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.
To set up a PT PMA to open a dive resort in Raja Ampat, a foreign investor must incorporate a Penanaman Modal Asing (foreign-capital limited-liability company) under Indonesian law, obtain environmental and spatial approvals specific to West Papua, clear a risk-based OSS license via BKPM, and comply with a set of Papua Special Autonomy rules that Bali-centric incorporation guides simply ignore. The process takes roughly eight to sixteen weeks from first notarial deed to operational NIB — longer if your land involves customary clan tenure, which most Raja Ampat sites do.
This guide maps the sequence. It is a regulatory map, not legal advice. Before you sign anything, retain a licensed Indonesian notaris, an OSS-registered investment consultant, and — because you are in Papua — a local legal practitioner familiar with Otsus and adat land. Those are different skill sets, and conflating them is a common and expensive mistake.
Why the Standard PT PMA Guide Does Not Work Here
Every major Bali-focused incorporation firm publishes a PT PMA checklist. Most of those checklists assume a Badung or Gianyar address, a hotel or villa KBLI, and a standard BPN land title waiting to be converted. Raja Ampat gives you none of those defaults.
Your resort will likely sit on a remote island reachable only from Sorong. The land may carry no BPN certificate at all — it is almost certainly tanah ulayat, clan-held customary land, which the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA, Law No. 5/1960) recognizes but which ordinary Hak Guna Bangunan procedures were not designed for. The Marine Protected Area network — roughly 13,550 km² of marine area — imposes environmental review requirements and zoning limits that do not appear in any standard hotel-license checklist. And West Papua’s Special Autonomy framework (Law 21/2001, amended by Law 2/2021) gives indigenous Papuans strengthened land and resource rights that need to be addressed before any government permit will stick.
None of this makes the project impossible. It does make the sequencing matter more than it does in Bali.
Step 1 — Pre-Incorporation: Land, Zoning, and Adat Clearance
Most investors want to start with the company. In Raja Ampat, start with the land and zoning instead. Incorporating first and sorting land second wastes months and money if the site turns out to be inside a no-development zone or contested between two clans.
Spatial Plan Confirmation (KKPR)
Request a Kesesuaian Kegiatan Pemanfaatan Ruang (KKPR — spatial-use conformity confirmation) from the relevant authority. For projects in Raja Ampat Regency, this flows through the local government and the West Papua Provincial Spatial Plan (RTRW). The marine equivalent, RZWP3K, governs coastal and marine zones. Within the Raja Ampat MPA, construction is zoned into zona inti (strict no-take core zones where resort development is not permitted) and zona pemanfaatan (utilization/tourism zones where it may be). Confirm which zone your site falls in before anything else.
Adat Land and FPIC
Much of Raja Ampat’s coastline and most of its small islands are held under customary clan (marga or keret) ownership — unregistered, unmapped by BPN, and not transferable by individual sale. A lease agreement signed with one clan elder may be challenged by other clan members or successors. Papua Special Autonomy law obliges local government to protect hak ulayat, and international practice expects Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the affected community — not just a signature on a piece of paper.
The practical structure that works: negotiate a long-term use agreement with the clan, often combining a lease payment, profit-sharing or royalty, employment quotas for community members, and a community-development fund. The clan may become a shareholder in the PT PMA or a co-holder of the land right. Once clan consent is solid and documented, that underlying agreement supports a formal registered land right — typically HGB (Hak Guna Bangunan, right to build) held by the PT PMA — which BPN can issue over the leased area.
Do not skip this step and assume a notaris can paper over it later. Disputes triggered by inadequate adat consent have delayed and ended resort projects across Papua.
Step 2 — Company Formation: Deed and MOLHR Approval
With a credible land path established, you can incorporate. The PT PMA deed must be prepared by a licensed Indonesian notaris (notary-public). For Raja Ampat projects, most investors use a notaris in Sorong — the nearest city with professional services — or Jakarta for the main company deed, with local representation for land instruments.
