Bali is offering remote workers and freelancers the opportunity to live tax-free in one of the most beautiful areas of the world.
The new move was announced by Indonesia’s tourism minister, Sandiaga Uno.
“In the past, the ‘three Ss’ were sun, sea, and sand. We’re moving it to serenity, spirituality, and sustainability. This way we’re getting better quality and better impact on the local economy,” Uno told the South China Morning Post.
The five-year “nomad visa” is being brought in as a way to attract more tourists to the island.
As well as bringing in an estimated 3.9 million travelers from overseas, Uno has said that there will also be a huge focus on spiritual retreats and eco-tourism for tourists.
The minister said the new working visa would allow those living outside of Indonesia to live in Bali and other nearby islands totally tax-free.
The idea started back in 2021, but due to the pandemic, the plans were put on hold.
“Now with the pandemic handled and all the ministries getting involved and cooperating from the health side to the immigration office, we believe that this is an opportune time to relaunch this idea,” Uno said.
And it seems a lot of people are intrigued by the idea… I mean how could you not be?
One Twitter user wrote: “I’m packing up and off to Bali baby.” Another commented: “It’s why I moved to Dubai. If you can do your job from anywhere just do it. Stop waffling and go.”
However, it seems some need a little more convincing: “Pretty selfish to immigrate into a country and not pay taxes, especially when you’d be one of the wealthier people there. You’d use the nation’s police, roads, rail, waste system, parks, etc, and not contribute your full part to them,” a third Twitter user wrote.
What do you think?