Indo citizenship child out of wedlock: acknowledgement process

[einahpets]

According to UU12/2006, BAB II, Pasal 4h an Indonesian citizen is an "anak yang lahir di luar perkawinan yang sah dari seorang ibu warga negara asing yang diakui oleh seorang ayah Warga Negara Indonesia sebagai anaknya dan pengakuan itu dilakukan sebelum anak tersebut berusia 18 (delapan belas) tahun atau belum kawin".

Is anyone out there who ever went through this process of acknowledgement (pengakuan) and can share experiences (like how long does it take, how much does it cost, what kind of documents have to be presented to Catatan Sipil and the court)? Is it a straightforward process or is it advisable to seek legal support from a lawyer? Or are there agents who provide this kind of service?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Scooterindo]

I have been through this already. If you weren't married legally to the mother at the time of birth, your child is instantly the same nationality and religion as the mother if she is Indonesian.

 

[dafluff]

I have been through this already. If you weren't married legally to the mother at the time of birth, your child is instantly the same nationality and religion as the mother if she is Indonesian.

I think he/she is asking what the process would be if the father was Indonesian.

 

[dafluff]

I think it would be helpful to give details as follows:

1) Current marital status of the father and mother
2) Marital status of the father and mother at the birth of the child
3) Age of the child
4) Official religion(s) of parents
5) Birthplace of child and whether or not registered in Indonesia

As the procedure could be different depending on the situation.

 

[einahpets]

I think he/she is asking what the process would be if the father was Indonesian.

Exactly, dafluff.
I am looking for details about the situation of the mother WNA, father WNI, both unmarried, child under 18, born in Indonesia with Indonesian birth certificate (without father's name logically). I don't see why the religion should play a role here.

According to law No. 12/2006, the child clearly has the right to be an Indonesian citizen (of course only until the age of 18, when she would have to decide which citizenship she wants to keep) BUT a process of acknowlegment (pengakuan) by the father is necessary. This involves somehow to get an acknowledgment certificate from Catan Sipil (which one? Place where the father is registered? Where the mother is registered? Where the child was born?), and then submit a petition to the local district court to get a court decree. With these two documents it is then possible to go to Immigration and get an affidavit and/or passport.

The theoretical steps seem pretty clear but it would be interesting to hear from someone who already went through all this and can share practical experiences.

 

[jstar]

Seeing there are no responses, perhaps legal advice is preferable?

They have experience: http://www.arasindo.com/index.php/pengadilan-indonesia/pengakuan-anak-di-indonesia

I remember some program in Jakarta approx. five years ago; they offered the possibility to obtain birth certificates for kids up to four years old or so. Without court intervention. No idea what happened afterwards.

 

[einahpets]

Thanks for the link!

 

[Scooterindo]

The religion is important to the Indonesians - hence my name isn't on the birth certificate but they were more than happy to smear the kids with "Islam" in the religion part of the certificate - as the kids automatically follow the mothers religion if she is WNI - needless to say I had an atomic meltdown in the hospital.

 

[jukung11]

I am not sure how direct this is to the acknowledgment issue. Everything I searched and know of acknowledgment is having the father's name added to the birth certificate.

http://www.hukumonline.com/klinik/detail/cl6500/anak-luar-kawin
http://www.hukumonline.com/klinik/d...ah-dalam-akta-kelahiran-anak-luar-kawin#_ftn1
http://www.hukumonline.com/klinik/d...nerbitan-akta-kelahiran-anak-luar-kawin#_ftn1
http://www.hukumonline.com/klinik/detail/lt55dc9350262f7/cara-mengurus-pengesahan-anak-di-luar-kawin


It is legal to add a father's name to a birth certificate even if the child was born out of wedlock.
The general consensus from these articles and from others that I have read is that you need a court order for the catatan sipil to add your name to the birth certificate. From anecdotal conversations and reading various internet post, I believe it is not expensive for Indonesians to do this and many can file there own paperwork for a petition, but it is very time consuming and can wait for 1-2 years before they get a court date.
If anyone could tell me a different procedure without bribery, I would appreciate it.