A Legal Due-Diligence Checklist for Acquiring a Raja Ampat Dive Resort

Information, not advice. Raja Ampat Investment Intelligence is an independent editorial guide. This page is general information, not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice, and we never promise returns. Indonesian regulations and customary (adat) land rights are complex and change — verify everything with licensed Indonesian counsel, a notaris, and customary-law experts before any decision. Where useful we can introduce you to vetted independent partners; we may receive a referral fee, at no cost to you.

A due-diligence checklist for a Raja Ampat dive resort is a structured review of every legal, environmental, and community layer that must be verified before any acquisition proceeds — and it differs meaningfully from a standard Indonesian property transaction because Raja Ampat adds three overlapping risk systems that Bali-generic guides routinely ignore: customary adat (clan) land tenure, a ~2-million-hectare Marine Protected Area network, and West Papua’s Special Autonomy legislation. Skipping any one of those layers is how investors end up with a signed agreement and a resort they cannot legally operate.

This checklist is divided into six workstreams. Run them in parallel where possible, but do not close any workstream early. A clean corporate structure cannot cure a defective adat consent; a valid land certificate cannot cure a missing AMDAL. The goal of the checklist is not to produce a green light — it is to give you the complete information set you need to price risk accurately and decide on your own terms.

This page provides information only. Nothing here constitutes legal, financial, or investment advice. Indonesian investment, land, licensing, and tax regulations change frequently. Engage licensed Indonesian counsel, a registered notaris, and where applicable a customary-law specialist before acting on anything documented here.

Workstream 1: Corporate Entity

If you are buying a resort through share acquisition — purchasing 100% of a holding PT rather than the assets directly — the corporate layer is the first place problems hide. Sales pitches often describe a target as a “PT with all permits in order.” That phrase needs methodical verification, not trust.

NIB and OSS Status

• Obtain the NIB (Nomor Induk Berusaha) and verify it is active on OSS (oss.go.id). A lapsed NIB can suspend downstream license validity.
• Confirm the NIB-linked business entity matches the legal entity you are acquiring share-for-share. Name changes, mergers, or predecessor companies sometimes leave the NIB attached to an entity that no longer exists in the same form.
• Check that the NIB was issued under the current risk-based licensing framework (PP 5/2021, the Omnibus Law implementing regulations). Pre-2021 NIBs may carry legacy conditions.

KBLI Business Scope

• Pull the full list of KBLI (Standard Business Field Classification) codes registered on OSS against the entity. They must cover every revenue-generating activity: accommodation (e.g. 55111 star hotel, 55112 non-star, or similar villa/resort codes), restaurant/F&B (56101/56102), diving or marine recreation (commonly under 93119 or 93299), and marine charter/transport (50119 or similar) if the resort operates its own boats.
• A KBLI mismatch — running dive excursions under an accommodation-only code, for instance — is a licensing violation that can expose the existing operator to sanction, and which you inherit on acquisition.
• Confirm whether any KBLI codes require a separate Sectoral License (Izin Usaha) beyond the NIB itself. Marine tourism and AMDAL-category activities do.

Shareholder and Director Structure

• Obtain the current Akta Pendirian and all subsequent deed amendments (akta perubahan) from Kemenkumham (MOLHR) records. Verify the shareholder register matches what the seller represents.
• Check for any nominee arrangement. Under Article 10(1) of Law 25/2007 on Investment, nominee share-holding by an Indonesian on behalf of a foreign party is explicitly prohibited and exposes the company to dissolution, forfeiture, and criminal liability. If you find nominee structures in a target, treat that as a material defect requiring full remediation before closing — not a post-closing fix.
• Confirm the company has the minimum statutory structure: at least 2 shareholders, at least 1 director, and at least 1 commissioner (for a PT PMA subject to BKPM oversight).
• Check the BKPM investment approval or RPTKA (workforce plan) for any condition on minimum local employment ratio.

