Moving to Bali: a step-by-step plan, from the first visa to buying a home

Start with how long you plan to stay. A visa on arrival covers 30 days and one 30-day extension, at Rp 500,000 each time. That's enough to scout the island. It isn't enough to live here, and a long-stay permit is a separate application with its own paperwork.

For a year or more you'll want a KITAS, and the type depends on where your money comes from. Remote workers with clients abroad take the E33G. People who invest through their own Indonesian company take the E28A. Spouses and children of a permit holder go on a family KITAS, and retirees have their own route. Our long-stay visa guide compares them, and the Golden Visa guide covers the five- and ten-year investor track.

Source: Directorate General of Immigration, visa index pages on evisa.imigrasi.go.id, September 2026

Your first trip shouldn't be the move itself. Use it to learn what brochures leave out: traffic, noise, humidity and how long it really takes to get anywhere. On a map, Canggu to Ubud is 25 km. At 5 p.m. on a weekday it's an hour or more on a scooter.

Live in two or three areas for a week each. The south coast feels nothing like the hills around Ubud, and the west coast is different again. People who pick an area from videos often move a second time within the year. Keep receipts for one ordinary week. That number beats any budget you'll find online, our own cost of living guide included.

• Drive your daily route at rush hour on a weekday
• Test the internet inside the house, not at a café on the main road
• Visit the school, clinic and gym you'd actually use
• Spend at least a few days in the wet season, December to March

Sign a short lease first. A one-year contract before you know the island usually ends with a second move inside Bali, and landlords here expect the whole term paid up front, so breaking it early costs real money.

Once you're sure, switch to a yearly lease. In our September 2026 sample of 480 listings, yearly leases were about a fifth cheaper than paying month to month, 22% at the median. The rent or buy guide has asking rents by area and a five-year comparison with owning.

Source: Rise Real Bali long-term rental sample, 480 listings, September 7, 2026

Buy a local SIM on day one. The seller registers it against your passport, and a phone bought abroad works on it for 90 days. If you're staying longer, register the phone's IMEI at the customs desk in the arrivals hall at Ngurah Rai when you land, up to two devices per passenger. Register later and you lose the duty-free allowance.

Most daily spending runs through QR payments and e-wallets. A standard Indonesian bank account comes later: banks ask for a stay permit or a Golden Visa first, and a tourist visa gets you only restricted options. Our money transfer guide covers what to do until then. Buy health insurance that explicitly covers riding a scooter. Many travel policies exclude it.

Source: Indonesian customs pages for Soekarno-Hatta and Ngurah Rai airports; Noble Asia, July 2026; Bank Mandiri account requirements, 2026

You can't bring a dog or cat to Bali. Governor Regulation 88/2008 bans bringing dogs, cats and monkeys onto the island or taking them off it, and the provincial agriculture office still publishes it as current. The reason is rabies. Bali logged 45,365 bites from animals that carry it in January to August 2026, and seven people died.

Routing the pet through Jakarta, then on by plane or ferry, doesn't work either. Moving an animal into Bali from another province needs a permit from the Bali side, and it isn't granted. Under the Quarantine Law 21/2019, illegal import carries up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to Rp 10 billion. An animal seized at the border goes to the quarantine service, not back to you.

Source: Pergub Bali 88/2008; Law 21/2019, Articles 86–88; Bali Health Office via ANTARA, August 2026

A scooter solves most transport, but ride it legally. A visitor can ride on an International Driving Permit with a motorcycle endorsement, carried with the home license. Once you live here on a KITAS, police expect an Indonesian SIM C. Riding unlicensed carries a fine of up to Rp 1 million, and it can void your insurance after a crash, which costs far more.

For families, the school run decides the area more than the view does. A 6 km drive can take 40 minutes at school time. International school fees run from about Rp 117 million a year for early years to Rp 319 million for the final two grades, before one-off fees, and our cost of living guide lists them school by school.

Source: Law 22/2009 on road traffic, Article 281; school fee sheets for 2025–2027

The most expensive mistake we see is buying on the first trip. The island makes a strong impression, and a wrong call on area or property type is expensive to undo. Live through at least one wet season before you choose where to own. February in Canggu and February in Uluwatu are different experiences.

When you're ready, check three things before any deposit: the form of ownership, the years left on it, and whether the zoning allows what you plan to do. Our buying guide walks through the deal, and what foreigners can own explains leasehold and Hak Pakai.

1. Months 1–2Scout and rent short

   Visa on arrival, two or three areas, a short lease.

2. Month 3Long-stay permit

   KITAS filed, bank account opened once it's issued.

3. Months 3–6Shortlist

   One area, a budget and a form of ownership.

4. After a wet seasonBuy

   Due diligence first, deposit second.

We're a Bali agency that checks titles and permits before any deposit and runs the numbers on the property you're weighing. A buyer abroad can close remotely through video viewings and a notarized power of attorney. Tell us when you plan to arrive and which areas you're considering, and we'll send a shortlist from the catalog or an area comparison.

FAQ