Indonesia · Southeast Asia
Moving to Jakarta
Jakarta quick facts
Indonesia at a glance
East Asia & Pacific
Economy
World Bank · 2025Religion
% of populationCIA World Factbook / national censuses
Cost of living in Jakarta
Can you move to Indonesia?
Pick your passport to see whether you can enter Indonesia — and what it takes to stay.
Entry rules come from github.com/imorte/passport-index-data, updated 17 February 2026. They change without notice — confirm with the official immigration service before booking.
Getting set up in Indonesia
Stay permits: the KITAS, the sponsor, and the SKTT nobody warns you about
Almost every long-stay route into Indonesia needs a sponsor — an Indonesian company, a PT PMA you own, or a licensed agent — and almost every route starts with an electronic visa applied for from outside the country on evisa.imigrasi.go.id. That e-visa is not the permit. You fly in, complete biometrics at the immigration office covering your address, and the limited-stay permit (ITAS, still universally called KITAS) is then activated. The step people miss is the next one: within about fourteen days you must register with the civil registry (Dukcapil) of your administrative city and be issued an SKTT, the residence certificate that banks, landlords and utility companies actually ask for.
Read the full step-by-step guideDriving in Jakarta: the SIM, odd-even plates and the camera that posts you a ticket
Short visits run on an International Driving Permit carried with your home licence, and the IDP only covers the categories your home licence already has — a car-only licence produces a car-only IDP that does not authorise a scooter. Once you hold a KITAS you can apply for an Indonesian SIM at a Satpas: SIM A for cars, SIM C for motorcycles, after a psychology screening and a health check. Jakarta then adds two things the rest of Indonesia mostly does not: the odd-even plate restriction on the main corridors, and the country's densest network of ETLE cameras, which photograph the plate and post the ticket to the registered owner rather than stopping you.
Read the full step-by-step guideOpening a bank account, and why QRIS matters more than the card
A normal Indonesian account needs a stay permit and proof of a local address, which in practice means the KITAS plus the SKTT. Employers usually open a payroll account for you at their own bank — BCA, Mandiri, BNI or BRI — and that is by far the smoothest route. Everyone else deals with branch-level discretion, so it is worth going to a large branch in an expatriate district rather than the nearest one. Before the account exists, a Wise or Revolut card plus ATM withdrawals covers you, and QRIS covers almost everything else: one national QR standard accepted by warungs, taxis, market stalls and parking attendants alike.
Read the full step-by-step guideHealthcare: BPJS, private hospitals and the clinic your card is tied to
Foreigners working in Indonesia for six months or more must be enrolled in BPJS Kesehatan, the national health scheme, with the employer paying 4% and the employee 1% of wages on a capped base. The catch is how BPJS works: it is referral-gated from a first-level facility (Faskes 1) assigned near your registered address, so your SKTT address determines which clinic you must start at for anything non-emergency. Jakarta also has the best private hospitals in Indonesia, and most foreign residents carry international cover on top and use BPJS as a compliance floor. The class system is being replaced by a single standard inpatient class (KRIS), which is still bedding in.
Read the full step-by-step guideMobile, internet and the IMEI rule that switches your phone off
Every Indonesian prepaid SIM must be registered before it activates — against your passport if you are a foreigner, against the NIK population number if you are not — and one passport can hold a limited number of lines per operator. Jakarta has by far the best coverage in the country and all four networks work well, so price and packaging matter more than reach. The rule that catches long-stayers is not about the SIM at all: a handset bought abroad is blocked at the hardware IMEI level after roughly 90 days unless you register the device with customs, and swapping SIMs does not help.
Read the full step-by-step guideIncome tax, the NPWP, and Jakarta's own property tax break
You become an Indonesian tax resident by spending more than 183 days in the country in any twelve months, or earlier if you are present with the intention to reside — and a year-long KITAS, an employment contract or a twelve-month lease are all treated as evidence of that intention. Residents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates from 5% to 35%, file an annual return by 31 March, and need an NPWP, which for residents is now the same sixteen-digit number as the NIK. What Jakarta adds is its own layer: the province, not the DJP, sets land and building tax, and has been granting a full exemption on modest first homes.
Read the full step-by-step guideEach guide has verified costs, timelines, required documents, and the non-obvious gotchas — sourced from official government pages. Last verified August 2026.
Essential Indonesian phrases
Reading a list isn’t learning it. Globe Quest turns these into a trainer — hear each phrase spoken, drill them with spaced repetition, and get scored as you say them out loud.
What to know before you go
Get your SKTT within fourteen days of the ITAS — it unblocks everything else
CriticalOnce your limited-stay permit is issued you must report to the Dukcapil (civil registry) office of the administrative city you live in — South Jakarta, Central, West, East or North — to be issued an SKTT residence certificate. Most offices also want a police report (STM) and a letter from your RT/RW neighbourhood head first. It is the SKTT, not the KITAS card, that banks, landlords and utility providers actually ask to see, and the immigration and civil-registry systems now cross-check, so the gap shows up later at extension time.
Ask how high the water came, in centimetres, before you sign anything
CriticalJakarta floods every wet season and the difference between streets is enormous — some kelurahan take fifteen centimetres and drain by lunchtime, others take a metre and stay under for days. North Jakarta is sinking at rates measured in tens of centimetres a year in the worst spots, so the historical record is a better guide than the developer's brochure. Ask the neighbours and the RT head, not the agent, and ask about specific years rather than in general.