Minimum Investment Plan Compliance

• PT PMA tourism entities are classified as “large enterprises,” requiring an investment plan exceeding IDR 10 billion per KBLI per project location, excluding land and buildings (PP 7/2021 MSME thresholds). Confirm the investment plan on record is consistent with the actual capital deployed and that LKPM (Investment Activity Reports) have been filed quarterly. Missing LKPM filings are a common deficiency that accumulates penalties.
• Paid-up capital requirements have shifted: as of late 2025, advisors commonly cite IDR 2.5 billion minimum paid-up (25% of IDR 10 billion), though earlier guidance cited the full IDR 10 billion. Verify the current in-force BKPM regulation before relying on either figure.

If the target is structured as a share sale, you are acquiring all disclosed and undisclosed liabilities. A clean KBLI and NIB are necessary but not sufficient. Continue to workstream two before drawing any conclusion about the entity.

Workstream 2: Land, Lease, and Adat Consent

This is where Raja Ampat acquisitions diverge most sharply from comparable deals in Bali or Lombok. Most land in the Raja Ampat regency — including coastal strips, small islands, and reef-adjacent areas — is customary adat land held by clans (marga or keret) under rights recognized by Constitution Article 18B(2) and the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA, Law 5/1960). It is typically unregistered with BPN (the National Land Agency), which means there is no certificate you can simply pull from the land-title register and call it done.

BPN Certificate Status

• Request the land certificate (Sertipikat Hak) from the seller and independently verify it at the local BPN office. Confirm the title type: a PT PMA can hold HGB (Hak Guna Bangunan / Right to Build) or Hak Pakai (Right to Use). Foreigners and foreign entities cannot hold Hak Milik (freehold). Any Hak Milik standing in the name of an Indonesian nominee on behalf of a foreign investor is a nominee structure — see workstream 1.
• Check the HGB tenure and renewal dates. Post-PP 18/2021 the framework is 30+20+30 years (maximum 80 years). Confirm remaining term and any conditions on renewal. A resort with 8 years left on its HGB and no renewal guarantee has a different risk profile than one with 50 years.
• If the land is held as Hak Sewa (contractual lease) rather than HGB or Hak Pakai, there is no BPN registration — you are relying entirely on the lease agreement and its enforceability. Scrutinize the parties, the term, renewal provisions, and whether the lessor had clear authority to lease.
• Check for any encumbrances: mortgages (hak tanggungan), litigation annotations (sita jaminan), or boundary disputes registered on the certificate.

Adat (Customary) Land Verification

• Identify the clan(s) (marga/keret) whose customary territory covers the land. This almost always requires on-the-ground inquiry, not desk review. A BPN certificate, even a valid one, does not extinguish adat claims if the registration process did not involve proper clan consent.
• Obtain and review the original adat consent agreement (kesepakatan adat or surat pernyataan). Look for: (a) which clan representatives signed, (b) whether they had authority to bind the whole clan, (c) whether benefit-sharing terms (profit share, employment quotas, community fund contributions) are clearly specified, and (d) what happens on transfer of the business to a third party.
• Independently verify with current clan leadership that: (i) the agreement is still recognized, (ii) there are no rival claims from related clans or from younger-generation clan members, and (iii) the seller’s departure from the relationship is itself acceptable to the clan. A clan that consented to Operator A may not automatically accept Operator B under the same terms.
• West Papua’s Special Autonomy laws (Law 21/2001 as amended by Law 2/2021) recognize Orang Asli Papua (indigenous Papuan) land and resource rights explicitly and empower local governments to enact Perdasus/Perdasi regulations on consent and benefit-sharing. Check whether any relevant Perdasus is in force in Raja Ampat regency at the time of your transaction, and whether the existing consent process satisfies it.
• Look for overlapping concessions. Adat land in Raja Ampat can be simultaneously claimed as state land, forestry concession territory, marine concession area, or — as the 2025 nickel-mining scandal demonstrated — an active or recently revoked mining permit zone. A title that looks clean in BPN records may sit inside a zone where a competing claim has been administratively asserted. Cross-check with KLHK (Ministry of Environment and Forestry) and ESDM (Energy and Mineral Resources) concession maps.

