Why wait for paradise? Enjoy now, die later
As the end draws near and the dullness of suburbia hardens like arteries, retirement wakens old dreams. If only we’d been more adventurous, quenched fear and risked the odds.
Now there’s a chance to reset life - spending what years remain in magical, mysterious Bali, not as a come-and-go tourist but as a settled resident. Every day in the laid-back tropics, beach in the morning, siestas after massage and helpers so cheap you’ll feel guilty and want to double their salaries.
Australian pensioners might keep getting payments, though reduced. Ask Centrelink because the rules are complex and forever fluid. Should things go wrong Perth is 200 minutes away and flights are daily.
Countries with holiday spots that lure foreigners like earning by stamping passports rather than shipping ores. Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore offer ‘second home visas’. Now Indonesia’s getting into the game.
Game? It can be fun for the open-minded and well-prepared. There are goodies aplenty in the Island of the Gods, but mortals need to know the rules.
On 25 October Indonesia announced a new long-stay visa targeting well-off retirees. Details should be online before the New Year. But don’t sell the car and give the furniture to the kids yet because their bureaucrats, like ours, don’t always meet deadlines.
Bali got more than a million Aussies a year BC (Before Colid) and numbers should lift following positive publicity from the G20 diplomacy show.
If wanting solitude think beyond Kuta and Ubud. The new visas may include ten other holiday zones across the Republic to lessen pressures on Bali. Details on this official site.
If intrepid, start clicking. Forget tourist brochures. Ignore sellers, seek tellers. Aussie academics’ knowledge is often online.
Even atheists should check faith as religion is serious stuff in Indonesia and sometimes hazardous. Bali is the only province where Hinduism is prominent, and the citizenry no longer dazed by outsiders boozing in the streets and wandering malls in crop tops.
Elsewhere Western casual dress may draw more glares than smiles, and coldies hard to find. Indonesians are keen to please and generally tolerant but expect respect for local customs. Thieving is rare and usually opportunistic rather than planned.
The annoyance of harga bule, the practice of jacking prices for white-skinned shoppers, is best handled with a joke and walk-out.
Immigration is a national responsibility so Jakarta rules. Whatever the final regulations, expect extra demands, though these are unlikely to be in the Australian stratosphere. (It costs $4,240 just to apply for a permanent resident visa.)
Officials can deport without using the courts. No rights to prolonged appeal procedures, so the choice could be on the plane or in the slammer. Lawyers willing to defend aliens are hard to find. Immigration advisors abound, but best DIY using official sources.
Reboot before the hard drive fails. Make friends with the community, volunteer your skills and learn the language. Embrace differences. It’s all rewarding.
Now the small print.
Little is known about the new visa so far: You’ll need a bank account holding at least two billion rupiah. Exchange rates rise and fall like politicians’ reputations, but to make life simpler average out at $1 = Rp 10,000.
Hopefuls will need to show they have $200 grand or more. Whether that’s per person or couple will be critical. Another question: Must the sum stay intact?
Outsiders can’t open accounts in Indonesia. Will Australian bank statements be acceptable - or a deposit in an Indonesian trust account? Don’t know.
What we do know is that the visa will allow a stay for up to ten years, but beware: Non-citizens can’t own property so without an Indonesian spouse in a solid relationship, or trusted business partner you’ll have to rent.
In Australia, tenants pay weekly or monthly, but Indonesian landlords usually demand the full contract amount up-front. Caution - the housing market is poorly regulated.
That doesn’t mean that most Indonesians are crooks. The percentage of con artists and shonky operators is probably no higher than in Oz. The difference is that Indonesia lacks strong consumer protection laws and dispute settlement tribunals, so if there’s a falling-out the foreigner will most likely lose.
A clue to charges: Similar schemes to entice ‘digital nomads’ (WiFi laptoppers running faraway businesses from poolsides) cost Rp 3 million per person for a visa with work rights.
Long-term stayers have had to buy private health insurance. The government Medicare-style scheme is only for locals.
Medical care has improved greatly this century and horror tales of dirty hospitals and sloppy docs (which we also have Down Under) are less common.
Your correspondent’s contacts with GPs, specialists and hospitals in the public system have been professional and outcomes satisfactory. Encounters and experiences are rarely universal, only rough guides. So far mine have been more plus than minus, even with guys in uniforms.
An edited version was first published in Michael West Media on 20 November 2022: https://michaelwest.com.au/digital-nomads-preferred-australian-retirees-in-bali-being-told-to-pay-up-or-move-out/
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