TEFL jobs in Indonesia

Yes, but the paperwork is stricter than the beach photographs suggest. Under the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower’s Regulation No. 8 of 2021, every foreign worker must hold education matching the post and either proven competence or at least five years of relevant experience, and the employer must hold a ratified RPTKA before you can be hired.

What Irish teachers should know first

The controlling document is Peraturan Menteri Ketenagakerjaan No. 8 of 2021, published by the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower. Article 5 requires that every foreign worker holds education appropriate to the qualification of the position to be occupied, holds competence or at least five years of work experience appropriate to that position, and transfers their expertise to a designated Indonesian counterpart teacher. Separately, the employer must hold an RPTKA, the foreign worker utilisation plan, ratified by the Minister or an appointed official. In plain terms: the school applies, not you, and a school that cannot produce a ratified RPTKA cannot legally employ you regardless of what it promises about sorting the visa later.

The five-year clause is the one Irish first-timers underestimate. It is written as competence or five years’ experience, so a recognised teaching qualification is the realistic route in for a newly qualified teacher rather than experience you do not yet have, and it is worth having your certificate, transcripts and degree parchment scanned before you start applying.

Ireland has no working holiday agreement with Indonesia. Irish Immigration Service Delivery lists Ireland’s working holiday partners as Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and the United States, so there is no casual year-abroad permit for Indonesia. Employment through a sponsoring school is the route. We could not find any Indonesian government body that publishes an official salary figure for foreign English teachers, so no ministry-sourced pay number appears on this page; the ranges below are market observations, not official statistics.

What is Indonesia like for an English teacher?

Indonesia is actually a group of more than 17,000 islands. It is culturally diverse and has a fantastic ecological variety. It is an excellent place to live and work, home to the Komodo dragons; the crystal clear waters off Lombok island offer some fine surfing conditions. You can also explore the ninth-century Buddhist temple in Borobudur, which is architecturally significant. It is little wonder Indonesia attracts a large number of people, and currently, the population stands at around 238 million. Both locals and visitors alike are warm and friendly and welcome new people with open arms. Those looking to teach English in Indonesia will have a fantastic experience, and the salary, which of course does depend on the location of the job, your qualifications, and the type of position, is likely to be in the range of €590-€1000/$600-$1,100 giving you plenty to live and explore the area with.

You will find that the young people in Indonesia are engaged and eager to learn better English skills. They love hearing tales from other countries about life and pop culture. Some of the larger cities are busy, Jakarta has a lot of traffic, and it’s always on the go, but if you want somewhere slightly quieter, Bali makes an incredible location, especially for those who love seafood. Sumatra is famous for its orangutang population, but no matter where you choose to base yourself, there are plenty of opportunities for English teachers in Indonesia.

What does the rest of this guide cover?

In this guide, you will find everything you need to know about applying to be an English teacher in Indonesia. We look at the types of jobs on offer, how much you are likely to get paid, the qualifications you need and where to find and apply for jobs. We also look at the local culture and living as a local in the area, including the cost of living.

Still comparing south-east Asia? Our guide to teaching English jobs abroad sets out the whole picture, and the two nearest comparisons are teaching English in Thailand and teaching English in Malaysia. If you need the qualification that satisfies Article 5, look at our TEFL courses in Ireland.

Talk to a real person

No obligation and no sales pitch. Tell us what you want out of the year and we will tell you honestly whether Indonesia fits.

Compared to life in the US or UK, the cost of living as an English teacher in Indonesia is quite cheap. Of course, your spending habits determine how much money you have left, but some average costs are shown below.

In order to provide the most accurate cost of living figures, we use numbeo.com, the world’s largest cost of living database, updated regularly.