You can own the company. You just cannot say what it sells.
Indonesia's E28A investor stay permit lets a foreign shareholder put money into a PT PMA, carry out activities connected to that business and sit on its board. It does not cover performing the work itself, and where management ends and selling begins is nowhere defined. A Bali visa and permit consultancy's own public FAQ puts it plainly: an investor permit lets you hold a directorship but not work in your company; to promote it legitimately you would need a working permit as marketing manager — and then you could not be a director, because both positions cannot be held at once. The same FAQ says a gift from a brand, posted voluntarily, can count as a violation if it creates commercial benefit. Since April 2026 the Dharma Dewata immigration task force has patrolled Canggu, Ubud, Seminyak, Kerobokan and Uluwatu; 62 foreigners were detained in its first three weeks. Between January and August 2026 immigration sanctioned 10,911 foreigners, 146 percent more than a year earlier. Work now includes unpaid content — a portfolio shoot, a villa in exchange for a reel, a brand ambassador arrangement — because the benefit counts even when no money changes hands. Article 122(a) of Law 6/2011 carries up to 500 million rupiah or five years, deportation at the violator's own cost, and a ban of six months to ten years.
