Marriage, inheritance and property in Indonesia

This page is for foreigners who buy, or plan to buy, property in Bali and who are married, may marry, have children or want to leave property to someone. It sets out what the written law says and where we found it silent.

It is general information, not legal advice. Land law, family law, citizenship law and immigration law meet in these questions. The answer for your case depends on your nationality, your spouse's nationality, the type of land right and the date of each step. A notary (notaris) or land deed official (PPAT) has to check your case.

Where this page says a point is not answered here, we looked for an official text and did not find one that settles it. That does not mean the answer is no.

Under the Marriage Law, property acquired during the marriage becomes joint property (harta bersama). Property each spouse brought into the marriage, and property each receives as a gift or by inheritance, stays under that spouse's own control unless the spouses decide otherwise.

Each spouse has full right to act on their own property. For joint property, a spouse may act with the consent of both spouses. If the marriage ends by divorce, joint property is governed by the spouses' 'respective law' (hukumnya masing-masing); the Law does not define that term.

A mixed marriage (perkawinan campuran) is a marriage between two people who are subject to different laws in Indonesia because of different nationality, one of them being an Indonesian citizen. If it is concluded in Indonesia, it is carried out under the Marriage Law, and each party must first prove that the requirements of their own law are met, by a certificate or a court substitute. Citizenship acquired through marriage, or through its end, determines the applicable law.

The Marriage Law says nothing about land, Hak Milik or foreign ownership. It does not say which property regime applies to a couple of different nationalities. It does not say whether property that a spouse inherits counts as own property for the foreign-ownership rules of the land law; it says only that it stays under that spouse's control.

The rule for mixed marriages is in Government Regulation 18 of 2021 (PP 18/2021), Pasal 70. An Indonesian citizen who marries a foreigner may hold the same land rights as other Indonesian citizens. That land right is not joint property, and this is proven by an agreement between the spouses separating their property (perjanjian pemisahan harta), made in a notarial deed. Pasal 70 is not a way for the foreign spouse to own land. With the agreement, the land belongs to the Indonesian spouse alone and the foreign spouse gets no right in it. An arrangement meant to transfer a Hak Milik to the foreign spouse, directly or indirectly, is void under UUPA Pasal 26(2) and the land falls to the State. Whether an arrangement giving control, or one over HGB, is caught is for a court.

Older guides cite Government Regulation 103 of 2015, which said the same in substance. PP 18/2021 revoked it (Pasal 103 huruf b), and the rule now sits in Pasal 70.

Pasal 70 does not say whether the agreement must be made before or during the marriage, and it does not say what happens to land that was already joint property when an agreement is made later. Read with the Constitutional Court decision described in the next section, an agreement made before or during the marriage is possible, but no text states this expressly for land.

Without such an agreement the general rule applies: property acquired during the marriage is joint property. The Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA) says that a foreigner who acquires Hak Milik through mixing of marital property (percampuran harta karena perkawinan) must release it within one year; see the section on the one-year rule. Neither law says whether only the foreign spouse's share, or the whole right, is concerned.

Under the citizenship law (UU 12/2006, Pasal 26(1) and (2)), an Indonesian citizen who marries a foreigner loses Indonesian citizenship if, under the law of the foreign spouse's country, the Indonesian spouse's citizenship follows the foreign spouse's as a result of the marriage. The person can file a declaration to keep Indonesian citizenship, unless that would cause dual citizenship. The declaration can be filed only after three years from the date of the marriage (Pasal 26(4)). An Indonesian holder of Hak Milik who loses citizenship must release the land within one year. Loss of citizenship by one spouse does not by itself make the other lose theirs. Whether a loss happens depends on the foreign spouse's law, which this page does not cover.

Pasal 29 of the Marriage Law lets spouses make a written agreement. Originally it had to be made at or before the wedding and ratified by the marriage registrar. It took effect from the wedding, and during the marriage it could not be changed unless both agreed and third parties were not harmed.

