Indonesian citizenship law

[sumyunggai]

Indonesian citizenship is governed by UU 62/1958, UU 12/2006, PP 2 2007 and M.02-HL.05.06 2006

Citizenship

1.
Unlimited nationality (Indonesian citizen, not entitled to dual citizenship):
(a) born prior to 1 August 2006 and having Indonesian citizenship according to UU 62/1958:
(1) to a married Indonesian father
(2) to an unmarried Indonesian mother, or where the father is unknown
(3) who was born in Indonesia and has no entitlement to citizenship from either his mother or father

(b) marriage between two Indonesian citizens
(e) mixed marriage where the mother is Indonesian and the father is not, and under the father's country's law, the child does not have entitlement to Indonesian citizenship
(f) a child born after the death of the child's Indonesian father
(g) a child born outside of marriage to an Indonesian mother

Limited nationality
(c,d) mixed marriage
(h) a child born to an unmarried foreign mother, where the father is Indonesian and acknowledges the child as his, prior to the child's marriage or 18th birthday, whichever comes sooner
(l) a child born outside Indonesia to two Indonesian parents, where the child has nationality of the country of his birth as of right as the result of his birth in that country

The law appears to distinguish those born having the right to citizenship of another country and those having no such right - the former have limited nationality, and the latter unlimited. There is an apparent exception to this, namely that a child born to a foreign mother and an Indonesian father may not be entitled to foreign citizenship, and the law would appear to leave the child stateless.

Those in the category of 'limited nationality' born since 1 August 2006 are entitled to dual nationality until the age of 18, or their marriage, if sooner. After marriage/turning 18, if the child is living in Indonesia, he has three years to reject his other citizenship and convert to an unlimited Indonesian citizen. If he is living outside Indonesia this three year grace period might not apply.

Those otherwise entitled to limited nationality but born prior to August 1 2006 had until 31 July 2010 to register as limited citizens; if they did not do so, they have lost the entitlement to limited citizenship.


2. Naturalization (article 8-18)
(a) Must have spent five years in Indonesian consecutively, or ten years non-consecutively. The law states 'bertempat tinggal', which appears to preclude social/tourist visas, and five years may be taken as holding a KITAS or KITAP.
(b) Must be fit in body and mind.
(c) Must speak Indonesian and accept Pancasila and the Indonesian constitution of 1945.
(d) Must not have been sentenced to more than 1 year in prison.
(e) Not become a dual citizen by accepting Indonesian nationality
(f) Have a job and/or fixed income
(g) Pay a fee
(h) Subject to Presidential Decree
Children of such persons can also acquire Indonesian nationality, under article 21

Documents required:

(1) photocopy of birth certificate
(2) photocopy of marriage/divorce/separation/death certificate for spouse
(3) certificate from immigration confirming 5/10 years of residence
(4) photocopy of KITAP
(5) mental/physical health certificate from hospital
(6) statement applicant can speak Indonesian
(7) statement applicant acknowledges Pancasila and Indonesian constitution
(8) police certificate from applicant's place of residence
(9) a letter from the applicant's home country stating he will not acquire dual citizenship by acquiring Indonesian nationality
(10) a letter from the camat of the applicant's area affirming his job or fixed income
(11) payment
(12) 6 * 4x6cm passport photos

Time limits:
(1) 14 days max for local immigration to examine the documents
(2) 7 days max further to submit the docs to the ministry
(3) 45 days max for the ministry to submit the applications to the President
(4) 45 days further for President to accept/decline application
(5) 14 days further for decision to be sent to applicant and his home country
(6) a max further 3 months for applicant to swear oath

3. Acquisition of citizenship through marriage to an Indonesian citizen (article 19)
Similar to number 2, however there is no requirement for a job/income, nor for Indonesian language and health certificate, and not subject to Presidential approval, and overall quicker.

Documents required:

(1) A letter with materai stamped by the applicant with their name, d.o.b, address, and nationality, plus that of their spouse.
(2) copy of birth certificate
(3) copy of KTP or surat keterangan tempat tinggal
(4) copy of spouse's birth certificate & KTP
(5) letter from immigration confirming 5/10 years residence
(6) police certificate
(7) certificate from home country stating he will lose his foreign citizenship
(8) statement of faithfulness to Pancasila & Indonesian constitution
(9) 6 * 4x6 photos

Time Limits:
(1) 14 days to check application by immigration and send to ministry
(2) 30 days for ministry to reach naturalization decision if all is ok
(3) 14 further days for return decision to applicant


4. Service of the country (article 20)
Can be granted by the President

Loss of citizenship

Indonesian citizenship is lost if you deliberately acquire the citizenship of another country.
- in this case to regain Indonesian nationality you must perform naturalization