The deed sets out:
- Company name (must not duplicate or confusingly resemble an existing name; search the Ministry of Law’s AHU database first)
- Registered address — if your project is in Raja Ampat Regency, the company address should reflect West Papua; using a Bali address for a Raja Ampat operation creates regulatory complications later
- Shareholders and ownership percentages (minimum two shareholders)
- Board structure: at least one director and one commissioner; foreign nationals may be directors, subject to KITAS requirements (covered below)
- Authorized, issued, and paid-up capital — see the capital discussion in Step 3
- Business scope, expressed via KBLI 2020 codes — critically important; covered in Step 4
After the deed is signed, the notaris submits it to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (MOLHR / Kemenkumham) for legal entity approval. MOLHR approval typically takes one to three weeks via the AHU online system.
Step 3 — Capital: The Number That Keeps Changing
This is the figure you will see quoted inconsistently, and candidly, the inconsistency matters.
- Investment plan threshold
- A PT PMA is classified as a large enterprise, which means its investment plan must exceed IDR 10 billion per KBLI business field per project location, excluding the value of land and buildings. This derives from PP 7/2021 MSME thresholds. It is not a paid-up capital requirement — it is the minimum project investment value that qualifies an entity to be treated as a large enterprise and thus eligible for PT PMA status at all.
- Paid-up capital — the disputed figure
- Some advisors and the BKPM officially state minimum paid-up capital of IDR 2.5 billion (approximately USD 150,000 at mid-2026 rates), described as 25 percent of the IDR 10 billion threshold, effective after a regulatory update. Other advisors — including some who reviewed the same BKPM rules — continue to cite IDR 10 billion as the paid-up minimum. The discrepancy is real and unresolved in public English-language sources. Before finalizing your deed, confirm the current in-force figure directly with BKPM or a licensed OSS consultant. Do not rely on a blog post — including this one.
For a Raja Ampat dive resort, the IDR 10 billion investment plan threshold is almost always met anyway: land-use agreements, construction, dive equipment, boats, and infrastructure in a remote island setting routinely put total project cost well above that figure. The practical constraint is usually not the legal capital minimum but the logistics-driven project cost.
Step 4 — KBLI Code Selection: The Quiet License Gatekeeper
The Klasifikasi Baku Lapangan Usaha Indonesia (KBLI 2020) code you register determines which downstream licenses OSS will allow you to apply for. Getting this wrong costs months of amendment filings.
For a dive resort operation in Raja Ampat, the relevant codes span several categories. The primary revenue activity drives your main KBLI; ancillary activities need their own codes registered separately.
| Activity | KBLI 2020 Code (indicative) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Non-star hotel / lodge accommodation | 55112 | For resorts without star classification; confirm with OSS |
| Star-rated hotel | 55111 | If pursuing classification |
| Villa accommodation | 55199 | Often used for over-water bungalow setups; [VERIFY] |
| Restaurant / on-site dining | 56101 | Required if you serve meals to non-resident guests |
| Scuba diving / water sports recreation | 93119 or 93299 | Marine recreation activities; confirm exact subcode against OSS marine tourism list |
| Tour / marine excursion operator | 79122 | For day trips, snorkel tours, island-hopping packages |
| Sea passenger / charter transport | 50119 | For resort transfer boats if ticketed; check cabotage rules |
Two points deserve particular attention. First, micro and small-scale accommodation — think homestay-sized operations — is reserved for Indonesian MSMEs under the Positive Investment List (Perpres 10/2021, as amended by Perpres 49/2021). A PT PMA cannot legally operate at that scale under those codes. This is not a formality: it reflects deliberate policy to keep village-scale tourism in Papuan hands. Build to large-enterprise scale or restructure.
Second, marine recreational diving in a Marine Protected Area requires marine park authority permits on top of your KBLI-based OSS license. The OSS license establishes your legal business; the marine park permit establishes your right to operate within MPA boundaries. They are different instruments from different authorities.
Step 5 — OSS Registration and NIB
Once MOLHR approves the company deed, register via the OSS (Online Single Submission) portal, administered by BKPM (Ministry of Investment). OSS issues the NIB (Nomor Induk Berusaha), the primary business identification number under Indonesia’s risk-based licensing framework (PP 5/2021).
