In short. Education in Indonesia runs in levels: PAUD (kindergarten), SD, SMP and SMA under law No. 20 of 2003. Foreign schools operate as SPK together with an Indonesian organisation under article 65 of the law and ministerial regulation No. 31; national schools teach in Indonesian, and there is no single rule on admitting foreigners. Check the school in the Kemendikdasmen register at referensi.data.kemendikdasmen.go.id by the SPK form and the NPSN code: an "international" school that is not among the SPK must show its permit. The school sets the list of documents, and a child under 18 needs a family reunification visa to live here. The 2026/2027 school year began on 13 July 2026. The law recognises family-based education in article 27, with an exam against national standards. Kindergartens: formal TK and RA, informal KB and TPA.
What kinds of schools there are. In Indonesia education runs in levels: kindergarten and preparation (PAUD), primary school SD, middle school SMP, and senior school SMA or vocational SMK. All of this is described by law No. 20 of 2003 on the education system. For foreigners' children four routes are open in practice. First: a school with a foreign curriculum. Second: an ordinary Indonesian school. Third: learning at home within the family. Fourth, for little ones: a kindergarten. We do not give names and addresses of private schools, the choice is yours.
SPK schools. Article 65 of the law allows foreign educational institutions that are accredited or recognised in their own country to operate in Indonesia, but only together with an Indonesian organisation. The rules are collected in Education Ministry regulation No. 31 of 2014: such a school is called Satuan Pendidikan Kerja Sama, SPK for short, meaning an "institution of cooperation". Under the regulation it needs the minister's permit and accreditation by the national board. Its pupils include Indonesian citizens and foreigners who meet the conditions of the law, and admission at each school follows its own rules. Foreign children in an SPK are required to be taught the Indonesian language and Indonesian culture. An SPK pupil must have a national student number, NISN, so ask the school how to get one.
National schools. These are state and private schools teaching in Indonesian. Whether they take foreign children and on what terms, there is no single rule in the official documents we read. The school decides this, so ask it directly. One more caveat: article 34 of law No. 20 ties compulsory education to Indonesian citizens from the age of six, so for a foreign child it is not named as compulsory under that article.
How to check a school. The school directory is kept by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, and its register is open at referensi.data.kemendikdasmen.go.id. The old address on kemdikbud.go.id no longer opens, as the ministry moved. The steps:
- Open the register and in the "Data Pendidikan" menu choose the level: PAUD (kindergartens), Dikdas (primary and middle), Dikmen (senior).
- In the school form filter, choose the option marked SPK: SPK TK, SPK KB, SPK PG, SPK SD, SPK SMP or SPK SMA.
- Choose the province Bali, then the regency, or type the school name in the "Cari Sekolah/NPSN" box.
- Compare the name, address and form of the school with what the school showed you. Every organisation has an eight-digit NPSN code, so ask the school for it in advance.
If a school calls itself international and is not among the SPK in the register, ask about its permit (izin). Under regulation No. 31 it is mandatory.
Your child's documents. Which papers are needed for enrolment is decided by the school itself, so ask it for the list. To live in Bali, a child under 18 who is not married is given by immigration a family reunification visa with the code C317, with a parent who holds a KITAS or KITAP. Among the documents, the immigration press release names a birth certificate with a translation into Indonesian by a sworn translator (no translation is needed from English) and the parent's residence permit. After entry, the residence permit is arranged within 30 days. The release came out in January 2023, so check with immigration before applying. We have a separate guide to the family KITAS: see BUZZ VISA. Bring the vaccination card just in case: under Health Ministry regulation No. 12 of 2017, primary-school pupils get vaccines against measles, tetanus and diphtheria in the BIAS school immunisation month, and the school may ask what has already been done.
The school year. By a decision of Dikpora, the Bali education office, published by the Komunitas Belajar portal on 3 May 2026, the 2026/2027 school year began on Monday 13 July 2026 and ends on Saturday 12 June 2027. The first half runs from 13 July to 19 December 2026, the second from 4 January to 12 June 2027. Schools with a foreign curriculum may follow their own calendar, so ask the school.
Home schooling. Indonesian law in article 27 recognises learning in the family and self-directed learning, and the result is equated with school after an exam against national standards. The rules for your home country and for how the child is assessed there are a separate question, so ask the school or authority that will assess your child about the procedure of assessment and notification.
Kindergartens. In Indonesia they are called PAUD. Under law No. 20 these are the formal TK and RA (kindergarten and Islamic kindergarten), as well as the informal KB (kelompok bermain, a play group) and TPA (taman penitipan anak, day nurseries). According to the register on 11 October 2026, Bali lists 1,770 TK organisations, 442 KB and 57 TPA. For kindergartens the register has the same SPK filters (SPK TK, SPK KB and SPK PG), and the search procedure is described above.
What this means for you. First decide which programme your child needs: foreign, Indonesian or home-based. Then find the school in the Kemendikdasmen register, get from it the list of documents and the admission dates, and only after that arrange the child's visa. Keep the vaccination card and the birth certificate with translation at hand. If you do not want to deal with a family KITAS yourself, message @buzz_visa.