“A foreign worker’s permit is not the end of the process. Once the foreign worker starts work, the sponsoring company must demonstrate that activities, documents, reporting, and compliance evidence remain consistent.”
Foreign workers can bring technical expertise, global experience, and new knowledge to a company. However, the company’s obligations continue after a foreign worker begins work in Indonesia. The company sponsor still needs to maintain orderly documents, reporting, permit validity records, and compliance evidence.
Many companies focus on the initial stages, such as the RPTKA, visa, and KITAS. This is understandable, because those stages are important. However, risks often arise after the foreign worker is actively working. For example, the position changes, the work location shifts, the local counterpart is not documented, or the annual report is not prepared.
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JHY Legal often finds that foreign worker compliance problems involve more than the presence or absence of permits. Problems can also arise because the company does not retain evidence of activities consistent with those permits.
Why Do Obligations Remain Important After a Foreign Worker Starts Work?
The RPTKA and stay permit provide the initial basis. However, the sponsoring company must still ensure that foreign worker utilization follows the approved plan. Government Regulation No. 34 of 2021 governs foreign worker employers’ obligations and prohibitions, the RPTKA, DKPTKA, stay permits, counterpart workers, Indonesian language training, reporting, guidance, supervision, and administrative sanctions. Source: peraturan.bpk.go.id
This means companies need to treat foreign worker utilization as an ongoing process. Documents must be retained. Reports need preparation. Changes must be monitored. Evidence of activities also needs to be available if the authorities request it.
The company sponsor’s role
A sponsor or guarantor does more than assist a foreign national’s entry into Indonesia. Immigration explains that a guarantor is a person or corporation responsible for a foreign national’s presence and activities while within Indonesia. Guarantors must also report changes in civil status, immigration status, and address. Source: imigrasi.go.id
The company therefore needs to know what the foreign worker does, where they work, their position, who serves as their counterpart, and whether this data still matches the permit documents.
Internal Documents to Retain
Internal documents help demonstrate that foreign workers are employed in an orderly manner. They serve more than an archival purpose. They are also useful during internal audits, permit extensions, RPTKA amendments, or compliance inspections.
The foreign worker’s underlying documents
The company should keep each foreign worker’s documents in a dedicated folder. This may be digital, physical, or both. What matters is that the documents are easy to find and kept up to date.
- The foreign worker’s passport and its validity period.
- Relevant visa and stay permit.
- Valid RPTKA or RPTKA approval.
- Employment contract or other agreement with the company.
- Position, work location, and employment period data.
- Evidence of DKPTKA payment, where applicable.
- Social security or insurance documents.
- Data on the foreign worker’s Indonesian counterpart.
- Evidence of training, mentoring, or skills transfer.
Company documents
Alongside foreign worker documents, the company also needs to maintain sponsor documents. Examples include the deed, latest amendments, NIB, OSS data, office address, business permits, and documents showing that the company remains active and suitable as a foreign worker employer.
If the company changes its address, name, business activities, directors, or the foreign worker’s work location, the foreign worker’s documents also require review. Permit data should not continue to use outdated information.
Reporting Obligations After a Foreign Worker Starts Work
Reporting is an important part of foreign worker compliance. Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 8 of 2021 provides that foreign worker employers must report at least once every year to the Minister through the Director General on foreign worker utilization, education and vocational training for counterpart workers, and the transfer of technology and skills from foreign workers to their counterparts. Source: jdih.kemnaker.go.id
For temporary work, employers must also report the implementation of foreign worker utilization after the employment agreement ends. The expiry or early termination of a foreign worker’s employment agreement also needs to be reported.
What should be prepared for reporting?
Companies should not wait until year-end to collect data. It is safer to collect it from the time a foreign worker begins work. When reporting is due, the company will not need to start searching for evidence from scratch.
- Records of the foreign worker’s employment start date.
- Data on the position and actual work location.
- Records of the main work performed by the foreign worker.
- Counterpart worker data.
- Evidence of mentoring or training activities.
- Evidence of knowledge or skills transfer.
- Amendment documents for any changes in position or location.
- Records of the employment agreement’s end date or amendments.
“Complete documents serve more than regulatory requirements. Orderly documentation helps companies answer a simple question: is the foreign worker working in accordance with the permit granted?”
Counterpart Workers and Skills Transfer
One important obligation in foreign worker utilization is mentoring Indonesian workers. A counterpart worker is an Indonesian employee designated to receive technology or skills transferred by a foreign worker.
