Living and Researching in Indonesia: Internships, Field Study, and Startup Options for Foreign Students

By Muntasir • Published Dec 01, 2025 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • Career Planning

Table of Contents

TL;DR
What Visa Do You Need to Intern in Indonesia?
How to Get a Research Permit in Indonesia
The E30 Visa: Indonesia's 2025 Non-Formal Education Option
A Real Example: Fulbright Research in Indonesia
Funding Paths for Research and Field Study
Starting or Joining a Startup in Indonesia
Living Costs Across Indonesia
Common Refusal Reasons and How to Avoid Them
Sources

TL;DR

Indonesia introduced two internship visa categories (C22A and C22B) in 2024, each valid for up to 180 days with no wage payment allowed. A BRIN research permit takes up to six months and requires a local institutional guarantor. Monthly student living costs run between IDR 4,000,000 and IDR 8,000,000 outside tourist zones.

Living and Researching in Indonesia: Internships, Field Study, and Startup Options for Foreign Students

What Visa Do You Need to Intern in Indonesia?

Indonesia created two internship visa categories in 2024: C22A for academic internships tied to graduation requirements and C22B for company internships aimed at skill development. Both are single-entry visas with a maximum stay of 180 days and must be used to enter the country within 90 days of issuance.

Neither visa allows you to receive wages, salary, or any financial reward from your host organization. If you leave Indonesia while on either visa, it is cancelled immediately and you must apply again from abroad.

Processing times reported by visa agencies vary, with most publicly listed estimates falling between roughly 5 and 15 business days after payment. Applications require a sponsoring Indonesian company or institution that formally guarantees the applicant to immigration.

C22A vs. C22B: Key Differences

Visa	Who It's For	Primary Sponsor
C22A	Active students with an academic internship requirement from their university	Indonesian university or research institution
C22B	Anyone seeking professional experience at an Indonesian company	Indonesian company or employer

Required Documents for Both Internship Visas

Passport valid for at least 12 months at the time of application
Internship contract or acceptance letter from the host organization
Proof of active student enrollment (C22A only)
Sponsor or guarantor letter from the Indonesian host entity
Recent color passport photo

Total agency-inclusive costs published online run from IDR 5,500,000 to IDR 11,000,000 (approximately USD 340 to USD 680) depending on processing speed and service provider. These figures bundle the official PNBP government fee with agency service charges, so direct application through immigration is cheaper if you handle paperwork yourself. The official application portal is evisa.imigrasi.go.id .

How to Get a Research Permit in Indonesia

All foreign researchers must hold two separate documents before arriving in Indonesia: an ethics clearance from BRIN (the National Research and Innovation Agency) and a research visa under index E29. Conducting fieldwork, interviews, or surveys without these documents exposes researchers to administrative sanctions, possible deportation, and bans on future permits. Practitioner guides published by BRIN and AIFIS warn that severe violations under Indonesian research and immigration law have included multi-year permit bans and, in extreme cases, criminal liability.

The full process takes up to six months. Your Indonesian host institution submits the visa application on your behalf only after BRIN approves the ethics clearance.

Step-by-Step Research Permit Process

Identify an Indonesian research institute or university to act as your local guarantor and research counterpart. This role is mandatory.
Draft a joint research proposal in Bahasa Indonesia covering title, objectives, methodology, specific locations (list districts, cities, and provinces), and duration.
Register for an SSO BRIN account and submit your ethics clearance at klirensetik.brin.go.id . Processing takes two to three weeks if all documents are complete.
Once BRIN issues the ethics clearance and research permit letter, your guarantor begins the visa application at visa-online.imigrasi.go.id .
Collect your research visa at the Indonesian consulate. Your passport must be valid for at least 18 months at the time of collection.

Research Permit Document Checklist

Research proposal (minimum: title, objectives, methodology, named locations by district and province, duration)
Two letters of recommendation from a professor or senior scientist
Official recognition letter from your home institution
Letter of acceptance from the Indonesian research counterpart
Passport copy valid for at least 18 months
Bank statement showing a minimum balance of USD 1,500 plus a letter guaranteeing sufficient funds for the entire stay

The maximum research permit period is 12 months, and it is renewable. Direct questions to [email protected] . The AIFIS research permit guide remains the most complete English-language walkthrough of this process.

The E30 Visa: Indonesia's 2025 Non-Formal Education Option

Effective July 15, 2025, Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration launched the E30 visa, a limited stay visa for foreign nationals attending language courses, vocational training, or cultural programs. This is a separate route from both the academic degree visa and the research visa, and it fills a gap that previously forced short-term course participants onto tourist visas.

The E30 visa is valid for one or two years. Fees announced by Indonesian immigration are IDR 6,000,000 for a one-year stay permit and IDR 8,500,000 for a two-year stay permit. You apply through evisa.imigrasi.go.id .

E30 Visa Requirements

Passport with at least six months of remaining validity
Proof of living expenses equivalent to a minimum of USD 2,000
Recent color passport photo
Guarantor: either an individual or a registered non-formal education institution

For degree-level higher education (formal programs), the correct visa is the E30B, now issuable for up to four years. For primary or secondary schooling, the E30A applies.