Indonesian citizenship is also lost if you live outside Indonesia for five years or more and do not declare your intention to retain Indonesian citizenship
Indonesian citizenship is also lost if you acquire the citizenship of another country as of right through marriage
- in these cases you can regain Indonesian nationality by written request

Some examples:

1)
child born January 1 2006 in Indonesia to Indonesian father and foreign mother - had Indonesian citizenship as of birth
1 February 2006 acquired foreign passport - lost Indonesian citizenship under UU 62/1958
1 August 2006 - acquired right to apply for limited Indonesian citizenship, but only until 31 July 2010
1 August 2010 - lost all rights to Indonesian citizenship, if limited citizenship was not applied for

2)
child born August 1 2006 in Indonesia to Indonesian father and foreign mother - has right to apply for limited Indonesian citizenship, which must be renewed after his 18th birthday

3)
child born January 1 2007 in Indonesia to Indonesian mother and British citizen father born outside of Britain - child has no right to British citizenship and has therefore unlimited Indonesian citizenship for life.
1 January 2010 - child obtains has moved to Britain and naturalized as British citizen - loses his unlimited Indonesian citizenship, but may reapply as a limited citizen prior to his 18th birthday

Thus:

(a) anyone born before 1 August 2006 and who did not register prior to 31 July 2010 as a limited citizen is either an unlimited Indonesian citizen or a foreign citizen - not both
(b) anyone born on or after 1 August 2006 can hold foreign & limited Indonesian nationality until age 18, or if he has no entitlement to foreign nationality, unlimited Indonesian nationality.

 

[OomBen]

You must have been reading my mind...

 

[Bad_azz]

"anyone born on or after 1 August 2006 can hold foreign & limited Indonesian nationality until age 18, or if he has no entitlement to foreign nationality, unlimited Indonesian nationality."
Shouldn't this read citizenship- I believe nationality is a whole different thing.

 

[Davita]

"anyone born on or after 1 August 2006 can hold foreign & limited Indonesian nationality until age 18, or if he has no entitlement to foreign nationality, unlimited Indonesian nationality."
Shouldn't this read citizenship- I believe nationality is a whole different thing.

You are so correct B_A...... nationality is something you are born with and cannot lose.....citizenship can be acquired or revoked.
Many think they are synonyms and use both meaning citizenship, which is common. In a legal sense however, such as the above document, you would think they should get the terminology correct....but it may have been interpreted wrongly.
It's the same with a passport...most believe a passport denotes citizenship but it is a travel document.

Quote from post #1 "Indonesian citizenship is lost if you deliberately acquire the citizenship of another country."

This is far from being the case...and has been debated here at length. Atlantis spelled out that a revocation of Indonesian citizenship has to be promulgated in Government files...and this was the argument when recently the previous Minister of Energy (Archandra Tahir) revoked his USA citizenship and automatically became an Indonesian citizen again. The Minister of Immigration said it had never been revoked due to non-promulgation when he acquired USA citizenship.

Mind you...this IS Indonesia and they seem very capable of making laws-up....when required.

 

[fastpitch17]

UU 12/2006,
Chapter IV
Loss of Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia
Article 29
Minister announces names of people who lost their Indonesian citizenship in the State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia.

This they never do so it is the loophole for anyone to keep their citizenship.

 

[sumyunggai]

UU 12/2006,
Chapter IV
Loss of Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia
Article 29
Minister announces names of people who lost their Indonesian citizenship in the State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia.

This they never do so it is the loophole for anyone to keep their citizenship.

It's a bit more than that, the law clearly states that citizenship is lost upon taking foreign nationality, but it then states that loss of citizenship is subject to a formal process.

Article 23:
"Warga Negara Indonesia kehilangan kewarganegaraannya jika yang bersangkutan:a. memperoleh kewarganegaraan lain atas kemauannya sendiri;"

An Indonesian citizen loses his citizenship if the concerned:
(a) acquires other citizenship of his own accord

Note that 'kehilangan' translates specifically to 'loses', in the sense of 'to suffer a loss', as in 'Dompet saya kehilangan tadi malam' (I lost my wallet last night)

Article 29:
The minister publishes the names of those who have lost Indonesian citizenship in the state gazette.