Under the risk-based system, your business activities are rated low, medium, or high risk. Tourism and marine recreation activities in an MPA zone tend toward medium-to-high risk, which means additional verification steps and compliance requirements rather than automatic issuance. The NIB functions as a business license for low-risk activities and as a prerequisite for sector-specific licenses for higher-risk ones.
PP 28/2025 updated the digital licensing framework — confirm with your consultant that you are filing under the current procedure, as OSS interface and required documents have shifted over successive regulatory cycles.
Step 6 — Environmental Clearance: AMDAL or UKL-UPL
Any resort construction in or adjacent to the Raja Ampat MPA will require an environmental impact assessment. The threshold that determines which instrument applies:
- AMDAL (full environmental impact assessment, Analisis Mengenai Dampak Lingkungan) — for projects above scale or significance thresholds set by KLHK (Ministry of Environment and Forestry). Resort construction in a sensitive coastal/MPA zone generally triggers AMDAL review.
- UKL-UPL (environmental management and monitoring plan) — for smaller-scale projects below AMDAL thresholds.
The AMDAL or UKL-UPL document must be prepared by a certified assessor, reviewed by the relevant environmental commission (usually provincial level for projects of this scale in West Papua), and approved before construction begins. Practically, the process takes three to six months for a credible AMDAL in a remote marine-zone location. Factor this into your timeline, not as a parallel track you can run while building, but as a legal prerequisite.
Separately, the Raja Ampat Marine Park Authority (UPTD BLUD) will require its own marine-operations permits for dive activities, boat moorings, and any jetty or pontoon structures within MPA waters. Anchoring on live coral is banned across the MPA; you will need designated mooring points and a mooring-maintenance plan.
Step 7 — Sector Licenses: TDUP and Marine Tourism Permits
Beyond the NIB, operating a dive resort requires sector-specific permits. The exact titles have shifted under the Omnibus Law rationalization, but the categories that remain relevant are:
- Tanda Daftar Usaha Pariwisata (TDUP) — tourism business registration, issued by the local government (Raja Ampat Regency Dinas Pariwisata). This is the core lodging/tourism operator permit at the regency level.
- Lodging license — for a resort-scale PT PMA, the equivalent of a full hotel/lodging license, not the homestay-category pondok wisata.
- Marine tourism business permit — izin usaha pariwisata bahari — for boat-based and dive-center operations. Issued at provincial or regency level; confirm jurisdiction for Raja Ampat waters.
- PBG (Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung) — replaced the old IMB building permit; required before and during construction of any structures. For over-water and coastal structures in West Papua, the coastal setback rules apply; confirm specifics with the local PUPR office.
A note on alcohol licensing, because it affects resort programming: selling alcohol in Raja Ampat (a majority Christian region of Papua) requires a separate retail alcohol distribution permit. The local regulatory environment differs from Bali; verify current Perda (regional regulation) status with the regency government before finalizing your resort concept.
If you are planning your Raja Ampat dive resort investment and want to map these permits to your specific project scope, our team can walk you through the sequencing. Plan your project with our concierge or reach us on WhatsApp — we work with vetted local legal and OSS specialists in Sorong and Jakarta.
Step 8 — KITAS for Foreign Directors
A foreign national serving as director of a PT PMA requires a Kartu Izin Tinggal Terbatas (KITAS) — a limited-stay permit — tied to the employment or investment relationship. For investors rather than employees, the relevant category is the Investor KITAS, which requires the PT PMA to be registered and active with BKPM, a minimum invested capital threshold (confirm with the immigration authority, as figures have changed under recent rules), and submission through the company’s online TKA (foreign manpower) sponsorship account.
Practical reality: the immigration office with jurisdiction over Raja Ampat sits in Sorong. Processing times vary; plan for four to eight weeks. A director who needs to be on-site during the construction and pre-opening phase — and most do — should time the KITAS application against the construction schedule, not against the formal opening date.
Foreign technical staff — dive instructors, resort managers, marine biologists — each require their own TKA (foreign worker utilization plan) approval and KITAS. Each position must be accompanied by an Indonesian counterpart in a companion-training role, per standard TKA rules. For a small dive resort, the practical implication is that you need an Indonesian staff development plan from day one, not as an afterthought.