On 27 October 2016 the Constitutional Court (decision 69/PUU-XIII/2015) ruled that Pasal 29(1) has no binding force unless read this way: at the time of, before or during the marriage, the two parties may by mutual consent submit a written agreement ratified by the marriage registrar or a notary, and its content also binds third parties insofar as they are concerned. The agreement takes effect from the wedding unless it says otherwise. During the marriage it may cover marital property or other matters, and it cannot be changed or revoked unless both agree and the change does not harm third parties.

In its reasoning the Court described a marriage agreement as binding on those who make it and on third parties with an interest in it, and said that for spouses who make one, its rules apply to their joint property. The Court rejected the request to test Pasal 21(1), 21(3) and 36(1) of the UUPA, so those land rules stayed as they were. Constitutional Court decision 156/PUU-XXIV/2026 refers to Pasal 29 as given meaning by the 2016 decision; we found no later decision that changes it.

A marriage agreement, including its change or revocation, may be recorded at the civil registry office (Disdukcapil) or at an Indonesian representative abroad, by attaching the deed. The regulation says it may be recorded; it does not say recording is a condition for the agreement to be valid. The texts we read do not say whether recording decides if the agreement works against third parties, including the land office.

The decision does not say how an agreement made after the wedding affects land that was acquired and registered before it, or how 'not harming third parties' is tested in practice. We found no official text on recording an agreement at the religious affairs office (KUA) for Muslim couples, so this page does not cover it.

Only Indonesian citizens may hold Hak Milik. A foreigner who acquires it through inheritance without a will, or through mixing of marital property, must release it within one year of acquiring it. The same one-year period applies to an Indonesian citizen who holds Hak Milik and loses citizenship, and to a person who has a foreign citizenship besides the Indonesian one.

If the right is not released within the year, it ends by law and the land falls to the State. Rights of other parties that burden the land continue. The text gives no refund or compensation rule for this case. A note on the wording: the ATR/BPN copy of the UUPA and the Constitutional Court's quotation of Pasal 21(3) say 'not released' (tidak dilepaskan), while some online copies, including the one on the BPK legal database, leave out the word 'tidak'. The provision is read as 'not released'.

For Hak Milik the text says 'release' (melepaskan). It does not say that a transfer to a qualified person within the year is also allowed, although the rule for HGB does. It does not say when the year starts for an inheritance, at death or at registration.

For HGB the rule is stated more fully. A holder who no longer qualifies, meaning an Indonesian citizen or an Indonesian legal entity, must within one year release or transfer the right to a person who qualifies; otherwise the right ends by law. PP 18/2021 repeats this.

A release is made by a statement of release (surat pernyataan pelepasan) from the holder, acknowledged by a notary, a sub-district head (camat) or the head of the land office. The head of the land office records it, and the release makes the land State land. The regulation has no special procedure for the one-year release, so ask the land office how it handles the certificate. Tax on inheritance, release or transfer is not covered here.

PP 18/2021 lets a foreigner own a house or apartment if the foreigner holds immigration documents (dokumen keimigrasian) in line with the law. In the elucidation of Pasal 69(1), dokumen keimigrasian means a visa, passport or stay permit (izin tinggal). In PP 18/2021 an Orang Asing is a non-citizen whose presence benefits Indonesia, who does business, works or invests in Indonesia. A foreigner may own a landed house on Hak Pakai (on State land, on Hak Milik land by an agreement made in a PPAT deed, or on Hak Pengelolaan land by agreement), or an apartment unit (Satuan Rumah Susun) built on Hak Pakai or HGB land. A foreigner cannot hold HGB over a landed house in their own name.

Pasal 71(2) as printed says that the apartment units a foreigner may own are those built in special economic zones, free trade and free port zones, industrial zones and other economic zones. The elucidation (Penjelasan Pasal 71 ayat (2)) says that 'other economic zones' are urban areas and/or areas supporting urban areas, tourism areas, or areas that support vertical housing and bring economic benefit to the community. The ministerial regulation (Permen ATR/BPN 18/2021, Pasal 185) repeats the list of unit types without that zone limit. The two texts are not the same. The elucidation reads 'other economic zones' broadly; whether a given building qualifies is for the land office to say. Check with the land office before you rely on either reading.