Article 30:
Further provisions on the requirements and procedures for loss and cancellation of citizenship are to found in the regulations

The regulations state:
Article 31
An Indonesian citizen loses his citizenship because:
(a) he acquires foreign citizenship of his own accord

Article 32
(1) The leadership of central government departments who are aware of any Indonesian citizen who fulfils the requirements for loss of citizenship as in Article 31(1) coordinate with the Minister.
(2) The leadership of regional governments or members of public who are aware of any Indonesian citizen who fulfils the requirements for loss of citizenship as in Article 31(1) report in writing to the Officer.
(3) Members of public who reside outside of Indonesia who are aware of any Indonesian citizen who fulfils the requirements for loss of citizenship as in Article 31(1) report in writing to a representative of the Republic of Indonesia

Article 33
(1) The report referred to in Article 32(2) and 32(3) must at minimum contain:
(a) the full name and address of the complainant and the reported
(b) the reason for loss of Indonesian citizenship
(2) The report referred to in 33(1) can enclose, among others
(a) a photocopy of an Indonesian travel document for the reported
(b) a photocopy of a foreign passport or passport-like document or a document showing current citizenship from a foreign country

Article 34
(1) As follow-up to the coordination (Article 32(1)) and report (Article 32(2/3)), the minister verifies the report of loss of citizenship.
(2) For the verification as referred to in Article 34(1), the Minister obtains a clarification from the complainant, reported, and relevant agencies.
(3) In the event that the verification in Article 34(1) and 34(2) fulfils the requirements of Article 33, the minister lays out the decision of the loss of citizenship
(4) The minister's decision referred to in Article 34(3) should be submitted to the President, officials in the person's area of residence, Indonesia's representative office in the area's of residence and relevant agencies.

So the language of the law is clear in one sense that the person 'kehilangan' (loses) his citizenship if he takes up foreign citizenship, which means that citizenship is lost immediately.
But the formal process is subject to report and verification, so you cannot be declared as having lost your citizenship without evidence and formal procedure, even if you have in fact lost your citizenship.

But presumably there is some theoretical consequence for a person who obtains an Indonesian passport after they have taken foreign citizenship, since they have lost their citizenship by doing so.

 

[fastpitch17]

If an Indonesian citizen lives abroad illegally for more then 5 years and doesn't get a residency or citizenship they fit into this loophole. It needs to have a formal announcement to actually be lost. I know of one who came back to Indonesia after obtaining a travel document from the Embassy using this reasoning after they saying he lost his citizenship. After return, went and got a KTP renewal. Once that was done, all falls into place. An Indonesian lawyer contacted the Embassy and explained the law to them.

 

[atlantis]

Indonesian citizenship is governed by UU 62/1958

Just for the record, UU 62/1958 has been abrogated by UU 12/2006.

2. Naturalization (article 8-18)
(a) Must have spent five years in Indonesian consecutively, or ten years non-consecutively. The law states 'bertempat tinggal', which appears to preclude social/tourist visas, and five years may be taken as holding a KITAS or KITAP.
(b) Must be fit in body and mind.
(c) Must speak Indonesian and accept Pancasila and the Indonesian constitution of 1945.
(d) Must not have been sentenced to more than 1 year in prison.
(e) Not become a dual citizen by accepting Indonesian nationality
(f) Have a job and/or fixed income
(g) Pay a fee
(h) Subject to Presidential Decree
Children of such persons can also acquire Indonesian nationality, under article 21

The bold part is not correct. You must not have been sentenced for a crime which may be punished by 1 year or more, and this whatever the sentence has been.

If for example you have been sentenced to "only" 2 months suspended sentence under art 335 KUHP (perbuatan tidak menyenangkan which has been used and abused in court so many times) which stipulates that a maximum of 1 year of jail may be sought, you will not be able to become Indonesian.

You don't need to be sent to jail: you just need to be proven guilty of any offense/crime which may be punished by 1 year or more to be disqualified from seeking Indonesian citizenship.

This is the relevant pasal in Bahasa Indonesia: tidak pernah dijatuhi pidana karena melakukan tindak pidana yang diancam dengan pidana penjara 1 (satu) tahun atau lebih.

Last, a note about the "time limits": They are VERY theoretical. I've been helping and advising a few people so far in their journey to Indonesian citizenship. I would need to double-check, but no case that I've been privy to have been finished in less than 12 to 18 months. One of the toughest document to obtain being the SKIM, with Immigration being particularly reluctant to be fair, delaying a lot the whole process.

 

[sumyunggai]

Just for the record, UU 62/1958 has been abrogated by UU 12/2006.

Not quite; under UU 12/2006, those who were citizens prior to UU 12/2006 retain citizenship, even though they might not be citizens according to that law. So UU 62/1958 is still in force in some sense.

 

[atlantis]

Not quite; under UU 12/2006, those who were citizens prior to UU 12/2006 retain citizenship, even though they might not be citizens according to that law. So UU 62/1958 is still in force in some sense.