Coastal and Island-Specific Rules

• Coastal and small-island land carries additional restrictions under Law 27/2007 (as amended by Law 1/2014) on coastal zone and small-island management. Mining on small islands is broadly prohibited under this law — a relevant precedent for understanding what the regulatory attitude toward high-impact development on small islands looks like.
• If the resort sits on reclaimed land or over-water structures, confirm those were constructed with explicit permits (see workstream 3 on PBG), not informally. Un-permitted over-water structures are a category of violation that enforcement periodically targets.

The combination of a registered BPN certificate AND a current, broadly-consented adat agreement AND no competing concession is the standard you are trying to reach. Any one of those three missing is a material risk, not a minor document gap.

Workstream 3: Permits — Building, Tourism, Environmental, and Marine

Dive resort operations in Raja Ampat touch at least four distinct permit families. Sellers who represent their resort as “fully permitted” frequently mean one or two of these, not all four. Obtain and independently verify each category.

Building Permit (PBG)

• The PBG (Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung) replaced the IMB under the Job Creation Law. Confirm a valid PBG exists for each built structure: bungalows, dive center, restaurant, jetty, generator building, water storage.
• Verify the PBG reflects the actual footprint. A common situation is a PBG issued for 8 bungalows on 2,000 m² while the resort actually operates 14 bungalows on an expanded footprint. The gap is a potential enforcement target and an obstacle to future building-permit amendments.
• For over-water structures (jetty, pier, water-bungalow), the relevant authority may include the Syahbandar (Harbormaster), the local Marine and Fisheries Service, and the Marine Park Authority in addition to the regency building office. A jetty without Syahbandar clearance is a frequent deficiency.
• Check construction setback compliance. Coastal setback requirements (garis sempadan pantai) apply to permanent structures; building within the restricted zone without a specific permit is a violation. Setback specifications sit in the regency spatial plan (RTRW) and coastal zone plan (RZWP3K).

Tourism Business License (TDUP)

• The TDUP (Tanda Daftar Usaha Pariwisata), also referred to as an Izin Usaha Pariwisata or registration certificate depending on the risk category, is the foundational tourism business authorization. Confirm it is active, matches the current legal entity name and address, and covers all operating activities (accommodation, F&B, dive/recreation if bundled).
• Check the issuing authority and whether any renewal cycle applies. Tourism licenses in Indonesia have migrated to OSS risk-based issuance, but legacy TDUP documents may carry renewal obligations that were not migrated cleanly.
• Verify there are no suspension or revocation notices on file with the local Dinas Pariwisata (Tourism Office).

Environmental Assessment (AMDAL or UKL-UPL)

• Whether a project requires a full AMDAL (environmental impact assessment) or the lighter UKL-UPL (environmental management and monitoring plan) depends on scale, location, and activity type — a resort inside or adjacent to an MPA, with a jetty, dive operations, and wastewater output, would typically be in AMDAL territory.
• Obtain the approved AMDAL/UKL-UPL document, the RKL-RPL (environmental management and monitoring plan), and the most recent RKL-RPL implementation reports. Ongoing RKL-RPL reporting is a compliance obligation. Sellers who present the approval document but cannot produce any periodic implementation reports have been running operationally non-compliant.
• Check for any Environmental Permit (Izin Lingkungan / PKPLH) issued by KLHK or the provincial environment service, and confirm it has not been suspended or revoked. Permit revocations in the Raja Ampat region have happened in adjacent sectors (the 2025 mining permit revocations, while in the extractive sector, are evidence of how decisively authorities can act when political will aligns).
• Look for any Surat Peringatan (warning letters) from the Environment Service issued against the resort for pollution, waste disposal, or construction violations. These do not always appear in the permit documents themselves — you need a direct inquiry to the provincial KLHK office.