Step 9 — Ongoing Compliance: LKPM, Tax, and Marine Park Reporting
Once operational, the PT PMA faces a standing compliance stack that is heavier than it looks in a setup guide.
LKPM (Investment Activity Report)
All PT PMA entities must file Laporan Kegiatan Penanaman Modal (LKPM) — investment activity reports — through the OSS system. The filing cadence is quarterly during the pre-operational/construction phase and continues after opening. Reports cover actual capital invested, employment numbers, and operational status. Missing filings attract administrative sanctions; BKPM has been actively enforcing this in recent years.
Corporate Tax and VAT
Corporate income tax is 22 percent under Law 7/2021 HPP. Small businesses with annual turnover below IDR 4.8 billion qualify for a 0.5 percent final income tax regime for the first three years — a PT PMA resort that is operational but still ramping up could qualify, but confirm eligibility with your tax consultant. VAT stands at 11 percent; a dive resort serving paying guests is a taxable supply. Hotel and restaurant tax at the regency level commonly runs around 10 percent, though local rates vary and West Papua regencies should be confirmed directly.
Dividend Withholding Tax
Profit repatriation attracts a 20 percent dividend withholding tax for shareholders in non-treaty countries. Indonesia has tax treaties with a range of countries that reduce this rate — the applicable rate depends on the shareholder’s tax residence. Structure your shareholding with this in mind from the start; restructuring later is possible but generates cost and transaction risk.
Marine Park Compliance
The Raja Ampat Marine Park Authority (UPTD BLUD) requires operating permits that need periodic renewal, and resorts are expected to contribute to conservation — in some cases through formal agreements with village patrol teams. The conservation entry fee paid by your guests (IDR 700,000 per foreign visitor, valid twelve months, multiple-entry) goes to the BLUD — this is separate from any conservation levy your operation may owe as an MPA permit holder. Budget for marine-park permit renewals and conservation compliance reporting as part of your annual operating cost.
Timeline and Cost Reality
Setup guides that quote four to eight weeks are technically correct for a standard Bali PT PMA with a clear land title and a simple KBLI. For a Raja Ampat dive resort, realistic sequencing looks more like this:
| Phase | Activity | Indicative Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-incorporation | Spatial/zoning check (KKPR), adat clan negotiation, land-use agreement | 1–6+ months (clan negotiation is not predictable) |
| Company formation | Name search, notarial deed, MOLHR approval | 2–4 weeks |
| OSS/NIB | BKPM OSS registration, NIB issuance | 1–3 weeks |
| Environmental clearance | AMDAL/UKL-UPL preparation and approval | 3–6 months |
| Sector licenses | TDUP, marine tourism permit, PBG building permit | 1–3 months (overlapping with AMDAL) |
| KITAS for directors | TKA approval + KITAS application | 4–8 weeks |
| Construction + MPA permits | Active build + mooring permits, ongoing LKPM filings | 6–18+ months (project-specific) |
Professional fees for the legal and consulting work — notaris, OSS consultant, AMDAL assessor, immigration — typically range from USD 2,000 to USD 8,000 for the incorporation and basic licensing phase alone, based on published ranges from several Indonesian incorporation firms. Complex projects with contested land, multiple KBLI registrations, or disputed adat claims cost more, sometimes substantially more.
The Sorong Factor
Sorong is your operational hub. The nearest serious legal, banking, and government-services infrastructure is there — the Domine Eduard Osok airport (SOQ) handles direct flights from Jakarta (roughly four to four-and-a-half hours; often routed via Makassar) and Manado. The fast ferry from Sorong to Waisai, the Raja Ampat regency capital on Waigeo Island, takes two to three hours and runs one to two departures per day. Government offices — DPMPTSP (the one-stop investment service), Dinas Pariwisata, immigration, BPN, environmental agencies — are in Sorong or Waisai, not on your island.