[/COLOR]

They retain citizenship because UU 12/2006 says so and acknowledged that Indonesian citizen are those who were born Indonesian or who have acquired Indonesian citizenship (ie through previous valid statute). This is found in art. 2 (Yang menjadi Warga Negara Indonesia adalah orang-orangbangsa Indonesia asli dan orang-orang bangsa lain yang disahkan dengan undang-undang sebagai warga negara.).

A similar reference is made in article 4:

"Warga Negara Indonesia adalah:
a. setiap orang yang berdasarkan peraturan perundangundangandan/atau berdasarkan perjanjian PemerintahRepublik Indonesia dengan negara lain sebelum UndangUndangini berlaku sudah menjadi Warga NegaraIndonesia;Also

Nevertheless, UU 62/1958 is abrogated and not a valid current statute anymore, having been replaced by UU 12/2006. UU 62/1958 WAS a current valid statute from August 1st, 1958 until August 6th, 2011:

"bahwa Undang-Undang Nomor 62 Tahun 1958 tentangKewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia sebagaimana telahdiubah dengan Undang-Undang Nomor 3 Tahun 1976 tentang Perubahan Pasal 18 Undang-Undang Nomor 62Tahun 1958 tentang Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesiasudah tidak sesuai lagi dengan perkembanganketatanegaraan Republik Indonesia sehingga harus dicabutdan diganti dengan yang baru;"

The correct translation would be: "Law Number 62/1958 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia which has been amended by Law Number 3/1976 on Amendments to Article 18 of Law Number 62/1958 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia is now no longer in line with the development of the administration of the Republic of Indonesia and therefore should be abrogated and replaced with a new Law.

The above is an excerpt of UU 12/2006 preambule.

 

[sumyunggai]

They retain citizenship because UU 12/2006 says so and acknowledged that Indonesian citizen are those who were born Indonesian

Born Indonesian on the basis of what law?

 

[Nimbus]

If an Indonesian citizen lives abroad illegally for more then 5 years and doesn't get a residency or citizenship they fit into this loophole. It needs to have a formal announcement to actually be lost. I know of one who came back to Indonesia after obtaining a travel document from the Embassy using this reasoning after they saying he lost his citizenship. After return, went and got a KTP renewal. Once that was done, all falls into place. An Indonesian lawyer contacted the Embassy and explained the law to them.

The old law says that if an Indonesian citizen lives abroad for more than 5 years and fails to formally declare to the Indonesian gov't that he wishes to maintain Indonesian citizenship, he shall lose said citizenship. This was used by Suharto to ensure that political exiles can't ever return, even if it means making them stateless. The new law explicitly prohibits anything that would make you stateless, so as long as you have not gained another citizenship, the gov't can't revoke your Indonesian citizenship. They might not give you a passport if you have stayed abroad illegally for too long, but since you're still an Indonesian citizen they must at least allow you to travel home, hence the SPLP (travel document in lieu of passport).

 

[jstar]

Many countries won't let you leave on a SPLP though.

 

[Nimbus]

Many countries won't let you leave on a SPLP though.

I didn't know that. I know some countries don't let you enter with SPLP, but I thought leaving is not an issue.

 

[atlantis]

Born Indonesian on the basis of what law?

On the basis of the law which was current at the time of their birth.

Sumyunggai, no offense intended but I am not gonna argue with you forever about a simple fact which is clearly stated in the Law: UU 62/1958 IS abrogated and not current anymore as well as UU 9/1992 (former Immigration Act) IS abrogated and not current anymore. It is stated in both current relevant statute which are respectively UU 12/2006 and UU 6/2011 in the exact same legal terms if you take the time to read it.

Yet, if UU 9/1992 is abrogated those who were issued a KITAP under UU 9/1992 have retained it and their KITAP was still valid under the new CURRENT Immigration law, UU 6/2011. I am in this case for example. It would be erroneous to state that Indonesian immigration is governed by UU 9/1992, UU 6/2011 and other decrees of lesser hierarchy. Indonesian Immigration is governed by UU 6/2011... not by UU 9/1992, even if those like me have had there KITAP granted under UU 9/1992.
Likewise my SIM has been issued under the old LLAJ Law (14/1992) which has been abrogated by the new LLAJ law (22/2009). Yet I've not been stripped of my SIM despite the fact that the new LLAJ has abrogated the old one and despite the fact that the condition to obtain it at the time are different that the conditions to obtain one now. I was able to keep my SIM because the statute governing LLAJ explicitly says that those who were granted a SIM under the abrogated UU 14/1992 are authorized to keep it.

 

[Davita]

Born Indonesian on the basis of what law?

