Rights of Foreign Citizens to Own Vehicles and Apartments in Indonesia

PERTANYAAN

Are there any restrictions on foreigners owning vehicles and apartments in Indonesia?

INTISARI JAWABAN

In essence, there are no provisions that prohibit foreigners from purchasing vehicles in Indonesia for their own use. This can be seen from the Registration and Identification of Motor Vehicles conducted by the police.

Then, foreigners who can own a residential house are foreigners who have immigration documents in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations.

So, what’s the legal basis?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Hak WNA atas Kepemilikan Kendaraan dan Apartemen di Indonesia, written by Renata Christha Auli, S.H., and published on Tuesday, 13 June 2023.

This article is an update of the article with the same title written by Tri Jata Ayu Pramesti, S.H., and was published on Tuesday, 30 September 2014.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Vehicle Ownership for Foreigners

According to our research, there is basically no provision that prohibits Foreign Citizens ("foreigners" or Warga Negara Asing in Bahasa Indonesia) from purchasing vehicles in Indonesia for their own use. This can be seen from the registration and identification of motor vehicles (kendaraan bermotor) conducted by the police, as follows.

Registration and Identification of Motor Vehicles (in Bahasa Indonesia is known as Registrasi dan Identifikasi Kendaraan Bermotor/ "Regident Ranmor") is a police function to provide legitimacy of origin and eligibility, ownership and operation of motor vehicles, control function, police forensics and service to the community, as stipulated in Article 1 number 1 National Police Regulation 7/2021. Then, basically, every motor vehicle must be registered,[1] and the registration includes:[2]

1. Registration of new motor vehicle;
2. Registration of change in the identity of the motor vehicle and owner;
3. Motor vehicle renewal registration; and/or
4. Motor vehicle authorization registration.

Furthermore, motor vehicle registration is conducted through Regident Ranmor[3] which is carried out at:[4]

1. implementation unit of Regident Ranmor at the Indonesian National Police (“Police”) Traffic Corps;
2. implementation unit of ownership of Regident Ranmor at the Regional Police or Resort Police; and
3. implementation unit of the operation of Regident Ranmor at the One-stop Administration Services Office.

Furthermore, Article 4 section (1) National Police Regulation 7/2021 regulates that motor vehicle registration is carried out on vehicles owned by:

1. individuals;
2. government agencies;
3. business entities in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations;
4. Representatives of foreign countries;
5. International Agency; or
6. foreign legal entity with a permanent office in Indonesia.

Based on Article 10 section (1) National Police Regulation 7/2021, new motor vehicle registration must fulfill the following requirements at least:

1. Type Test Registration Certificate;
2. proof of legal ownership of the motor vehicle;
3. motor vehicle physical check result;
4. proof of identity of the motor vehicle owner;
5. certificate of Vehicle Identification Number from the manufacturer; and
6. power of attorney if the application is authorized by the motor vehicle owner.

For individual ownership, the proof of identity of the motor vehicle owner as mentioned above consists of a National Identity Card for Indonesian Citizens (Warga Negara Indonesia/ "WNI"), or foreigners who have a permanent stay permit and are equipped with a permanent stay permit card. In addition, foreigners are also required to attach a residence certificate for foreigners who have a limited stay permit and are equipped with a limited stay permit card.[5]

Also read: What is KITAS/KITAP and How to Apply It

Motor vehicle that has been registered, will then be given proof of motor vehicle registration in the form of a Vehicle Ownership Document, Vehicle Registration Certificate, and License Plate, as stipulated in Article 5 section (1) National Police Regulation 7/2021.

Thus, looking at the above regulations, we can conclude that foreigners may own private vehicles on their behalf in Indonesian territory.

Apartment Ownership for Foreigners

Answering your question regarding the ownership of apartments for foreigners, basically, in Indonesian legislation the term apartment is not used, but flats or multi-storey housing a.k.a. rumah susun in Bahasa Indonesia. According to Article 1 number 1 Law 20/2011, flats are multi-storey buildings built in an environment that is divided into functionally structured parts, both in horizontal and vertical directions, and are units, each of which can be owned and used separately, especially for residential purposes equipped with shared parts, shared objects, and shared land. Meanwhile according to Article 1 number 3 Law 20/2011, flat unit, hereinafter referred to as Satuan Rumah Susun or “sarusun" in Bahasa Indonesia, is a flat unit whose main purpose is to be used separately with the main function as a place of residence and has means of connecting to public roads.

Also read: Foreigners May Purchase Residential Houses with the Following Minimum Prices

Then, the regulation of ownership of property rights over a flat unit is related to the Flat Ownership Certificate, as stipulated in Article 1 number 11 Law 20/2011. Moreover, according to Article 144 section (1) letter c Perppu 2/2022, ownership rights to flat units can also be given to foreigners who have permits in accordance with the provisions of the applicable laws and regulations.

The permit in question is an immigration document, so that, foreigners who can own a residential house are foreigners who have immigration documents in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations.[6]

As for the limitations of flat units that can be owned by foreigners, you can read more in the article Multi-Storey Housing for Foreigners, Here Are the Legal Provisions.

These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 20 of 2011 on Multi-Storey Housing as amended by Regulation of the Government in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 on Job Creation which has been enacted into law under Law Number 6 of 2023 on 21 March 2023;
2. Regulation of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia Number 18 of 2021 on Right-to-Manage, Land Titles, Multi-Story Housing Units, and Land Registration;
3. Regulation of the National Police Number 7 of 2021 on Registration and Identification of Motor Vehicles.

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[1] Article 2 section (1) Regulation of the National Police Number 7 of 2021 on Registration and Identification of Motor Vehicles (“National Police Regulation 7/2021”).

[2] Article 2 section (2) National Police Regulation 7/2021.

[3] Article 3 section (1) National Police Regulation 7/2021.

[4] Article 3 section (2) National Police Regulation 7/2021.

[5] Article 10 section (6) letter a National Police Regulation 7/2021.

[6] Article 69 section (1) Regulation of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia Number 18 of 2021 on Right-to-Manage, Land Titles, Multi-Story Housing Units, and Land Registration.