Marine Tourism and Dive Operation Permits

• Marine recreation / dive operations require a separate authorization, typically an Izin Usaha Wisata Bahari (marine tourism business license) or equivalent, issued by the relevant Marine and Fisheries Service (Dinas Kelautan dan Perikanan). Confirm the resort has this, not only a general TDUP.
• Confirm the resort’s dive boats and any charter vessels have: (a) ship registration (Surat Ukur / Surat Tanda Kebangsaan Kapal), (b) seaworthiness certification from Syahbandar, (c) crew competency certificates and adequate life-safety equipment, and (d) marine tourism operator authorization for the specific routes/zones operated.
• Check whether any of the resort’s dive site access depends on mooring buoys installed under a specific permit from the Marine Park Authority. Some sites in Raja Ampat restrict access to operators who have contributed to mooring installation and maintenance. Verify the resort’s status with the KKP UPTD BLUD (Raja Ampat Marine Park Authority).
• If the resort operates within the Raja Ampat shark and ray sanctuary — which covers the entire regency’s waters — confirm operational protocols comply with the sanctuary’s prohibition on catching, injuring, possessing, or trading any shark or ray species. Guest encounters are permitted; handling, feeding, or directing sharks/rays is not in most interpretations. Dive guides should have clarity on the rules in writing.

This is the workstream most frequently misrepresented as complete when it is not. A common pattern: the resort has a valid TDUP and a historical AMDAL approval, but RKL-RPL reports have not been filed in two years, the dive boat certificates have lapsed, and no one has updated the NIB to include the marine tourism KBLI. Each gap is individually manageable, but you need to know all of them before negotiating price.

Ready to get independent legal eyes across all four permit families? Connect with our team and we can refer you to vetted Indonesian counsel and notaries who practice in the West Papua jurisdiction. You can also reach us on WhatsApp for a quick preliminary discussion before you travel.

Workstream 4: Spatial Plan Compliance (KKPR)

The KKPR (Kesesuaian Kegiatan Pemanfaatan Ruang) — Spatial Activity Suitability Confirmation — is the document that confirms the proposed business activity is lawfully permitted in the spatial zone where the property sits. Under the Omnibus Law framework, a KKPR is required before most new investment activities, but legacy resort acquisitions may not have one if the original build pre-dates the OSS KKPR system.

Checking the KKPR

• Ask the seller for the KKPR or its predecessor (Izin Lokasi / location permit). If one exists, verify it against the RTRW (Regional Spatial Plan) of Raja Ampat Regency and the RZWP3K (Coastal and Small-Island Spatial Plan) of West Papua Province. These documents assign each parcel of land and sea to a designated zone: residential, tourism, conservation, forestry, mining, agricultural, or marine protected area. Only parcels in a tourism or compatible zone can support a resort operation.
• A resort built in a conservation zone without a specific tourism-use designation, or inside a core no-take MPA zone, may be operating on a KKPR that was issued incorrectly or not at all. Spatial-plan non-compliance is a fundamental defect — it cannot be cured by any amount of permit-patching downstream.
• The Raja Ampat UNESCO Global Geopark designation (2023) added an additional spatial layer. While the geopark does not prohibit all development, projects inside geopark boundaries face heightened scrutiny and in practice will struggle to obtain the KKPR confirmations needed for significant construction. Verify where the resort sits relative to the geopark boundary map.
• Cross-reference any forestry designation (APL vs kawasan hutan) on the land, accessed through the KLHK Geoportal. Land in Kawasan Hutan (Forest Estate) cannot be developed for resort use without an Izin Pinjam Pakai Kawasan Hutan (Forest Area Borrow-Use Permit), which is difficult to obtain and time-limited.

MPA Zoning

• The Raja Ampat MPA network comprises 7 MPAs covering approximately 13,550 km² of marine area, managed under the KKP UPTD BLUD. Within this network, zones are designated as: Zona Inti (core no-take, no construction), Zona Perlindungan (protection zone, highly restricted), Zona Pemanfaatan Terbatas (limited-use, including regulated tourism), and Zona Pemanfaatan (utilization/tourism zone). Only the last two support dive resort operations of any scale.
• Obtain the MPA management plan document or zone map from the Marine Park Authority and confirm the resort’s operational zone designation. A resort in a limited-use zone may face capacity restrictions that a utilization-zone operation does not.
• The Dampier Strait is designated as the primary tourism zone in published management frameworks, but the full zoning map is not always easily accessible from outside the region. Plan a visit to the Marine Park Authority office in Waisai during your due-diligence trip.

Workstream 5: Debts, Taxes, and Outstanding Violations

A share acquisition in particular means you inherit every obligation the PT carries, disclosed or not. This workstream is about finding liabilities the seller may not volunteer.

