High Cost of Playing by the Rules in Bali

(1/20/2013)

The Bali provincial administration will soon be charging a Rp. 1 million (US$100) monthly fee when extending working permits for  expatriate workers in Bali. To be charged on a yearly basis (US$1,200), the fee will apparently be paid in addition to another US$1,200 fee already charged as a contribution to a training fund by the department of Manpower when renewing work permits each year.

According to Bali Daily (The Jakarta Post), the province of Bali has written a by-law providing for the new fee. Similar to the current fee, authorities claim the funds will be used for the training of local workers.

The Manpower and Transmigration Office counts approximately 1,700 official registered foreign workers in Bali, arguably a small fraction of the large number of foreigners working illegally on the island.

Provincial authorities would net US$ 2 million each if the current total number of foreign workers paid the new fee.

The head of Bali’s Manpower and Transmigration Office, I Wayan Suasta, said his office had no data on illegal workers in Bali, acknowledging that tighter monitoring of illegal workers was needed. “Later, we will tighten our monitoring of foreign workers. Because if they work here without a permit it will harm local workers,” he said.

The new law providing for the US$100 monthly training fee must be submitted to the Bali Legislative Council in March.