The day in brief. Indonesia has decided not to raise visa fees and is widening visa-free entry instead — six more countries joined the list on 9 July, Kazakhstan and Belarus among them. At the same time, the country's entire tax administration now runs solely through the digital Coretax platform. Both stories speak directly to anyone who travels to Bali to view property or owns real estate here.
Indonesia won't raise visa fees — and has widened visa-free entry to six countries, including Kazakhstan and Belarus
On 15 July, Indonesia's Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said there are no plans to raise visa fees for foreign tourists: the bet is on easier entry rather than higher prices. Officials cite research showing visa-free access lifts tourist arrivals by 24–32.4% — more effective than a fee hike.
This isn't just talk. From 9 July 2026, short-stay visa-free entry took effect for six more countries and territories — Turkey, Brazil, Peru, Kazakhstan, Macau and Belarus (Immigration Minister Regulation No. 10 of 2026). The visa-free list now covers 19 countries and territories. In January–May 2026 Indonesia received 6.07 million foreign tourists, up 7.68% year on year.
Sources: The Star / ASEAN Plus, 19 July 2026; Social Expat, July 2026
For buyers from Kazakhstan and Belarus, a "come and see the villa" trip just got simpler: a short visit is now visa-free. A stable visa policy plus rising arrivals is about rental demand, not just tourism — the easier the entry, the higher the occupancy. If you can't travel yourself, the deal can be closed remotely: how to buy a Bali villa remotely. Model occupancy scenarios in the ROI calculator.
From July, Indonesia's entire tax administration runs only through Coretax
Tax Director General Bimo Wijayanto announced in July that all tax processes — supervision, collection, appeals, filings — now run exclusively through the digital Coretax platform. Manual processing outside the system is no longer allowed. By July, 13,635,007 annual returns for fiscal 2025 had been filed, and corporate income tax rose 56.8% to IDR 25.11 trillion (about USD 1.57 billion).
Coretax pulls transaction, ownership and payment data into one system and reconciles it automatically. This is the very mechanism that makes an understated contract price or a "grey" ownership structure visible: discrepancies surface at the platform level rather than during a manual review.
Sources: Antara News, July 2026; The Jakarta Post, 15 July 2026
For a villa owner and for a PT PMA the takeaway is the same: keep tax reporting accurate and on time — the risk of price-understatement and mismatches being flagged is now automatic. That's an argument for a transparent deal structure from the start: what taxes a Bali property owner pays and PT PMA or leasehold — which to choose. DOMA structures deals cleanly — with correct property designation and a full document pack.
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