Tax Compliance

• Request the last three years of corporate income tax returns (SPT Tahunan PPh Badan) and confirm they were filed on time. A company with unfiled returns has latent tax liabilities that will fall to you post-acquisition.
• Check for any open Tax Assessment Letters (Surat Ketetapan Pajak / SKP) or Tax Collection Letters (Surat Tagihan Pajak / STP) from DGT. These do not always show in corporate filings — request a formal tax-standing confirmation letter from the seller’s accountant and independently verify with DGT if possible.
• Verify PBB (Property and Building Tax) payments are current. Arrears on PBB accumulate penalties and create a lien on the land. Check both the annual PBB notice (SPPT) and payment receipts.
• Confirm Hotel and Restaurant Tax obligations have been settled with the Regency Revenue Service (Bapenda Raja Ampat). Local tax compliance is separately administered from the DGT system and is easy to overlook in national-level due diligence.
• Check VAT registration and VAT return filing if the business is VAT-registered. Unremitted VAT is a criminal liability in Indonesia, not merely a civil debt.

Labor and BPJS Compliance

• Confirm BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (employment social security) and BPJS Kesehatan (health insurance) contributions are current for all registered employees. Arrears trigger penalties and potential criminal exposure for directors.
• Request employee registers and check whether the resort has any active labor disputes or termination claims filed with the Disnaker (Labor Office). Resorts in remote areas with irregular operations sometimes have informal workforce arrangements that create constructive-employment claims when businesses are sold or restructured.
• Check that any required local-Papuan hiring or training obligations in the adat agreement and/or any investor agreement with the regency have been met. Failure to honor these commitments is a source of community grievance that can, in practice, disrupt operations independently of any formal legal action.

Debts and Contingent Liabilities

• Request the last two years of audited or reviewed financial statements. For a small resort PT, audited accounts may not exist — if not, request management accounts plus bank statements and verify independently where possible.
• Check for outstanding bank loans secured against company assets or land. A mortgage (hak tanggungan) registered on the BPN certificate must be discharged before or at closing.
• Ask specifically about any contingent liabilities: supplier claims, contractor disputes, guest injury claims, unpaid vendor invoices. Remote-island resorts sometimes carry long-tail payables to Sorong-based fuel and food suppliers that do not appear on internal accounts.
• Verify whether there are any existing legal proceedings (civil or administrative) involving the entity, its directors, or the land. Conduct searches at the local district court and administrative court registries.

Regulatory Violations and Warning History

• Contact the local Marine Park Authority (KKP UPTD BLUD in Waisai) and ask directly whether the resort has any open compliance issues, warning letters, or unpaid Marine Park fees. There is no central published register — this requires direct engagement.
• Similarly inquire with the local environment service (Dinas Lingkungan Hidup) for any unresolved environmental complaints or enforcement actions.
• Check with Dinas Pariwisata whether any license suspension or non-renewal issues are on file.

Workstream 6: Verifying the “PT with All Permits” Claim

When a resort listing advertises itself as a “PT company with all permits included” — a formulation used in at least one prominent Raja Ampat listing — the due-diligence obligation is to operationalize exactly what “all permits” means and verify each one independently. This section consolidates the specific verification steps.

Document Request List

Ask the seller to produce all of the following before entering a binding or semi-binding arrangement:

Corporate

Akta Pendirian + all Akta Perubahan; NIB printout from OSS; BKPM investment approval; shareholder register; director/commissioner data + NPWP; LKPM filings for the last 2 years

Land

Land certificate (Sertipikat Hak) from BPN; PPJB / Perjanjian Sewa (lease agreement) if applicable; adat consent document(s) and benefit-sharing agreement; any Izin Lokasi / KKPR

Building

PBG (or legacy IMB) for each structure; site plan showing actual footprint; Syahbandar clearance for jetty/pier

Tourism

TDUP / Izin Usaha Pariwisata; Izin Usaha Wisata Bahari (marine tourism license); dive boat documents (ship registration, seaworthiness certs, crew certs)

Environmental

AMDAL or UKL-UPL approval; all RKL-RPL periodic implementation reports; PKPLH / Environmental Permit

