Legal

E33G vs Second Home Visa: Which One Fits Your Bali Plans?

The E33G suits people actively earning from abroad; the Second Home Visa suits people settling on capital rather than a salary — the practical difference.

Updated 23 September 2026 · 5 min read

The short answer

The E33G remote worker visa is built for people actively earning from a foreign employer or clients while living in Bali: a one-year, renewable permit, reported to require roughly USD 60,000 in annual foreign-sourced income, and it forbids any income from an Indonesian source.
The Second Home Visa is built for people settling in on capital rather than a salary: five years initially, renewable once for a further five, qualifying through an IDR 2 billion deposit (roughly USD 130,000) or Hak Pakai property worth at least USD 1 million — with no income test at all.
Neither visa permits work for an Indonesian company or local business income; the difference is what you are proving — an ongoing foreign income stream for the E33G, or a lump of capital for the Second Home Visa — and how long the resulting stay runs.
If you have an active remote income and want a shorter, renewable commitment while you decide whether to stay, the E33G fits; if you have savings or a paid-off property and no ongoing foreign salary, the Second Home Visa fits — the two are not really competing for the same applicant.

The core difference: earning vs holding

These two get compared constantly because they are both aimed at foreigners who want to live in Bali without a job in Indonesia, but they qualify you on opposite things. The E33G asks: can you show you are currently earning enough from outside Indonesia? The Second Home Visa asks: do you already hold enough capital, in a deposit or a property, regardless of whether you are earning anything at all right now?

That difference decides who should consider each one. A remote employee or freelancer with strong ongoing income but limited savings is a natural E33G candidate. Someone retired, between jobs, or living off investments with substantial capital but no active salary is a natural Second Home Visa candidate.

Side by side

	E33G remote worker	Second Home Visa
Duration	One year, renewable	5 years, renewable once for 5 more (10 total)
Qualifies on	Foreign-sourced income, reported around USD 60,000/year	IDR 2bn deposit (~USD 130,000) or USD 1m Hak Pakai property
Sponsor needed	No — filed directly	No — filed directly
Work allowed	For your existing foreign employer/clients only	None
Age requirement	None reported	None
Best suited to	Active remote earners	Retirees, investors, capital-rich settlers

Who the E33G actually suits

Someone with a stable remote salary or a client base entirely outside Indonesia, who wants to be based in Bali for a year or two without committing capital upfront. The reported roughly USD 60,000 annual income figure — sometimes phrased elsewhere as around USD 5,000 a month, which was not confirmed here as identical to the annual figure rather than a separate liquidity check — is the main bar, and the one-year, non-sponsored structure suits people who are not ready to commit to a five-year plan.

Who the Second Home Visa actually suits

Someone with capital and no need to prove an ongoing salary: a retiree below the retirement KITAS’s disputed age threshold, an investor parking funds in Indonesia anyway, or a family that has already bought a qualifying Hak Pakai property. Five years upfront, extendable to ten, is a materially longer runway than the E33G’s annual renewal, at the cost of tying up significantly more capital than the E33G’s income test requires you to prove.

What neither visa changes

Tax residency is decided separately from which visa you hold, largely by days spent in Indonesia and by which KITAS category you are on — some categories are reported to trigger residency regardless of the day count. Neither visa is a way to avoid Indonesian tax residency if you end up living here most of the year; check the current rule for your specific permit before assuming either one keeps you outside it.

Neither visa lets you take Indonesian-sourced income. An E33G holder cannot freelance for a Bali client; a Second Home Visa holder cannot run a warung. Both are residence permits for people whose income, if any, originates outside the country.

Cost over time, not just at application

The E33G's lower entry cost is only lower per year, not necessarily over a longer stay: reapplying annually means repeating the income documentation and paying the processing fee each cycle, whereas the Second Home Visa's cost is front-loaded into the deposit or property and then largely fixed for five to ten years. Anyone confident they will stay more than a couple of years should weigh the E33G's repeated annual admin against the Second Home Visa's larger upfront commitment, rather than comparing only the first year's cost.

Common questions

Can I switch from an E33G to a Second Home Visa later?

Both are filed independently through the immigration portal; switching is a matter of qualifying for the new one. It was not confirmed here whether holding one affects eligibility for the other.

Which visa is cheaper to obtain?

The E33G has lower official processing fees but a demanding income test; the Second Home Visa has minimal filing cost but requires substantially more capital placed in Indonesia.

Does either visa let me work for a Bali-based company?

No. Neither permits Indonesian-sourced income or local employment.

Do I pay Indonesian tax under either visa?

Possibly — tax residency depends on days spent in Indonesia and, for some KITAS categories, on the permit itself, not on which of these two visas you hold. Confirm with a tax adviser before assuming either one avoids it.

Which visa lasts longer?

The Second Home Visa: five years, renewable once for a further five. The E33G is issued one year at a time.

E33G income figures are reported inconsistently across sources and were not confirmed against a primary imigrasi.go.id notice. Treat the USD 60,000 figure as reported, not confirmed, and check current requirements before applying.