The cityscape in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 23, 2022. | Xinhua Photo
Indonesia formally unveiled on Thursday the Golden Visa program, granting investors residency for up to 10 years, in a bid to draw foreign investors. Nine application rules have been introduced, according to foreign individual and corporate investors.
According to the newly launched program, individual foreign investors must invest at least $2.5 million and project to set up a company. The Indonesian government will grant them a 5-year residency. If the investment reaches $5 million, they can attain a decade of residency.
As for corporate investors, they must establish a company in the country and invest no less than $25 million for a 5-year residency. If their investment reaches $50 million, they can attain a decade of residency.
The golden visa program also embraces those who intend to stay in Indonesia for a long period. They can choose to invest at least $350,000, which is used for purchasing Indonesian government bonds, Indonesian enterprise stocks, or deposit it directly into Indonesian banks. In return, they can stay for five years. The government will grant them a 10-year residency if their investments double to $700,000.
Moreover, if corporate investors invest in the developing new capital Nusantara, scheduled to be inaugurated in August this year, they need to invest $5 million to attain a 5-year visa. If they invest $10 million, they will attain a 10-year visa.
The cityscape in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 23, 2022. | Xinhua Photo
According to local media, at the launch event of the Golden Visa program held in Jakarta on Thursday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo voiced his hope to attract more foreign investors and considerable global talents to Indonesia and have them make their contributions.
Given its abundance of natural resources, demographic dividend, robust economic growth, and current political stability, Mr. Joko noted that Indonesia should become a promising destination for investors as well as an attractive destination for global talents.
The move will bring multifaceted effects to Indonesia, such as in the domains of capital gain, job opportunities, technology transfer, and improvement of human capital.
Simultaneously, the president also warns about the need for a prudent process to select eligible candidates for the golden visa.
According to the Indonesian immigration authority, since the launch of the Golden Visa pilot program in September last year, golden visas have been issued to nearly 300 applicants, attracting approximately $123 million.
Notably, Samuel Altman, CEO of OpenAI and the father of ChatGPT, was granted the first Golden Visa by the Indonesian government in September last year. Indonesian National Football Team coach Shin Tae-Yong received the Golden Visa at the launch event.
Silmy Karim, Director General of Immigration at the Ministry, pointed out after the launch event that the government's goal is to grant 1,000 Golden Visas to foreign nationals in the year 2024.
Reporter: Clonde Zhang
Editor: Steven Yuan, Monica Liu, James