A Real Example: Fulbright Research in Indonesia

A forestry student from the University of Tennessee received a 2024 Fulbright US Student Research Grant to investigate the link between Indonesia's palm oil industry and the reclamation of abandoned tin mines on the Bangka Belitung Islands. The research project covered soil chemistry, agricultural viability, economic analysis, and socioeconomic impact, with a focus on how oil palm empty fruit bunch additives affect tin-mined soils.

As with every BRIN-permitted project, the work required pairing with an Indonesian research counterpart at a local institution. The application process was reported by UTK Herbert College of Agriculture in May 2024 and the UTK School of Natural Resources update .

The case shows two practical realities: the Fulbright grant is one of the clearest pathways into Indonesia's research system for US nationals, and the local counterpart relationship is a substantive working partnership, not an administrative box to check.

Funding Paths for Research and Field Study

Fulbright Open Study/Research Award

The Fulbright US Student Program in Indonesia , administered by AMINEF, funds 10 to 12 months of independent research with a monthly living stipend. The program requires affiliation with an Indonesian university or research institution and a completed BRIN ethics clearance before departure.

AIFIS-CAORC Fellowship

The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS) runs the AIFIS-CAORC Research Fellowship for US-based graduate students conducting fieldwork in Indonesia across any discipline, including STEM, humanities, and social sciences. AIFIS releases award notifications in January to give fellows the full six months needed for BRIN and visa processing before summer arrival.

BRIN-Fulbright US Scholar Award

The BRIN-Fulbright US Scholar Research Award is designed for faculty-level researchers and pairs awardees directly with BRIN as the institutional host, which simplifies the guarantor requirement.

Starting or Joining a Startup in Indonesia

Indonesia has no dedicated startup visa. Foreign founders operate through one of three pathways:

Remote Worker Visa (E33G): For those employed by a foreign company while living in Indonesia. Holders must earn a minimum of USD 60,000 per year from non-Indonesian sources. The visa is valid for one year and renewable once.
Investor KITAS (PT PMA route): For founders establishing a foreign-owned company. Under BKPM Regulation 5/2025 , issued in 2025 with implementation rolling out across the second half of the year, the minimum paid-up cash capital for a PT PMA dropped from IDR 10 billion to IDR 2.5 billion per business activity. The total investment plan requirement of more than IDR 10 billion per five-digit KBLI code per location (excluding land and buildings) still applies, with the balance above IDR 2.5 billion covered by qualifying assets and expenditures. Confirm the operative date against the BKPM gazette before relying on it for filings.
Accelerator-sponsored entry: Antler Indonesia handles visa guidance for foreign program participants. Antler deployed USD 3 million across 25 investments in Indonesia in 2024. The core founder programme invests USD 85,000 for 10 percent equity via a standard SAFE after the evaluation period, with follow-on capital published at up to USD 250,000 in matching funds. Confirm current terms with Antler before applying.

Living Costs Across Indonesia

Monthly costs vary widely depending on city and lifestyle:

City	Monthly Budget (IDR)	Monthly Budget (USD approx.)
Yogyakarta or Malang	4,000,000 to 5,500,000	245 to 340
Bandung	4,500,000 to 6,000,000	275 to 370
Jakarta	7,000,000 to 10,000,000	430 to 615
Bali (non-tourist area)	7,000,000 to 9,000,000	430 to 555
Bali (Canggu or Seminyak)	10,000,000 to 15,000,000	615 to 925

Figures based on 2025 data from Numbeo and Visa Indonesia . Budget an additional IDR 8,000,000 to IDR 15,000,000 for first-month setup costs including apartment deposit, household items, and local transport setup.

Yogyakarta and Malang have large student populations and lower rents, making them practical bases for researchers on fellowship budgets. A single-room kost (boarding house) in Yogyakarta runs IDR 500,000 to IDR 1,500,000 per month.

Common Refusal Reasons and How to Avoid Them

Research permit and visa applications fail for predictable reasons:

Incomplete research proposal: Your proposal must name specific districts, cities, and provinces. General references to "Indonesia" or "Java" are rejected.
No counterpart letter: BRIN will not process your ethics clearance without a formal letter of acceptance from an Indonesian institution. Personal invitations from professors do not substitute for an institutional letter.
Passport validity too short: The research visa requires at least 18 months of remaining validity at collection, not at application. Many applicants miscalculate this.
Insufficient funds documentation: Your bank statement must show a minimum of USD 1,500, and the supporting letter must state the guaranteed amount in USD covering the full stay.
Documents submitted in English only: All BRIN forms must be in Bahasa Indonesia. Missing translations delay the timeline by weeks.
Conducting fieldwork before permit approval: Interviews, surveys, or sample collection before receiving a signed BRIN ethics clearance expose researchers to fines, deportation, and multi-year bans.
Using a tourist visa for internship work: Indonesian immigration officers at airports have refused entry to students with only a B211A social-cultural visa who disclosed they were there to intern or conduct research.