Indonesia has granted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman the country’s first “golden visa”, allowing him to stay long-term with many privileges.
“Some cases of being granted a golden visa that are not based on investment, such as famous global figures, can benefit Indonesia. To be granted a golden visa, this person must be nominated by the central government export”, Silmy Karim, Director General of Indonesia’s Immigration Agency, explained.
According to a press release from the Indonesian Immigration Agency, Sam Altman is a world-famous figure. He is the CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, an AI research and application company in the US. He began to attract the world’s attention after OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022.
Last June, OpenAI CEO went to Indonesia to share knowledge about artificial intelligence.
With a golden visa, Altman enjoys a number of privileges such as priority entry at the airport; Easy to enter and exit Indonesia, long stay.
“This is a concrete action in the effort to develop the AI ecosystem in Indonesia. He did not need to apply for a temporary residence permit (ITAS) at the immigration office. We rolled out the red carpet as a reward for the resources he brought to Indonesia,” Karim said.
The Indonesian Immigration Agency did not mention whether Sam Altman invested in the country or not. Altman’s representative has not yet commented.
Indonesia previously introduced a new visa category to attract wealthy foreigners to boost the country’s economy. Bali is the first focus in efforts to attract long-stay tourists. According to the press release, the golden visa will be valid for 5 to 10 years, starting from December 25 this year. Golden visa applicants must have at least two billion Indonesian rupiah (US$130,000) deposited in an Indonesian state bank. This move comes after New Zealand and Portugal introduced “digital nomad visas” to take advantage of international workers coming to live and work.
According to Business Insider, many countries around the world are implementing similar programs to attract talent. The digital nomad lifestyle is increasingly popular after Covid-19. Research by MBO Partners published at the end of 2021 shows that about 15.5 million Americans identify themselves as digital nomads.