The ministerial regulation sets limits for foreigners' housing: for a landed house, a house in the category and price set under the housing rules, and one plot per person or family and/or a plot of at most 2,000 m2, with more allowed by the Minister's permit; for apartments, commercial apartment buildings. The text does not make clear whether the 'and/or' limits add up or are alternatives. Minimum prices are set by a separate ministerial decision, Kepmen ATR/BPN 1241/2022, which the Rules page summarises; it says the house or unit can be new or old (Diktum KESATU).

The ministerial regulation (Pasal 187(3)) also provided that Hak Milik or HGB land acquired for a foreigner's house is changed to Hak Pakai. The ministry's own register records Permen ATR/BPN 18/2021 as a whole as revoked in part (dicabut sebagian), without naming Pasal 187(3). Permen ATR/BPN 2/2025 (Pasal II angka 3) reaches only the change of Hak Milik into HGB or Hak Pakai, except at auction, so it reaches the Hak Milik part of Pasal 187(3), not the HGB part. The register notes these rules as no longer in force. Permen 5/2025 later revoked Permen 2/2025, and the texts do not say whether that changes the earlier revocation. Permen ATR/BPN 5/2025 deals with changing Hak Milik to HGB, by auction or by release to the State and a new grant, and does not mention Hak Pakai. Do not rely on that conversion without the land office confirming it. The routes in PP 18/2021 Pasal 71 are not affected.

When the foreign owner dies, the house can be inherited by the heirs. If an heir is a foreigner, the heir must hold immigration documents in line with the law.

Here the law is silent. PP 18/2021 sets no deadline and no consequence for a foreign heir without immigration documents, and it has no one-year release rule for a foreigner's own house when the owner dies or the residence permit ends. The earlier Government Regulation 103 of 2015 had a one-year rule, with an auction if it was missed; it was revoked and nothing replaces it expressly. The nearest general rule is Pasal 50: a Hak Pakai holder who no longer meets the requirements has one year to release or transfer the right, otherwise it ends by law. The list of Hak Pakai holders names 'Orang Asing' without a residence-permit condition, and no text links a lapsed permit to Pasal 50. The text also does not say what happens to the building when Hak Pakai ends, only to the land: on State land it becomes State land, and on Hak Milik land it returns to the holder of Hak Milik. Ask the land office and your notary how they treat these points.

A nominee arrangement (pinjam nama) is one in which land is registered in one person's name while someone else, here a foreigner, is the real owner. The UUPA does not use those words. It says that every sale, exchange, gift, bequest by will and other act meant to transfer Hak Milik directly or indirectly to a foreigner is void by law. The land falls to the State, rights of others that burden the land continue, and money already paid cannot be reclaimed.

The same voidness applies to such acts in favour of an Indonesian citizen who also has a foreign citizenship, and of a legal entity other than those the Government has designated to hold Hak Milik. The explanatory part of the UUPA says this follows from the rule that only Indonesian citizens may hold Hak Milik.

The words 'directly or indirectly' are what reach nominee arrangements. No statute we read lists which structures are covered, whether a nominee, a trust, a power of attorney, a loan or a long lease; whether a given arrangement is caught is a question of interpretation by a court, and we opened no court decision. The text states no tax, penalty or criminal consequence for the Indonesian holder or the foreigner. See also the page on leasing.

A will is a deed that states what a person wants to happen after death, and the person can revoke it. A notary must list the wills made before him or her each month and send the list, or a nil list, to the central will registry (pusat daftar wasiat) at the ministry responsible for law, within the first 5 days of the following month. The duty is on the notary. The texts we read do not make registration a condition for a will to be valid.

The Ministry of Law says that a closed will must, after the testator's death, be handed to the Balai Harta Peninggalan of the area where the estate opened, which opens it and makes a record. Whether a will made abroad by a foreigner can be entered in the central registry is not stated in the law.