Practically, this means your incorporation consultant needs to either be based in or be willing to regularly travel to Sorong and Waisai. Jakarta-only firms that handle your Jakarta-side filings but have no West Papua relationships will slow you down on the regency-level permits that matter most. The better setup: a Jakarta firm for MOLHR and OSS, a Sorong-connected local firm for regency licenses and BPN land registration, and a separate adat-law practitioner if your land situation is complex.
One Risk That Does Not Appear on Any Checklist
In 2025, the Indonesian government announced the revocation of four nickel mining permits in Raja Ampat after intense public and NGO pressure — an event that underscores how quickly the regulatory environment can shift under political and conservation pressure. Subsequent NGO investigations found no published revocation decrees and questioned whether the permits were actually cancelled in law, not just in announcement. The gap between political signal and legal finality is real.
For a dive-resort investor, the lesson is not that your project faces mining risk — it is that permit security in Raja Ampat is tied to conservation alignment and community legitimacy in ways that standard Indonesian investment law does not fully capture. A project that the community supports, that the Marine Park Authority endorses, and that sits within an approved tourism zone is far more durable than a project that relies purely on a paper permit chain. Build the social licence alongside the legal one.
Ready to map the specific permits your project needs? Reach out to our concierge — we connect investors with vetted legal, OSS, and adat specialists in West Papua, and we can advise on how to sequence your entry. WhatsApp planning is available for time-sensitive questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a 100% foreign-owned PT PMA legally run a dive resort in Raja Ampat?
Yes, for large-scale resort and marine-recreation operations, the Positive Investment List (Perpres 10/2021, as amended by Perpres 49/2021) generally permits 100% foreign ownership in qualifying large-enterprise tourism categories. The carve-out applies to micro and small-scale accommodation, which is reserved for Indonesian MSMEs. A properly structured PT PMA that meets the large-enterprise investment threshold can hold the relevant KBLI registrations and operate a dive resort. Confirm the specific KBLI codes and any sector-specific conditions against the current Perpres annex with your legal counsel before finalizing.
What is the minimum paid-up capital to set up a PT PMA for a Raja Ampat dive resort?
This figure is disputed between advisors. One widely cited number is IDR 2.5 billion (roughly USD 150,000), described as 25% of the IDR 10 billion investment-plan threshold, effective after a 2025 regulatory update. Other advisors and older guidance cite the full IDR 10 billion as the paid-up minimum. Separately, the total investment plan (excluding land and buildings) must exceed IDR 10 billion to qualify as a large enterprise. Confirm the current in-force paid-up capital rule directly with BKPM or a licensed OSS consultant — the discrepancy in published sources is real, not a typo.
Which KBLI code should a Raja Ampat dive resort use?
A dive resort typically needs multiple KBLI registrations covering its primary activities: accommodation (55112 for non-star lodge; 55111 for star-rated), on-site dining (56101), marine recreation and diving (93119 or 93299 — confirm the exact code against the OSS marine tourism list), and tour operation if you run packages (79122). Register all activity codes that generate revenue; trying to operate under a single code while running ancillary revenue streams creates licensing complications. The KBLI choice also determines which OSS risk category applies to each activity.
Do I need an AMDAL for a small eco-resort in the Raja Ampat MPA?
Almost certainly yes for any new construction in or adjacent to MPA zones, though the threshold between AMDAL (full environmental impact assessment) and UKL-UPL (smaller-scale environmental management plan) depends on project scale and location sensitivity. In practice, construction near coral reef areas, within marine park boundaries, or on a small island in Raja Ampat tends to be classified as environmentally sensitive and triggers the full AMDAL process. A certified environmental assessor operating in West Papua can give you a definitive answer for your specific site and footprint.
Can I register my PT PMA with a Jakarta address if my resort is in Raja Ampat?
A Jakarta holding-company address does not exempt you from West Papua provincial and Raja Ampat regency permits; it just adds coordination complexity. Many investors use a Jakarta registered address for the holding company and establish an operational registration in Sorong or Waisai for local permit filings. Discuss the optimal structure with your notaris and OSS consultant before committing to an address, because the regency-level TDUP tourism permit is issued where the operation actually sits.