Sam Altman receives Indonesia’s first golden visa

Photo credit: Y Combinator

The Indonesian Directorate General of Immigration has granted the country’s first golden visa to OpenAI founder Sam Altman.

With the visa, Altman may freely enter, reside, and start companies in Indonesia over a 10-year period. He can also own local assets and apply for citizenship on a fast track.

While the golden visa’s primary target is foreign investors looking to establish companies in Indonesia, Altman is part of a subcategory of “figures with an international reputation who can provide benefits to Indonesia,” Silmy Karim, Indonesia’s director general of immigration, said in a statement.

Karim added that golden visa recipients must first be endorsed by the central government. In Altman’s case, the call came from the highest office possible: President Joko Widodo himself, according to Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, last month.

Aside from global figures, potential recipients include investors, digital nomads, and former Indonesian citizens who live overseas.

Individual investors planning to set up a company in the archipelago need to invest US$2.5 million in paid-up capital for a five-year visa or US$5 million for a 10-year visa.

Meanwhile, corporate applicants can inject US$25 million for a five-year stay or US$50 million for a 10-year stay. The company’s directors and commissioners will each hold the visa.

Investors who don’t plan to start a company will need to set aside US$350,000 for a five-year visa or US$700,000 for a 10-year visa. For these investors, the funds may be invested in Indonesian government bonds, shares of listed companies, or fixed deposits and savings accounts.

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