Tax & HR

3 years SPT Tahunan PPh Badan; PBB payment receipts; BPJS payment records; labor register

Marine Park

Marine Park fee payment records (IDR 700,000/foreign guest, IDR 425,000/domestic, per the current KKP UPTD BLUD rate); any specific operator authorization from the Marine Park Authority

Independent Verification Steps

• OSS portal: search the NIB and entity name to confirm active status and KBLI match.
• BPN office (Kantor Pertanahan Raja Ampat / Sorong): physically verify the certificate, check for registered encumbrances, and request a formal certificate-of-ownership check (pengecekan sertipikat).
• Notaris: engage a registered Indonesian notaris to conduct corporate due diligence and prepare or review the acquisition structure. In Raja Ampat transactions, specifically choose a notaris with West Papua practice experience, not a Bali-based generalist.
• Dinas Pariwisata Raja Ampat: confirm TDUP status and any filed complaints.
• KKP UPTD BLUD Waisai: verify MPA zoning, fee payment status, and any compliance notices.
• DLH (Environment Service): confirm AMDAL/UKL-UPL status, RKL-RPL submission status, and any open violations.
• DGT (Tax Authority) / Bapenda: obtain tax-standing confirmation; verify PBB and local tax status.
• Adat community site visit: this cannot be replaced by document review. A visit to the relevant village(s), introduced by a trusted local intermediary, to hear directly from current clan leadership what their understanding of the agreement is and what their expectations are of a new owner, is an essential due-diligence step with no administrative substitute.

Red Flags That Should Pause or Stop a Transaction

• Seller is unable or unwilling to produce any of the core documents above within a reasonable timeframe.
• Land certificate name does not match the PT entity, or the PT entity name has changed without a corresponding BPN notation.
• Adat consent agreement was signed by a single individual described as “clan head” but cannot be verified with current community leadership.
• AMDAL approval is more than 10 years old with no RKL-RPL reports ever filed.
• Marine Park fee records show gaps of more than one season, suggesting the resort was operating guests through the MPA fee system without paying or without ensuring guests paid.
• LKPM filings are missing for multiple consecutive quarters.
• Any nominee structure in the shareholder register, whether explicitly described as such or evident from the economic arrangement.
• The resort sits on land that appears in KLHK’s forest-estate maps or near a recently revoked (or contested) mining concession boundary.
• Seller describes the deal as “urgent” or requires a non-refundable deposit before documents are shared.

The table below summarizes the six workstreams with their primary verification authorities:

Workstream	Key Documents	Verification Authority	Critical Risk if Missed
Corporate (PT/NIB/KBLI)	Akta, NIB, KBLI list, LKPM	OSS portal, Kemenkumham, BKPM	Inherited liabilities; invalid licensing scope
Land, Lease & Adat	BPN certificate, adat agreement, KKPR/Izin Lokasi	BPN local office, clan leaders, notaris	Unenforceable tenure; community dispute; concession overlap
Permits (PBG/TDUP/Marine)	PBG, TDUP, Izin Wisata Bahari, boat certs	Dinas Pariwisata, Syahbandar, KKP UPTD BLUD	Operating unlawfully; enforcement shutdown
Environmental (AMDAL)	AMDAL/UKL-UPL approval, RKL-RPL reports	KLHK / Dinas LH provincial & regency	Environmental permit revocation; fines
Spatial (KKPR/MPA zone)	KKPR, RTRW, RZWP3K, MPA zone map	BPN/ATR, Bappeda, KKP, KLHK Geoportal	Activity in prohibited zone; structural non-compliance
Debts, Taxes & Violations	Tax returns, PBB receipts, BPJS records, financials	DGT, Bapenda, Disnaker, courts	Inherited tax arrears, labor claims, litigation

Running the Process: Practical Sequencing

No single visit to Raja Ampat completes a full due-diligence process on a resort. The regency capital is Waisai on Waigeo Island, reached by fast ferry from Sorong (typically 2–3 hours, economy fares around IDR 100,000–150,000 for Indonesians; rates vary). Most government offices are in Waisai or Sorong; the Marine Park Authority BLUD is in Waisai. For remote resorts on Misool or outlying islands, add significant additional transit time.