A will cannot be used to give Hak Milik to a foreigner. A bequest by will is one of the acts that Pasal 26(2) of the UUPA makes void. For a foreigner, the one-year rule covers only inheritance without a will and mixing of marital property; the Penjelasan of Pasal 21 says other ways are barred by Pasal 26(2).

Which country's inheritance law applies to a foreigner's land in Indonesia is not answered on this page. We could not open an official text of the Algemene Bepalingen van Wetgeving (AB), the provisions that may govern this, and no other text we read settles it. A notary must answer it for your case. The UUPA rules on Hak Milik apply whichever inheritance law applies.

A child of a valid marriage between an Indonesian citizen and a foreigner is an Indonesian citizen. If the child also has the foreign parent's nationality, the child has dual citizenship.

The citizenship law allows this limited dual citizenship. After turning 18 or marrying, the child must choose one citizenship, by a written declaration made at the latest within three years after turning 18 or marrying; for an unmarried child that is up to age 21. The parent or guardian must register the child with the immigration office or an Indonesian representative. A child who chooses foreign citizenship, or does not choose, is treated under the law on foreigners and must return Indonesian identity documents within 14 days after the deadline.

For land, the UUPA says that as long as a person has a foreign citizenship besides the Indonesian one, the person cannot hold Hak Milik, and the one-year release rule applies. It makes no exception for children. On the plain wording, a dual-citizen child cannot hold Hak Milik while the dual citizenship lasts, a child who inherits Hak Milik is under the one-year rule, and a transfer of Hak Milik to such a child is void under Pasal 26(2).

No official source we read states this rule for children, so it is a reading of the wording, not a stated rule. The law does not say whether a guardian may hold Hak Milik for the child, or whether the one-year period is suspended during minority.

The birth certificate, the registration of a child with limited dual citizenship, the child's stay permit and leaving Indonesia with a child are on the page on a child born in Bali.

A marriage abroad between two Indonesian citizens, or between an Indonesian citizen and a foreigner, is valid if it was made under the law of the country where it took place and, for the Indonesian, does not violate the Marriage Law. Under the Marriage Law, within one year after the spouses return to Indonesia, the marriage certificate must be registered at the marriage registration office where they live.

The population administration law sets a shorter period. The marriage of an Indonesian citizen abroad must be recorded by the competent authority of the host country and reported to the Indonesian representative. The person must then report it to the civil registry office of the place of residence within 30 working days of returning to Indonesia (Pasal 37(4)); the elucidation of Pasal 17(3) of the same Act says that "hari" (day) means working day in the articles after it. If the host country does not record marriages of foreigners, the marriage is recorded at the Indonesian representative.

The periods of one year and 30 working days overlap. The texts do not say which prevails or whether meeting one meets the other. Ask the civil registry office which period it applies; the safe course is to report within 30 calendar days of returning, which is earlier than 30 working days.

Neither law says that a foreign marriage that is not registered in Indonesia is void. The Marriage Law states no consequence for missing the year. The population administration law exposes a late report to an administrative fine, of at most Rp1,000,000 in its 2006 text; the current amounts are set by regional regulation, which we did not read.

In whose name will the land right be registered, and does that person qualify: an Indonesian citizen with no other citizenship for Hak Milik or HGB, or a foreigner with immigration documents (a visa, passport or stay permit) for Hak Pakai or an apartment unit?

If one spouse is Indonesian and the other foreign: is there a separation-of-property agreement made by notarial deed, was it made before or after the land was acquired, was it recorded at the civil registry office, and what does the land office accept as proof of it?

What does the notary say about land that was already joint property before the agreement was made?

Does either spouse, or a child, hold a second citizenship, or risk losing Indonesian citizenship through the marriage?

What happens on death: who inherits, which country's inheritance law applies to the land, and is a will needed? If an heir is a foreigner, what immigration documents (a visa, passport or stay permit) must the heir hold, and what happens if the heir has none or if a residence permit ends?

Is there any arrangement, written or not, under which someone holds the land for a foreigner? Ask the notary whether it could count as an indirect transfer under Pasal 26(2) of the UUPA.

If you married abroad, was the marriage reported in Indonesia, and within which period?