Moving to Bali

[davita]

We are very modern in Bali...we have GOjeks...I'll bet you don't have that where you come from.
They have motor cycles, a green uniform and helmet, and an Iphone. You call them, or stop them, and the'll whisk you to where you want to go for a few pennies.

 

[JonnyQuango]

No clue what GOjeks is but I'm sure I'm going to find out..

Whatt! I feel I may have been a bit ignorant to the infrastructure of Bali.. there was me thinking you all still shit in pits!! haha

 

[davita]

hahaha...shit-pits!
This is Bali....I think you are mistaking Bali for Jakarta.

 

[Mark]

Whatt! I feel I may have been a bit ignorant to the infrastructure of Bali.. there was me thinking you all still shit in pits!!

Not exactly, but there are a huge number of villas in Bali (most?) that feature outdoor shitters, though the payload actually goes to a septic system.

 

[ronb]

Hi JonnyQ and welcome to the forum.
Before you search for accommodation I hope you're aware of the immigration visas available to you for "Moving to Bali indefinitely". Indonesia doesn't offer indefinite visas to foreigners.
Unless your spouse is an Indonesian citizen (WNI).....they all have time limitations.

Yes it does have unlimited visas if you progress past the 5 year KITAP.
A Permanent Residence Permit is issued for a period of 5 (five) years and may be extended for an unlimited period insofar as the permit has not been cancelled.(2)The holder of a Permanent Residence Permit for an unlimited period as intended in paragraph (1) must report to an Immigration Office every 5 (five) years and is not subject to a fee.
This is from http://www.expat.or.id/info/docs.html

 

[JonnyQuango]

Morning or evening to you. Thanks for advice up to press, we are on our 8 week countdown before our next chapter in Bali & we are currently making sure our affairs are in order & making sure Mr HMRC can't come for us for anything whilst we are away.

Can anyone recommend a good reliable visa service? I'm aware we have to apply for a Visa on Arrival (VOA) about a month before we fly at the Indo embassy here (UK). My understanding is that this will give us 30 days and the option to extend for another month, there are four of us so don't fancy monthly immigration visits with a 4 & 3 yr old! We are obviously looking to stay for as long as possible and realise we will have to fly out every 6 months and start the process again. Would be good to have peace of mind & someone doing all the work for us.

Also starting to look at health/travel insurances, how do you 'expats' get on? We are looking round Sanur area, is health care decent if you pay ad hoc or do you need a decent level of cover?

Thanks in advance

Rich

 

[DenpasarHouse]

I think you're better off getting the Tourist Visa which is valid for 60 days (Saves you having to extend the VOA after 30 Days).
http://indonesianembassy.org.uk/en/consular/visa-info/tourist-visa/

Also, it used to be possible to convert the Tourist Visa into a Sosial Budaya visa without leaving the country, not officially though, it was just exploiting a loophole (the Tourist Visa had the same number as the Sosial Budaya visa). I don't know if it's still possible but if you're going to get the Tourist Visa anyway then it's worth a try. I actually used to do this every year but it's been more than 5 years since I last did it.

I have an almost irrational hatred of agents and middle men as they tend to create more problems than they solve, so if it was me, I'd just try to extend the visas yourself at the immigration office and if they refuse THEN go to an agent.

Sorry if I'm repeating advice from above, but I really doubt you'll be able to just live in Bali indefinitely, there's been talk of them cracking down on people who just keep extending their Sosial Budaya visas. Still, just try it and see, the worst that can happen is that they kick you out.

RE: Health Insurance
If you want insurance as an expat, then it's pretty expensive. It's a lot more comprehensive and reasonable if you use travel insurance, but you'll need to really read the fine print because a lot of them have a limit on how long you can use it and they may also refuse claims if you look more like an expat than a tourist.
If I was you, I'd set yourself up with a years worth of travel insurance so that you've got time to shop around once you get here.

https://www.healthcareinternational.com/
Have the cheapest expat insurance that I know of, but I have no idea if they have a good reputation for paying out claims.

https://www.lippoinsurance.com
Lippo Insurance have reasonably priced Health Insurance for living in Indonesia but I'm not sure if they have English speaking staff in their offices.