A realistic sequencing: start with document collection and OSS/BPN desk review before your first trip, so you arrive with a prioritized gap list rather than starting from scratch. Use the first in-person visit for the government-office rounds (Dinas Pariwisata, KKP UPTD BLUD, BPN) and the community visit with clan leadership. Reserve a second visit — or instruct local counsel to conduct follow-up on your behalf — to resolve whatever gaps the first round identifies. Many transactions take three to six months from first document request to a fully verified picture.

This is not a process to compress. The remote-island environment, the customary-land layer, and the MPA governance system each add time that cannot be factored away. Investors who rush this phase consistently report discovering material defects post-closing that were visible in the documents if anyone had looked carefully.

If you are at the stage of evaluating a specific target and want an independent second opinion on the structure or the documents you have been given, reach out to our editorial team. We can refer you to licensed Indonesian counsel with West Papua experience and connect you to qualified local intermediaries. WhatsApp is often the most practical first contact when you are in the field.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a foreigner buy a Raja Ampat resort outright as an individual?

No. Indonesian law (UUPA, Law 5/1960) prohibits foreigners from holding Hak Milik (freehold title). An individual foreign buyer cannot own land or buildings directly. The standard vehicle for a foreign investor is a PT PMA (foreign-capital limited liability company), which can hold HGB or Hak Pakai over land. Nominee arrangements — using an Indonesian national to hold the title on behalf of a foreign buyer — are explicitly illegal under Article 10(1) of Law 25/2007 and expose the asset to forfeiture.

What is the biggest due-diligence risk specific to Raja Ampat that doesn’t apply in Bali?

Adat (customary clan) land tenure is the standout risk. Most Raja Ampat coastline and islands are held under unregistered clan ownership, not formal BPN title. A BPN certificate, even a valid one, does not necessarily mean the clan has given informed and current consent. A dispute with the clan that originally agreed — or with a rival clan asserting overlapping rights — can block access, disrupt staff, and generate reputational damage that no court order resolves quickly. Verifying adat consent requires site visits and community engagement, not desk review.

How do I verify that a “PT with all permits” claim is actually true?

Start with a document request covering all six workstreams listed in this checklist: corporate (NIB, KBLI, Akta, LKPM), land (BPN certificate, adat agreement, KKPR), building (PBG per structure), tourism (TDUP and marine tourism license), environmental (AMDAL/UKL-UPL plus RKL-RPL implementation reports), and tax/HR compliance. Then independently verify each document with the issuing authority. In practice, engage a West Papua-experienced Indonesian notaris and lawyer to conduct the corporate and land checks, visit the Dinas Pariwisata and KKP UPTD BLUD offices in Waisai yourself, and do not skip the on-the-ground community visit.

What happens to permits and adat agreements when I acquire the shares of a resort PT?

A share acquisition transfers ownership of the PT entity, which in principle carries its existing permits, land rights, and agreements with it. However, some permits include change-of-control notifications or approvals as conditions — check each permit document for such clauses. Adat agreements may be personal to the original investor-community relationship and may not automatically bind a new owner in the community’s eyes, even if the legal document does not require novation. Proactively meeting with clan leadership before or at closing, and formally acknowledging the agreement under new ownership, is advisable practice regardless of what the document strictly requires.

Is the nickel-mining controversy in 2025 relevant to resort investors?

Yes, indirectly. The 2025 revocation of four nickel mining permits in Raja Ampat — affecting concessions on Kawe, Manuran, Manyaifun, Batang Pele, and Waigeo islands — demonstrated that conservation and reputational pressure can trigger permit revocations relatively quickly when there is political will. For resort investors, the relevant takeaway is twofold: first, overlapping concession maps are a real risk (some of those mining concession areas sat inside the UNESCO Global Geopark boundaries), so spatial due diligence must include concession-map cross-checks. Second, the episode reinforced the regency’s stated policy direction toward conservation-aligned tourism over extraction, which is broadly favorable for compliant dive resort operators. NGOs have noted, however, that as of late 2025 there was limited evidence of actual administrative revocation decrees having been issued, so the situation warrants ongoing monitoring.