Moving to Bali advice?

Hi Ben,

Welcome to the forum, and hopefully, welcome to Bali!

If your planned residency in Bali is something you are considering for the long haul, then you, your wife and son should eventually be on a KITAS residency visa.  You will need a good, reliable and licensed visa agent for that, such as PT Bali Ide, but there are others.  This agent will also act as your sponsor. 

In the Sanur area there are a number of private and international schools, including one of the two best on the island, that being BIS (Bali International School).  Normally the foreign students at these schools are under a KITAS visa, but I know that they will accept a foreign student who is currently on Bali with a visit or tourist visa if they know that KITAS visa application for that student are in the works (easily verifiable to the school by your visa agent). 

As for starting up a new business here, my best advice on that is to go very, very slowly…one step at a time, and with extreme caution.  There are plenty of expats here for you to network with, and you can find some of them in advance of your move to Bali on forums such as this.  Once here you will find plenty of venues to locate and contact other expats to seek out their advice. 

In all seriousness I would not consider moving here unless you have at least enough money already put aside to cover your living expenses here for two years. 

Good luck with your plans.

Hi Ubudian, thanks for your reply, I have various sources of income so money is really not an issue, my concern i guess is the  kitas VISA.
A family one may not be an issue as my partner and I are not married, and Im under the impression for any other type of work or business visa is either going into business with a local or I also have been told putting in $100k US capital to start some sort of company, obviously we could just stay on the casual visa but for my sons school I need to get to the bottom of what i can and cant do, as I dont really want to rush into doing any type of business like you said but I do need my son enrolled in school straight away

Ben,

You can use this link for PT Bali Ide:

http://www.bali-expat-business.com/

Prior to becoming a full citizen I used them for many years, and they remain the agent of choice for the majority of expats on Bali.  They will respond to your e-mail inquires.

Each of you will require individual visas. 

You should plan on first obtaining a 60 day visit visa for yourself and each member of your family.  That visa can be renewed here in Bali for up to 4 times, each time good for an additional 30 days…total stay, 180 days.  You can apply for those visas directly from the Indonesian embassy or consulate nearest to where you presently live in the Philippines.  The KITAS visa application through PT Bali Ide (or any other agent you decide on) should be initiated shortly after your arrival in Bali.  However, just so you know, in order to activate the KITAS visas for yourself and your family, it will be necessary to leave Indonesia.  Take the family to Singapore for a day!  PT Bali Ide has a network of agents in Singapore who will take all the paperwork, passports and cash funds to the Indonesian immigration office in Singapore on your behalf.   Trust me, you don't want to go to the Indonesian embassy in Singapore on your own.     

As for your sons, as I wrote earlier, it will be no problem to get them enrolled in the school or your choice even while on the visit visa so long as the process of KITAS visa application has begun, or the school believes in your stated intention to apply for a KITAS visa. 

I know this all sounds complicated, but it really isn't so bad, especially when you use an excellent visa agent here on Bali.

Cheers, and HIP HIP HORRAY to the New England Patriots!  I just won a $200 bet!