JAKARTA Indonesia launched a long-term visa scheme on Thursday intended to attract foreign investors, President Joko Widodo said, with amounts of up to US$10 million giving them a 10-year visa and access to Southeast Asia's largest economy.

The five-year "Golden Visa" requires individual investors to set up a company worth US$2.5 million, while a 10-year visa requires a US$5 million investment.

Individuals not looking to set up a company must place US$350,000 to gain a five-year permit, or US$700,000 for 10 years, and the money can be used to buy Indonesian government bonds, public company stocks, or place deposits.

Corporate investors are required to invest US$25 million to get five-year visas for directors and commissioners. They need to invest US$50 million to gain a 10-year visa.

If the investment is made in the new US$32 billion capital city currently being built in the jungles of the Borneo island, US$5 million will gain investors a five-year visa and US$10 million a 10-year visa, the immigration agency said.

Several countries offer similar investment visa schemes, but others, including Canada, Britain and Singapore, have scrapped such schemes, as governments conclude they do not create jobs and could be a means to park speculative money.

Jokowi, as the president is commonly known, said the visa is intended to lure "good quality travellers".

"We are launching the Golden Visa to make it easier for foreign nationals to invest and contribute in Indonesia," he said.

Silmy Karim, the chief of the immigration agency, said Indonesia had granted the Golden Visa to almost 300 applicants since it began testing the permit out last year, attracting US$123 million.

Silmy also said the authorities are discussing ways to grant a special status for foreign nationals of Indonesian descent, modelled after the Overseas Citizenship of India, which allows foreigners of Indian ancestry to visit, work and live in India indefinitely. That could be issued by October, he added.

Silmy said the plan is intended to respond to calls for Indonesia to allow its citizens to hold another passport.

  - Reuters