Two minutes that will save you years in Bali
How visas, land, companies, taxes and life next to the community work. Look before you pay, sign or move.
Your path to Bali
From the first thought of moving to leaving. Scroll down: the line goes with you.
01
Thinking about Bali
Before you choose a visa and an area, it helps to understand how the island works: two systems of authority, its own rules and the community next to every home.
02
Scouting
A first trip with questions: which areas, which development plans, when offices are closed.
04
Renting a home
Most people start by renting. The contract, the term and the registration decide how calm that year will be.
05
Legal status
Resident status, numbers and accounts. Without them you cannot work, pay taxes or keep a SIM card for long.
06
Work and company
A foreigner can work and do business only in the right form: a company, a licence and a work permit.
07
Family
Marriage, children, inheritance. Indonesian law looks at family property differently from what many expect.
If you buy, build or host guests. If you rent, the path goes past.
08
Buying land or a house
A mistake costs the most here. Check the property, the seller and the costs before the deposit, not after.
- Check a property: seven steps
- Checking a developer or seller
- Taxes and costs of buying
- Cost calculator
- Financing a purchase
- Checklist before you sign
- Natural hazards and insurance
- Notary briefing
- Disclosure standard for developers
- Disclosure form for one project
Five questions to ask any seller.
Before you sign anything, ask them out loud. A seller who can answer all five will show you a document for each.
- Who holds the land title, and what kind of title is it?
- Which company holds the business licence (NIB) and the standard certificate for this activity?
- Who operates it, and under which licence?
- Who audits the numbers? Would a bank finance it?
- Does the banjar know, and agree?
09
Building
A house is built under permits and under Bali's own rules: height, setbacks, temples nearby.
10
Hosting guests
Living in a house and hosting paying guests in it are different things. The second needs a licence and taxes.
11
Life and taxes
Years on the island: tax deadlines, holidays, community contributions and ceremonies, new rules.
12
Leaving
Leaving also has to be done properly: sell or hand over property, close the company and the status.
News
What changed in the rules this week.
Once a week we collect official announcements on land, permits, visas and taxes. Headlines are given as the sources published them, with a link to the original.
About the project
Who writes this guide, and who pays for it.
One founder, open sources and no money from developers, agents or sellers. This is general information, not legal advice: pages on the law stay drafts until a licensed notary has checked them.
Today
The founder pays for everything in the first year, personally.
Later
Grants from public and non-profit programmes, and a course sold at cost.
Never
Money from developers, agents, sellers or anyone we might describe or list. No advertising, no referral fees, no paid placement.
Built together
A proposal, not a product.
Respek Bali only works if it is built together. After ITLS 2026 we are forming a working group with:
- The Government of Bali and national ministries
- Notaries and land authorities
- Hospitality associations
- Universities and desa adat representatives
Or copy the address: hello@respekbali.com