Can a foreigner open a restaurant in Bali: yes, through a PT PMA.

Can I open a restaurant in Bali as a foreigner: the route in brief.

You do not open the restaurant as a person. A company does: a PT PMA, the Indonesian limited company with foreign shareholders. Restaurants fall under KBLI 56101 (KBLI is the national business classification code). That code is not on the restricted lists of Presidential Regulation 10/2021 as amended by 49/2021, so foreigners may own all of the shares (Hukumonline Klinik with Easybiz, 25 June 2026).

What the company needs, in the order you will meet it:

• a plot or building whose zoning allows a restaurant, checked before the lease is signed;
• capital: IDR 2.5 billion paid up and an investment plan above IDR 10 billion;
• a business number (NIB) and the certificates of the medium-high risk tier;
• building approval (PBG) before construction and a worthiness certificate (SLF) after it.

This is a builder's reading of published sources, not legal advice. Partner notaries and licensing agents file the documents; the short version is on the restaurant licences page.

The regency rule is the part most summaries miss. Because food and beverage is counted per regency, a restaurant, a bar and a café in Badung can sit under one IDR 10 billion plan; a second outlet in Gianyar, where Ubud is, needs its own (Hukumonline).

The paid-up capital is working money, not a deposit you lose. Withers (October 2025) reads the regulation as keeping the cash in the company account for 12 months unless it is spent on capital expenditure or working capital, which construction and kitchen equipment are. Confirm the wording with your notary.

Note the gap: the plan figure is more than twice our 80-seat new-build example of IDR 3.5–4.7 billion (about USD 213,000–286,000), itself an indicative range for 2026; a fixed price follows drawings and a bill of quantities. Settle with your licensing agent how the plan is declared and reported before the deed is signed. Budget by line: how much it costs to open a restaurant in Bali and the cost calculator.

Tax for a foreign-owned restaurant after PP 20/2026.

• The 0.5% final tax is gone for companies. PP 20/2026, in force since 22 April 2026, limits it to individuals, single-owner companies and cooperatives; a PT PMA is taxed as a standard company (bali.live, updated 15 July 2026).
• Corporate income tax is 22%. Companies with turnover up to IDR 50 billion get a 50% rate cut on the income attributable to the first IDR 4.8 billion of turnover (ASEAN Briefing).
• Restaurant tax (PB1) is 10% of the bill, paid to the regency; Law 1/2022 caps it at 10%.
• Bars are a separate question. The same law sets entertainment tax for bars and nightclubs at 40–75% (Pajakku, November 2023). Whether a restaurant's bar sales fall under 10% or 40% depends on how the venue is licensed.

We have not verified the current dividend withholding rate for foreign shareholders; take it from a tax adviser.

Land and zoning: what a foreigner cannot do.

Foreign individuals cannot hold freehold land. The legal routes are a lease (Hak Sewa), typically 25–30 years, or a right to build (HGB) held by the PT PMA for 30 + 20 + 30 years under PP 18/2021. Commercial leases are often shorter, prepaid for 5 or 10 years (Horwath HTL, March 2026; Emerhub).

No nominee. Bali's Regional Regulation 4/2026, signed on 24 February 2026, prohibits holding land through a local nominee and is said to carry criminal sanctions, as reported by RRI. We do not build on nominee structures.

No productive land. Governor's Instruction 5/2025 forbids converting protected rice fields to non-agricultural use. After the September 2025 floods the governor ordered regencies to stop permits for hotels, villas and restaurants on productive farmland; dry, non-productive land stays open to them. Enforcement is real: 48 structures at Bingin Beach, restaurants among them, were demolished from 21 July 2025 (The Bali Sun); 13 buildings in the Jatiluwih rice terraces were sealed on 2 December 2025 (detik); the Parq complex in Ubud was closed on 20 January 2025 (Bali Discovery).

So the zoning check comes before the lease. The risk differs by area: rice-field protection around Pererenan and Seseh, cliff and coastal limits in Uluwatu. More: how to read a Bali commercial lease and can foreigners buy property in Bali.

Work permits for foreign owners and managers.

Owning shares and working in the restaurant are different things. If the company employs foreigners, a foreign manager or chef included, it needs an approved plan for employing foreign workers (RPTKA), which Hukumonline lists among the requirements. Visas and stay permits are a separate file for a visa agent; we do not handle them, and this guide does not cover them.

What we handle, and what stays with you.

We have built and opened restaurants in Bali; construction is carried out by the Kimo Construction team. On a foreign owner's project we handle the site and zoning check, design, building approval and worthiness certificate, construction, MEP, kitchen, fit-out and pre-opening. The company deed and licence filings go through partner notaries and licensing agents.

What stays with you: the concept, the capital, and how much of the venue you want to own. Order the whole project (open a restaurant in Bali turnkey), build on land you already lease (restaurant construction), or take shares in the Indonesian company (PT PMA) that holds the lease and licences of a venue we are opening (co-ownership). Send the area, concept, seats and whether you have land on WhatsApp.