Informal Education Visa/ITAS Newly Created

[marcus]

From https://www.imigrasi.go.id/siaran_p...dikan-non-formal-indonesia-mulai-15-juli-2025 , Jul 16, 2025
Title : Foreigners Can Apply for Indonesian Non-Formal Education Visas Starting July 15, 2025 - free translation

... foreigners can apply for Visa/ITAS to pursue non-formal education in Indonesia ... to take language courses, attend vocational or professional schools, and other programs to support their careers. The E30 Visa/ITAS can be granted for 1 or 2 years ...

To apply for this visa, foreigners must have a guarantor. This guarantor can be an individual or the intended non-formal educational institution ... The requirements are : a passport with a minimum validity of 6 months, proof of living expenses while in Indonesia (equivalent to at least USD 2,000), and a recent color photo. The cost is Rp6 million for a 1 year and Rp8.5 million for 2 years.

"In addition, primary E30A and secondary E31B Education Visas/ITAS are now available for 4 years. Previously, they were for only 1 year and 2 years ... the guarantor can be an individual or the relevant educational institution. The cost is Rp12 million for 4 years, Rp6 million for 1 year and Rp8.5 million for 2 years.

Currently, there are 3,115 higher education institutions in Indonesia, 125 of which are state universities. Indonesia has universities ranked among the top 300 universities in the world, subjects offered by faculties or departments related to cultural studies are in high demand by foreign students...

 

[Hawk256]

... foreigners can apply for Visa/ITAS to pursue non-formal education in Indonesia ... to take language courses, attend vocational or professional schools, and other programs to support their careers. The E30 Visa/ITAS can be granted for 1 or 2 years ...

To apply for this visa, foreigners must have a guarantor. This guarantor can be an individual or the intended non-formal educational institution ... The requirements are : a passport with a minimum validity of 6 months, proof of living expenses while in Indonesia (equivalent to at least USD 2,000), and a recent color photo. The cost is Rp6 million for a 1 year and Rp8.5 million for 2 years.

I have a feeling this type of visa/ITAS will be abused. Thailand had the same type of "education" visa and "schools" would open up that would provide fake attendance and test results. They finally did away with that type of visa altogether.

 

[jstar]

I heard their pottery courses were outstanding?

Even in the formal higher education the foreign attendance is very low of course.
Six thousand (6.000!) students of which half is Malaysian.

Of course this one is a ‘milk cow’.

 

[pantaiema]

Visa for Informal Education?
There are already quite a few private colleges and universities in Indonesia offering a range of courses. However, student attendance is generally low. Most of these institutions focus on social sciences, politics, history, and business management—subjects typically aimed at adult learners who are already employed. STEM fields are rarely offered. The students who enroll in these programs are often civil servants, regents, or village heads. This explains why many local leaders, including mayor, governors and regents, hold master’s degrees despite rarely attending classes.

Now, with informal education being used as a means to obtain student visas, I have little doubt that many of these institutions will exploit the opportunity for profit. It’s likely that new colleges will emerge just to cash in on this trend. After all, issuing a letter of enrollment for a few million rupiah a year can be quite a lucrative business.

It seems the country never learns. The UK, by contrast, took the opposite approach: it shut down many fake colleges and revoked the licenses of institutions that sponsored foreign students who intended to work instead of study.