific reviews, ideally from other nomads in Facebook groups or on Google, mentioning the exact visa they got. Vague five-star reviews mean little.
• Get the full price in writing upfront. A trustworthy agent is transparent about all fees. If they don’t, walk away.
• Be wary of anyone promising to bypass the income requirement or “guarantee” approval. The USD 60,000 bar is set by immigration, not the agent.
• Never hand over your original passport until you’ve confirmed who you’re dealing with, and keep copies of everything.
• Avoid prices that look too cheap. If a quote is well below everyone else’s, something’s off, or you’ll be slammed with hidden costs later.

Once you’ve sorted the visa, the hard part’s done – the rest is just deciding which beach you’ll answer emails from (say hi if you ever spot me in Sanur!).