I originally posted this in another thread,
Oh yes . Analyzing carefully is not something that all people do . My suggestion was to an average relatively young couple with children , who would start paying a house in installments . If they divorce and the house is in the Indonesian spouse's name , the loss for the foreigner would be...
www.expatindo.org
but since it fits better here, I decided to move it.
Shall the mixed marriage children automatically acquire an Indonesian Children for children born after the law UU No. 12/2006 took effect??
Here it is clearly stated (with no ambiguity),
it shall be automatic, no need to register, to declare or apply for affidavit
According to Article 4 of Law UU No. 12/2006:
A Citizen of the Rep. of Indonesia is:
...
c. children born from a legitimate marriage of an Indonesian citizen father and a foreign citizen mother;
d. children born from a legitimate marriage of a foreign citizen father and an Indonesian citizen mother;
...
According to Article 21 of the law UU No. 12/2006:
(1) Children below the age of 18 (eighteen) or unmarried who are present and living in Indonesian territory, born from parents who have acquired Indonesian citizenship shall automatically become citizens of the Republic of Indonesia.
(2). Children of foreign nationalities below the age of 5 (five) who are adopted through legal proceedings as children of Indonesia citizens will thereby acquire Indonesian citizenship.
(3). In the event that children under Paragraph (1) and Paragraph (2) acquire double citizenship, the child should choose one of either citizenship as stipulated in Article 6
As with anything automatic, this is granted as part of your rights. Registration, declarations, or the need to apply for an affidavit are unnecessary. The problem arises for children born before the law came into effect. In these cases, parents must register their children as Indonesian citizens, with a grace period extending until around 2010. Some reports indicate that children have been denied citizenship due to failure to register before the deadline.
This is the Hierarchy of Laws and Regulations in Indonesia
There is a hierarchy of laws and regulations in Indonesia which is regulated in Article 7 Section (1) Law 12/2011.
www.hukumonline.com
- Constitution: 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia;
- TAP MPR: Decree of the People's Consultative Assembly;
- UU: Laws/Government Regulations in Lieu of Laws;
- PP: Government Regulations;
- Regulation of the President;
- Provincial Regulations; and
- Regency/City Regulation.
Any law or regulation below the level of the UU, such as PP, presidential decrees/regulations, or local regulations, that contradicts the law is automatically considered null and void.
In my opinion, whether PP No. 2/2007 Article 59 contradicts or aligns with Law UU No. 12/2006 will depend on the specifics of each individual case.
PP No. 2/2007 article 59 (from previous post)
"(1)The children having double citizenship as meant in the law shall be registered by their parents or trustees at immigration offices or representatives of the Republic of Indonesia whose working area covers domicile of the children.
(2)The immigration offices or representatives of the Republic of Indonesia as meant in paragraph (1) shall record in registry and issue evidence of registration to obtain facility as Indonesian citizens having double citizenship.
(3) Further provision on procedures for registration and recording as meant in paragraph (1) as well as granting of facility as meant in paragraph (1) shall be regulated by a regulation of the Minister."
In my view, PP No. 2/2007 Article 59, regarding the need for registration or applying for an affidavit,
may not contradict Law UU No. 12/2006 in the following specific cases:
- Mixed-marriage children born before 2016.
- Mixed-marriage children born after 2016, under 18 years old (or unmarried), born and reside outside Indonesian territory.
- Mixed-marriage children born after 2016 who obtain a second passport to travel internationally or to either parent's home country. In these cases, applying for an affidavit or registration for the Indonesian passport makes sense, as there might be a "dual citizen" or affidavit stamp on the passport.
For mixed marriage children born outside the Indonesian territory, there is no doubt affidavit is required. These have been confirmed by many people sharing their personal experience on YT. They might have been informed by the Indonesian embassy to do this when they register their baby births. If you search using the search word "cara membuat affidavit" you will see there are a lot of real life examples.
Considering how immigration databases are stored and checked in Indonesia, Point 3 is entirely logical. Without this process, children turning 18 (or 21) could continue renewing their Indonesian passports without being flagged as dual citizens. With an affidavit and the endorsement note on their indonesian passport, the immigration officers or passport renewal staff can easily identify the dual citizenship status and exercise caution when processing the passport renewal.
In
my personal opinion, mixed-marriage children born after 2006, who are under 18,
have never lived outside Indonesian territory, never had an Indonesian passport, and never applied for a foreign passport, cannot be denied Indonesian citizenship as they already have this automatic right born from either parent of wni, even if they do not apply for an affidavit or be registered as a mixed marriage children.
My view is also in line with Indonesian Citizenship law expert.
Anak yang lahir di luar perkawinan dari pasangan campuran, dapatkah memperoleh kewarganegaraan ganda?
www.hukumonline.com
And this:
The view expressed above is
my personal opinion. It's important to remember that, as with many things in Indonesia, even when the law is clear, authorities might have their own procedures and interpretations, which are significant. Therefore, the best course of action is to consult with the local immigration authorities where the parents and children reside, as they have the ultimate authority to decide on these matters. While people can challenge such decisions in the constitutional court, how many are actually willing to go that route?