Jakarta is still legally the capital — do not plan around Nusantara yet
ImportantThe 2024 law that turns Jakarta into the Daerah Khusus Jakarta only takes effect once the President signs a decree moving the capital to Nusantara, and that decree has not been issued. The Constitutional Court said so explicitly on 13 May 2026 when it rejected a challenge to the State Capital Law. The transition has slipped repeatedly. Nothing about your permit, your tax office or your employer's registration changes until the decree exists, and advice premised on the move having happened is simply wrong.
Do not drink the tap water, and find out where yours comes from
ImportantPiped water reaches roughly four fifths of the city and is not potable at the tap regardless; households and buildings routinely top up from groundwater, which is exactly what makes the city sink. Galon refill water is the norm for drinking and cooking. If you are renting a house rather than an apartment, ask whether it is on the PAM Jaya piped supply or a well, because the answer predicts both your water bill and how reliable supply is in the dry season.
Air quality is a dry-season problem, and it is worst in the mornings
ImportantJakarta's PM2.5 is worst from roughly June to September when there is no rain to wash the air, and readings peak in the morning inversion before the city heats up. Indonesia rates worst in Southeast Asia on IQAir's country tables. A HEPA purifier for the bedroom is a normal purchase here rather than a precious one, and it is worth checking whether a flat's windows actually seal before you take it.
Learn the ganjil-genap map before you buy a car
Good to knowOn about 26 road segments, cars whose plate ends in an odd number may only run on odd dates and vice versa, weekdays from 06:00 to 10:00 and 16:00 to 21:00, with fines up to IDR 500,000. Motorbikes and battery-electric cars are exempt, national holidays are not restricted, and the list of segments changes. Most people solve it with a mix of MRT, TransJakarta and ojol rather than a second car.
Top industries & employers
Banking & financial services
Bank Mandiri, BCA, BRI, BNI, Bank Indonesia, OJK, the Indonesia Stock Exchange
Every major Indonesian bank, the central bank, the financial regulator and the exchange are all headquartered here, most within a few kilometres of Sudirman and the SCBD.
Technology & digital platforms
GoTo (Gojek/Tokopedia), Traveloka, Blibli, Xendit, Dana, eFishery-scale agritech
Southeast Asia's largest single consumer market by population sits behind these companies, and the engineering and product jobs are concentrated in South Jakarta rather than the old CBD.
Energy, mining & commodities
Pertamina, PLN, Adaro, Medco, Freeport Indonesia, United Tractors
The mines and fields are in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua; the head offices, the ministries and the financing are all in Jakarta.
Government, diplomacy & development
National ministries, ASEAN Secretariat, World Bank, ADB, over 90 embassies
The ASEAN Secretariat is in Kebayoran Baru, which makes Jakarta the working capital of Southeast Asian diplomacy quite separately from the Indonesian government.
Consumer goods & manufacturing HQ
Unilever Indonesia, Indofood, Mayora, Kalbe Farma, Astra International
Astra alone spans cars, mining equipment, palm oil and financial services; the factories are in Bekasi, Karawang and Tangerang, the head offices in Jakarta.
Media, telecoms & professional services
Telkom Indonesia, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, XLSMART, Kompas Gramedia, the Big Four
Indonesia's media and advertising industry is almost entirely Jakarta-based, and the professional-services firms staff the whole archipelago from here.
Where to go in Jakarta
Kota Tua & Glodok
Neighborhood · West Jakarta
The Dutch colonial old town around Fatahillah Square, with Indonesia's largest Chinatown immediately south of it.
Local tip: The square itself is a photo stop. Glodok is the reason to come — Petak Sembilan market, the Jin De Yuan temple and some of the best and cheapest food in the city. Go on a weekday morning; MRT Phase 2A will eventually put a station at Glodok, but not before the end of the decade.
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah
Culture · East Jakarta
A 150-hectare park with a pavilion for every province — the entire archipelago's architecture in one afternoon.
Local tip: Openly a 1970s state project, and worth an afternoon anyway: it is the fastest way to understand how many Indonesias there are. Renovated for the 2023 ASEAN summit. Go early; it is enormous and there is no shade between pavilions.
Menteng & Cikini
Neighborhood · Central Jakarta
The 1910s garden suburb built for Dutch officials — wide streets, old trees, embassies and the city's best-preserved low-rise housing.
Local tip: Taman Suropati on a Sunday morning has free open-air chamber music practice, and Jalan Surabaya nearby is the antiques street. It is also the one part of central Jakarta where walking is genuinely pleasant, which is why it costs what it does.
Pasar Santa
Food · Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta
An ordinary wet market whose upper floor became the incubator for half of Jakarta's independent coffee and food scene.
Local tip: The ground floor still functions as a market — go there for produce and to see what things actually cost. The upstairs traders turn over constantly, which is the point; nothing there is more than a few years old.
Pulau Macan & the Thousand Islands
Hidden gemNature · Kepulauan Seribu, north of the bay
A scatter of small coral islands a two-hour boat ride from the city, with clear water once you get past the inner ring.
Local tip: Boats leave from Marina Ancol and, cheaper and rougher, from Muara Angke. The inner islands near the bay are not worth it — the water only turns clear from Pramuka and Macan outward. Book the return boat before you go; day-trippers get stranded.
Bundaran HI & the Sudirman axis
Landmark · Central Jakarta
The Welcome Monument roundabout at the head of the boulevard that carries the MRT, the buses and most of the city's office towers.
Local tip: On Sunday mornings the whole axis closes to cars for Car Free Day until around ten — it is the one time the city's main road belongs to people, and the best free thing in Jakarta.
Emergency numbers in Jakarta
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