Government Accelerates Foreign Worker Permits via Integrated System
The government is targeting the completion of foreign worker (TKA) permit processes within a maximum of five days. This target is part of an integration of services across three relevant ministries to provide time certainty to investors.
The Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of BKPM, Rosan Roeslani, stated that this deadline serves as a form of service certainty for business actors. The government is even preparing a mechanism to issue permits automatically if the process is not completed within the specified timeframe.
“So, it is roughly possible in 4-5 days; I am confident that it will be completed within 5 days. If it is not completed, the permit will be automatically issued, so this will provide certainty that 5 days means 5 days,” said Rosan at the BKPM office, Jakarta, on Wednesday, 9 September 2026.
According to Rosan, time certainty is one of the aspects that needs to be improved in investment services. The licensing process will still involve ministries that hold authority in the fields of labour and immigration.
The government is integrating three platforms to accelerate the foreign worker permit process. These three systems include the Online Single Submission (OSS) of the Ministry of Investment, as well as platforms from the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services.
“So, the permits do enter through us, but they will still be processed by the relevant ministries. It will still be carried out by the Ministry of Manpower and also the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services. Once that is clear, it returns to us,” said Rosan.
This integration allows the inter-ministerial process to run within a single, interconnected service flow. The government hopes this mechanism can reduce waiting times while providing certainty to companies in need of foreign workers.
The implementation of the integrated system is targeted to begin by the end of September 2026. The government hopes this new service can accelerate administrative processes and simultaneously improve the investment climate.
“The plan is for the application to start running at the end of this month. By the end of this month, it will be operational as a result of the agreement between the three of us,” said Rosan.