- IF A FOREIGNER IS MARRIED with a WNI, then article 19 UU 12/2006 on Citizenship applies. It states:
(1) Warga negara asing yang kawin secara sah dengan Warga Negara Indonesia dapat memperoleh Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia dengan menyampaikan pernyataan menjadi warga negara di hadapan Pejabat.
(2) Pernyataan sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) dilakukan apabila yang bersangkutan sudah bertempat tinggal di wilayah negara Republik Indonesia paling singkat 5 (lima) tahun berturut-turut atau paling singkat 10 (sepuluh) tahun tidak berturut-turut, kecuali dengan perolehan kewarganegaraan tersebut mengakibatkan berkewarganegaraan ganda.
(3) Dalam hal yang bersangkutan tidak memperoleh Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia yang diakibatkan oleh kewarganegaraan ganda sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2), yang bersangkutan dapat diberi izin tinggal tetap sesuai dengan peraturan perundang-undangan.
(4) Ketentuan lebih lanjut mengenai tata cara menyampaikan pernyataan untuk menjadi Warga Negara Indonesia sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) dan ayat (2) diatur dengan Peraturan Menteri.
If translated, it means that those married with a WNI go through a procedure of
DECLARATION OF CITIZENSHIP which is different from NATURALIZATION /
permohonan pewarganegaraan procedure and is called in BI
menyampaikan pernyataan menjadi warga negara Indonesia.
If one reads correctly the law and relevant subsequent regs, the procedure is much lighter and way less coercive than the procedure of naturalization.
Translation of art. 19 UU 12/2006:
(1). Foreign citizens legally married to Indonesian citizens may acquire Indonesian citizenship by declaring citizenship in front of the Official of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
(2). Said declaration mentioned in Paragraph (1) may be carried out if the applicant has already resided in Indonesia for a minimum of 5 consecutive years or at least 10 year intermittently, unless the acquisition of such citizenship render him/her with dual citizenship.
(3). In the event that the applicant is denied Indonesian citizenship in order to avoid dual citizenship as stipulated in Paragraph (2), the applicant may be given a permanent residency permit in line with the relevant law.
(4).
Further provisions on procedures for applying Indonesian citizenship as mentioned in Paragraph (1) and Paragraph (2) is provide in the Ministerial Regulation.
Again if correctly reading the regulations hinted at point number (4),
there is NO mention of the foreign spouse having to have any command of Bahasa Indonesia, any knowledge of Pancasila, Indonesia Raya...etc. There is also NO legal possibility for a corrupted pejabat to threaten you to fail you if an applicant is eligible and submit all documents . Saying otherwise is just lying and/or talking out of one's ass.
The relevant Ministerial Regulation concerning the procedure of DECLARATION OF CITIZENSHIP for those married with a WNI is the one hinted by user
@centurion in
this post and quoted by me in
this other post afterward.
The regulation governing the acquirement of Indonesian citizenship for those married with a WNI is Permenkumham 36/2016 (
here in full and in bahasa Indonesia)
Though all articles should be read and understood by applicants, the most important points are the 4 first one. They state:
Pasal 1
Dalam Peraturan Menteri ini yang dimaksud dengan:
1. Pemohon adalah laki-laki atau perempuan warga negara asing yang kawin secara sah dengan perempuan atau laki-laki warga negara Indonesia.
2. Menteri adalah menteri yang menyelenggarakan urusan pemerintahan di bidang hukum dan hak asasi manusia.
3. Hari adalah hari kerja.
Pasal 2
(1)
Pemohon dapat memperoleh kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia dengan menyampaikan pernyataan menjadi warga negara Indonesia.
(2) Pernyataan menjadi warga negara Indonesia sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) harus diajukan melalui permohonan.
(3) Permohonan sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) disampaikan Pemohon kepada Menteri.
Pasal 3
Permohonan sebagaimana dimaksud dalam Pasal 2 ayat (3) dikenai biaya sesuai dengan ketentuan peraturan perundangundangan di bidang Penerimaan Negara Bukan Pajak yang berlaku pada Kementerian Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia.
Pasal 4
Permohonan pernyataan untuk menjadi warga negara Indonesia sebagaimana dimaksud dalam Pasal 3 dilakukan secara elektronik melalui laman resmi Direktorat Jenderal Administrasi Hukum Umum
The main points of the above 4 articles are:
- Foreign female and male legally married to an Indonesian can apply to Indonesian citizenship b making a statement declaring becoming Indonesian citizen
- This statement must be made in front officials of the Ministery of Justice and Human Rights.
- Application is made ONLINE.
Furthermore, article 5 of Permenkumham 36/2016 requires applicants to provide:
- Legalized photocopy of the Birth certificate of the applicant, translated by a legal translator,
- Legalized photocopy of the KTP or SKTT (it implies that a KITAP is not mandator an KITAS applicant are accepted, unlike for the NATURALIZATION procedure where a KITAP is mandatory),
- Legalized photocopy of the Birth certificate of the Indonesian spouse,
- Legalized photocopy of the KTP of the Indonesian spouse,
- Legalized photocopy of the Akte Perkawinan (non Muslim marriage) or Buku Nikah (Muslim Marriage). Translation of the Marriage Certificate is required if married abroad.
- SKIM from Imigrasi (it is the certificate confirming that the applicant has resided 5 consecutive years). The original is required, no legalized photocopy.
- Valid SKCK from POLDA (it is the certificate confirming that the applicant has not been sentenced from a crime punishable by 1 year or more). The original is required, no legalized photocopy.
- Original statement from the foreign Embassy declaring that the applicant will relinquish his citizenship upon acquiring Indonesian citizenship.
- Original doctor certificate concerning the mental and physical health of the applicant (mental health certificate can quickly be obtained in any RSU Jiwa.
- 6 ID pictures of the applicant of the 4x6 size (red background). Formal clothes mandatory, no silly hats, no t-shirts...etc,
- Original proof of payment of the legal fee relevant to the procedure of DECLARATION of CITIZENSHIP.
Once you have uploaded all these documents, the Ministry (theoretically) has ten days to assess if they are complete and should send a notification (online) should anything be missing or not conform to requirements.
Applicant then has 14 days to correct the situation and upload the document requested.
Should the applicant fail to complete the legal documents required, then the Ministry has to issue a surat penolakan (failure notice).
IT IS THE SOLE CASE WHERE AN APPLICANT MARRIED TO AN INDONESIAN SPOUSE MA BE FAILED. Again, and again and again no failure for lacking of Bahasa Indonesia, not being able to disert on PANCASILA or UUD RI. Saying otherwise is misleading. Laws and Regulations are pretty clear and well drafted, and save for a childish and laughable need of boasting for having become an Indonesian Citizen, there is no purpose to pretend one may be failed on one's command of BI, knowledge of history of Indonesia or whatever.
Nota: this regulation has been legalized on October 2016 to replace the older Peraturan Menteri Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Nomor M.02- HL.05.06 Tahun 2006 tentang Tata Cara Menyampaikan Pernataan untuk mejadi WNI.
The only difference between the old regulation governing the procedure for foreign spouse of WNI wishing to become WNI from 2006 to 2016 and the new one is the fact that it should be now conducted
only online. Requirements were exactly the same so if an applicant has been asked to sing the National anthem and threatened to be failed for not knowing it, or if an applicant has been threatened to be failed for not having a cukup enough command of BI, it is purely due to either ignorance of the law from the Pejabat or greed from a Pejabat trying to extort an applicant.
