Two BPJS agencies with separate jobs

Indonesian social security is split between two public bodies. BPJS Kesehatan runs national health insurance, known as JKN. BPJS Ketenagakerjaan handles employment social security: work-accident cover, death benefits and old-age savings. An employer usually registers staff with both, so it helps to keep them apart when reading payroll or hiring material.

JKN rests on Law 24/2011, which created the BPJS agencies, and on Presidential Regulation (Perpres) 82/2018 on health insurance, amended by Perpres 75/2019, 64/2020 and 59/2024. The 2024 amendment, according to the national social security council, introduced a standard inpatient class in hospitals and framed benefits around basic health needs.

The six-month line for foreign workers

Perpres 82/2018 defines JKN participants as every person, foreigners who have worked in Indonesia for at least six months included, who has paid contributions. For a foreign hire, that six-month mark decides whether national health insurance applies at all.

News coverage of Government Regulation 34/2021 on foreign workers describes the employer side of the same line. Foreign workers employed for more than six months must be enrolled in the national social security programmes. Those on shorter assignments must instead hold an insurance programme that covers, at a minimum, the risk of accidents at work.

An Indonesian citizen working for a US company through a local employer joins JKN in the ordinary way, with no waiting period tied to nationality.

How JKN contributions are shared

Employees join JKN as wage-recipient participants through their employer. The regulation names other groups too: self-paying workers, people who are not working, and those whose contributions the government pays.

Under the 2018 text of Perpres 82/2018, the contribution for private-sector employees is 5% of monthly wages, with 4% paid by the employer and 1% by the employee, on wages up to a ceiling. Regional briefings for foreign employers published in 2025 give the same split. Rates and ceilings can change, so check the current figure before you budget for a hire.

Family members on an employee’s JKN

A wage-recipient participant’s cover extends to a spouse and children, whether biological, step or legally adopted, up to four family members in total. Children stay on until 21, or until 25 while they remain in formal education.

Other relatives, such as parents, can be added. The 2018 regulation set that extra contribution at 1% of the participant’s wage per person each month, and this figure too should be checked against the current rules. For an employee with a larger household, the family terms often matter as much as the employee’s own cover when you weigh any private layer on top.

Why outside cover can only be an extra layer

Once a foreign employee has worked in Indonesia for six months, JKN is compulsory. No international plan stands in for it; at most, a private policy adds benefits above what the national scheme provides.

Licensing narrows the picture further. Law-firm guidance describes Indonesia’s rule that no risk in the country may be insured without a licence or authorisation from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and notes that branches of overseas insurers and brokers need OJK licences as well. The insurance law itself, Law 40/2014, was amended by Law 4/2023 on financial-sector development. The same guidance describes only narrow exceptions. Whether any particular plan may cover a person living in Indonesia is for the insurer to confirm.

Sponsorship: a PT PMA or an employer of record

EOR providers describe a foreign company as generally unable to hire or sponsor a foreign worker in Indonesia without a registered Indonesian entity, usually a foreign-owned company known as a PT PMA. Firms without one turn to an employer of record, which obtains the foreign-worker plan approval (RPTKA), the work permit and the stay permit (KITAS), employs the person locally and registers them with BPJS.

Law-firm guidance adds the conditions attached to an RPTKA, which the Ministry of Manpower approves under Government Regulation 34/2021. The employer pays a compensation fund for each foreign worker, assigns an Indonesian counterpart to be trained alongside them, and may not place a foreigner in an HR or personnel role. Each route carries legal and tax consequences, so check with a local adviser before you commit to one.

Requesting an introduction for your Indonesia hire

Send us the details through the quote form on this page: the number of people in Indonesia, whether each is a citizen or a foreign worker, how long they have worked there, and whether a PT PMA or an employer of record employs them. List any spouse, children or parents who would need cover. We will pass it to a benefits partner that works on health coverage for remote and international teams. From there, eligibility, plan options and pricing are decided by the partner and the insurer.

A few useful answers

Common questions

Does a foreign employee in Indonesia have to join BPJS Kesehatan?

Yes, once they have worked in Indonesia for six months. Perpres 82/2018 counts foreigners with at least six months of work there as JKN participants, and employers must enrol foreign workers employed beyond that point.

How is the JKN contribution split between employer and employee?

The 2018 text of Perpres 82/2018 sets 5% of monthly wages for private-sector employees: 4% from the employer and 1% from the employee. Check the current figure, since rates can be amended.

Can an international health plan replace JKN?

No. For an employee who has worked in Indonesia six months or more, JKN is compulsory and a private plan can only add to it. Whether a given plan may cover someone in Indonesia is for the insurer to confirm.

How can a US company employ a foreign worker in Indonesia without an entity?

EOR providers describe using an employer of record that obtains the RPTKA approval, work permit and KITAS, employs the person locally and registers them with BPJS.

Which family members does JKN cover?

A spouse and children, up to four family members in total. Children qualify until 21, or 25 while in formal education, and other relatives can be added for an extra contribution.

International Health Insurance for Remote Employees in Indonesia