Under Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 8 of 2021, education and vocational training for counterpart workers are provided according to the qualifications of the position held by the foreign worker. Technology and skills transfer aims to give counterpart workers the abilities needed to perform the role or use the relevant technology.
Examples of mentoring evidence to retain
Mentoring evidence does not need to be complicated. What matters is that it demonstrates the company actually carries out the mentoring process.
- A letter appointing the foreign worker’s counterpart.
- A schedule of mentoring or training sessions.
- Internal training materials.
- Training attendance lists.
- Records of joint tasks undertaken by the foreign worker and counterpart.
- A brief skills transfer report.
- Training certificates, if any.
- Documentation evaluating the counterpart’s abilities.
Social Security, Insurance, and the Indonesian Language
Companies also need to consider employment protection. In the implementation documentation for Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 8 of 2021, foreign workers employed for more than six months are stated to need enrollment in the national social security program. For foreign workers employed for less than six months, an insurance program with an Indonesian incorporated insurance company is used.
Employers must also facilitate Indonesian language education and training for foreign workers. Exceptions apply to certain positions, such as directors and commissioners, heads of representative offices, management of certain foundations, and foreign workers performing temporary work. However, the company still needs to record the reason if an obligation does not apply in a particular case.
Comparison of Frequently Overlooked Obligations
The following table helps companies identify obligations often treated as minor, but which can have a substantial effect during inspections or permit extensions.
| Obligation Area | What to Do | Evidence to Retain |
|---|---|---|
| Permit documents | Ensure the RPTKA, stay permit, position, and work location remain consistent. | RPTKA, ITAS, passport, employment contract, and work location data. |
| Reporting | Submit foreign worker utilization and mentoring reports as required. | Annual reports, employment termination reports, and evidence of submission. |
| Counterpart worker | Appoint an Indonesian worker for technology or skills transfer. | Appointment letter, training schedule, materials, and mentoring reports. |
| Social security or insurance | Enroll the foreign worker according to the employment period. | Membership number, insurance policy, and payment evidence. |
| Data changes | Review permits if the position, address, location, or employment relationship changes. | Amendment letters, updated company documents, and internal records. |
Risks When Compliance Evidence Is Not Retained
Compliance problems often arise because evidence is unavailable, even where the company performed its obligations. For example, training took place but there is no attendance list. A counterpart was appointed but there is no appointment letter. The company updated its address but the foreign worker’s documents were not adjusted.
Evidence becomes important during inspections. It helps demonstrate that processes were carried out in an orderly manner. Without it, the company will find it harder to explain its legal position.
JHY Legal usually recommends creating a foreign worker compliance calendar. It includes passport, ITAS, RPTKA, and employment contract validity periods, reporting schedules, and mentoring evaluation schedules. This simple approach can reduce the risk of forgetting or being late.
Our Experience in Foreign Worker Compliance
JHY Legal handles immigration, corporate actions, and regulatory licensing through an approach connecting permit documents, company structure, and obligations after permits are issued. Foreign worker matters often relate to Investor KITAS / KITAP, Expatriate Work Permits (RPTKA), compliance audits for foreign workers, NIB & OSS compliance, sectoral licensing, operational permits, changes to directors & commissioners, and corporate compliance audits. Our experience shows that risks most often arise when companies lack an orderly document map. Initial permits may be correct, but changes in position, work location, or the end of a contract are not promptly recorded. Periodic reviews therefore help companies determine whether foreign workers’ activities remain consistent with the basis of their permits.
Practical Steps for Sponsoring Companies
Once a foreign worker begins work, the company can start with simple steps. Everything need not be complicated. What matters is having a consistent system.
- Create a compliance folder for each foreign worker.
- Designate one internal person responsible, such as HR or legal.
- Record the validity periods of all permits and main documents.
- Keep mentoring evidence from the first month.
- Periodically check that the position and work location remain consistent.
- Prepare annual reports before the deadline approaches.
- Document every change to the contract, position, address, or sponsor.
Closing
Hiring foreign workers does not end when permits are approved. The sponsoring company still has obligations to maintain documents, submit reports, appoint counterparts, retain training evidence, and ensure foreign worker activities remain consistent with valid permits.
An orderly internal system helps the company reduce administrative risks and prepare for inspections. Compliance also helps the company maintain its employment relationship with foreign workers more safely and systematically.
A small step you can take now is to check the folder of one active foreign worker. See whether the passport, ITAS, RPTKA, contract, counterpart records, reports, and training evidence are all retained. If any documents are incomplete, JHY Legal can help review the compliance map so that the company has a clearer basis for its next steps.