Driving licence in Indonesia: no exchange, an exam instead, and the rules do not name your retirement ITAS

You cannot exchange a Dutch driving licence for an Indonesian one: the police regulation has no exchange. The police issue their own licence, the SIM, and for a new SIM there is only one route: a medical check, a psychological test, a theory test, a simulator and a practical test. The fees are low: 120,000 rupiah for a SIM A (car) and 100,000 rupiah for a SIM C (scooter), valid for five years. The finding is in the regulation itself: as residence papers it names the permanent residence card (KITAP), and the temporary card (KITAS) only for those who work as an expert or attend school as a student. A retiree is not listed.

May you drive on your Dutch licence?

As a visitor, with an international driving permit alongside your Dutch licence. The Indonesian police regulation says that an international driving permit from another country is valid in Indonesia under the UN convention on road traffic or another international agreement. NederlandWereldwijd adds that an international driving permit is only valid together with your Dutch licence.

The practical point is on the Dutch side. You apply for an international driving permit at an ANWB shop, and according to NederlandWereldwijd that is only possible if you are registered in the Netherlands. So get it before you deregister. If you are already abroad, you can, under conditions, authorise someone else.

Which SIM do you need?

SIM	For	Fee new	Fee renewal
A	passenger car up to 3,500 kg	Rp 120,000	Rp 80,000
C	motorcycle and scooter up to 250 cc	Rp 100,000	Rp 75,000
CI	motorcycle from 250 to 500 cc, after 12 months of SIM C	Rp 100,000	Rp 75,000
CII	motorcycle above 500 cc, after 12 months of SIM CI	Rp 100,000	Rp 75,000
International	driving outside Indonesia	Rp 250,000	Rp 225,000
Simulator test	the certificate (SKUKP) that takes you to the practical test	Rp 50,000	–

A SIM A or C is valid for five years from issue and you renew it before that date. If you let it expire, you apply for a new one, with all the tests again. The minimum age for SIM A and C is seventeen. On top of this you pay the doctor and the psychologist for the medical check and the psychological test; those amounts are not in the fee regulation.

Which papers do the police ask for?

• The application form, on paper or with proof of electronic registration.
• Your residence papers: a copy, and the original to show.
• A statement from an accredited driving school: a certificate of a course, or a statement that your driving competence has been verified if you taught yourself to drive. The certificate may be at most six months old.
• A work permit from the Ministry of Manpower, if you work in Indonesia.
• Proof of active participation in JKN, the national health insurance. If you do not have it at registration, it must be there before you receive the SIM.
• A doctor's statement on sight, hearing and body, at most fourteen days old, and a statement of the psychological test, at most six months old.

Then come the tests. As a foreigner you get the briefing before the theory test in English, and you pass with at least 70 points; the same applies to the simulator. In the practical test you may make no mistakes. If you fail, you get two retakes per part within fourteen working days.

The regulation does not name your residence card. As residence papers the police regulation names three options: passport and KITAP for those who live in Indonesia permanently; the papers of diplomats; and passport with KITAS for those who work as an expert or attend school as a student. An ITAS on a retirement or Second Home visa is not literally listed. The same goes for the JKN requirement: the Ministry of Health names as a participant the foreigner who works in Indonesia for at least six months, not the retiree. Before you pay for a driving school and medical check, ask at the police SIM office (Satpas) how they treat your ITAS and your health insurance.

What do you do with your Dutch licence?

Keep it valid. If you have a valid foreign licence alongside your Dutch one, according to NederlandWereldwijd you do not need to renew the Dutch one; you then drive on the foreign licence, in the Netherlands too, and renew the Dutch one when you come back, without a new test.

If it expires while you live in Indonesia, you can renew it from abroad through the RDW. Conditions: you have Dutch or another EU or EFTA nationality, live outside the EU and are not registered at a Dutch address. You request the form online, the RDW sends it to a correspondence address in the Netherlands, and you return the original with your licence, a copy of your passport and a passport photo. The RDW takes up the application within ten working days; after approval it takes five working days until the new licence is at that Dutch address. If you are 75 or older, you also need a Certificate of Fitness from the CBR.

And the car?

It falls outside the exemption for household goods; why, and how to deregister it in the Netherlands, is in your household goods to Indonesia. Where the driving licence fits in the order of your first months, you can see at /indonesie.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.5: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Indonesia or go straight to step 5.5 in the open plan.