Organizing Sports Events in Indonesia: Permits, Structure, and KITAS Rules

In July 2026, Indonesian immigration imposed travel bans on the two foreign founders of a Canggu run club. The case made national news over screenshots suggesting the club turned away Indonesian members, but the officials who spoke publicly pointed at something more basic.

The Regent of Badung stated that any running event, whether organized by Indonesians or foreigners, must hold a permit. The Governor of Bali confirmed this particular event had none. And the organizers' stay permits did not authorize them to run events in the first place.

None of this means community sports events are unwelcome in Indonesia. Run clubs, races, and sports meetups happen legally across the country every week. To organize one properly as a foreigner, you need a legal entity that acts as the organizer, relevant permits for the event, and a stay permit that covers your own role in it.

Who can legally organize a sports event in Indonesia

Every public event has an organizer that holds its permits. As a foreigner, you cannot take that role in a personal capacity, because a stay permit does not authorize organizing events. You need a legal entity to act as the organizer instead.

For community sports activities such as a run club, the standard route is a foundation (yayasan) established with a sports classification (KBLI 93129).

The foundation applies for the permits, holds the funds, and takes responsibility for participant safety. It also acts as the sponsor for the work KITAS of anyone operationally involved, which is how your own role in the events becomes legal.

The three permits every public sports event needs

A mass sports event on public roads, such as a fun run or race, needs three approvals under Indonesian law: an endorsement from the athletics authorities, a road use permit from the traffic police, and a crowd permit from the police.

Step 1: Meet the sports and safety standards

Under the Sports Law (Law No. 11 of 2022), a mass sports event must meet national safety standards and carry an endorsement from the relevant sports governing body.

In practice, this involves two things.

First, you draft a safety plan covering medical assistance (ambulances and medic posts), hydration stations, and emergency evacuation protocols for participants and spectators.

You then submit the event proposal and safety plan to PASI (Persatuan Atletik Seluruh Indonesia, the Indonesian Athletics Association) at the local or national level, and obtain its recommendation.

Step 2: Secure the road use permit

A running event uses public roads for something other than traffic, and the Traffic and Road Transportation Law (Law No. 22 of 2009, Article 127) requires police authorization for that. Therefore, you need to map the route in detail, including the start and finish lines, water stations, and every road affected. Furthermore, you need to prepare a temporary traffic diversion plan to limit public disruption.

Both go to the local traffic police (Polantas), which issues the road use permit.

Step 3: Obtain the crowd permit

The final approval is the crowd permit (izin keramaian), which governs gathering a large number of people in a public space, based on Police Directive No. Pol/02/XII/95.

The application goes to the local police headquarters, usually through the Intelligence and Security department (Intelkam), together with the PASI recommendation from step 1 and the road use permit from step 2.

You formally notify the police of the date, time, expected number of participants, and the identity of the organizer, so they can plan security and deploy personnel accordingly.

Because the crowd permit requires the documents from the first two steps, the sequence cannot be compressed at the end. Begin with the PASI recommendation several months before your event date and work forward.

The KITAS you need to organize sports events

Many foreigners in Indonesia believe that holding a KITAS allows them to take part in any activity. In reality, a stay permit is granted for a specific purpose, under a specific sponsor, and it only covers the activity it was issued for.

To be operationally involved in events, you need a work KITAS sponsored by the organizing foundation. Your role, such as event organizer or program manager, is stated in the work permit, and that role defines what you are allowed to do.

If you would rather not hold a work KITAS, the alternative is to stay at board level. You can establish and oversee the foundation, while a local manager runs the events day to day.

Any KITAS granted for another purpose does not cover event organizing.

For instance, an investor KITAS allows you to own and oversee a company, but not to run its activities. Similarly, a remote worker permit only covers work for clients abroad, and spouse and retirement permits cover residence.

In the Canggu case, one founder held a work KITAS tied to a different role and the other held an investor KITAS, so organizing events fell outside both. Immigration has also summoned the company that sponsored their permits, which shows the exposure does not stop with the individuals.

Set up your foundation and permits with Emerhub

If you are planning to organize sports or community events in Indonesia, Emerhub can handle the setup on your behalf. Our consultants advise you on the right structure for your planned activities and establish the foundation for you. We then arrange the work KITAS for anyone running the events, and assist with the permit applications for each event, from the PASI recommendation to the road use and crowd permits.

If you are already running activities that your permit may not cover, contact our Indonesia team. We will review your setup and put in place whatever is missing.