If a law is annulled by a new law it's common sense that 'whatever rules' were originally issued the new laws become the statute for their legality...its called 'grandfathering clauses'.

I had my first driver's test in 1955 but today the law is different, however, my test was still current as the new laws grandfathered those whose licence was issued under the older laws.

I'm very happy about that as the new plastic licence cards, that replaced the old stone-carved ones, are so much lighter to carry...

 

[sumyunggai]

On the basis of the law which was current at the time of their birth.

Sumyunggai, no offense intended but I am not gonna argue with you forever about a simple fact which is clearly stated in the Law: UU 62/1958 IS abrogated and not current anymore as well as UU 9/1992 (former Immigration Act) IS abrogated and not current anymore. It is stated in both current relevant statute which are respectively UU 12/2006 and UU 6/2011 in the exact same legal terms if you take the time to read it.

Um, I think you are missing the point. The fact is that citizenship is still governed by UU 6/1958 if you were born prior to 1 August 2006.

"Q : Apakah masih perlu mendaftar kewarganegaraan Indonesia, jika anak yang lahir sebelum 1 Agustus 2006 telah memiliki (pernah dibuatkan) paspor Indonesia?
A : Bagi anak yang lahir sebelum 1 Agustus 2006 namun telah memiliki (pernah dibuatkan) paspor Indonesia dihimbau untuk segera mendaftar kewarganegaraan Indonesia sebelum masa berakhir pendaftaran tersebut habis (31 Juli 2010)."

http://www.indonesianembassy.org.uk/consular/consular_wni_qa.html

So in that case you must show that the child already had Indonesian citizenship prior to 1 August 2006, since in that case they do not need to register for limited citizenship as they are already a citizen.

In this case citizenship is governed by UU 62/1958

Yes the law has been annulled, but it still governs citizenship for pre-1 August 2006 births. E.g., a child born to a mixed couple on/after 1 August 2006 is likely to have LIMITED citizenship, whereas in some cases children born prior to 1 August 2006 already had FULL citizenship - and given that a child born before 1 August 2006 having limited citizenship under UU 12/2006 has no citizenship if he has not registered before 2010, then we need to refer to UU 62/1958 to determine whether he already had citizenship as of that date.

UU 12/2006 absolutely does not stand without reference to UU 62/1958.

Yet, if UU 9/1992 is abrogated those who were issued a KITAP under UU 9/1992 have retained it and their KITAP was still valid under the new CURRENT Immigration law, UU 6/2011. I am in this case for example. It would be erroneous to state that Indonesian immigration is governed by UU 9/1992, UU 6/2011 and other decrees of lesser hierarchy. Indonesian Immigration is governed by UU 6/2011... not by UU 9/1992, even if those like me have had there KITAP granted under UU 9/1992.

Likewise my SIM has been issued under the old LLAJ Law (14/1992) which has been abrogated by the new LLAJ law (22/2009). Yet I've not been stripped of my SIM despite the fact that the new LLAJ has abrogated the old one and despite the fact that the condition to obtain it at the time are different that the conditions to obtain one now. I was able to keep my SIM because the statute governing LLAJ explicitly says that those who were granted a SIM under the abrogated UU 14/1992 are authorized to keep it.

The point here, in the case of a passport, is that it is issued to an Indonesian citizen, under current law, and indeed an old passport cannot be renewed on the basis of old law but must be on the basis of current law. However the current passport law refers to granting a passport to an Indonesian citizen, a term which may require us to refer to old law.

 

[jstar]

Um, I think you are missing the point. The fact is that citizenship is still governed by UU 6/1958 if you were born prior to 1 August 2006.

..............

In this case citizenship is governed by UU 62/1958

Yes the law has been annulled, but it still governs citizenship for pre-1 August 2006 births.

Didn't he say the same?

Nevertheless, UU 62/1958 is abrogated and not a valid current statute anymore, having been replaced by UU 12/2006. UU 62/1958 WAS a current valid statute from August 1st, 1958 until August 6th, 2011:

"Law Number 62/1958 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia which has been amended by Law Number 3/1976 on Amendments to Article 18 of Law Number 62/1958 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia is now no longer in line with the development of the administration of the Republic of Indonesia and therefore should be abrogated and replaced with a new Law.

 

[jstar]

Many countries won't let you leave on a SPLP though.

I didn't know that. I know some countries don't let you enter with SPLP, but I thought leaving is not an issue.

Yeah, quite some EU countries for instance, have declared they do not recognize this temporary passport. Others did recognize it. I don't know what will happen if you leave from a country which has never taken a stand on the matter.

All this is of course a reciprocal issue again; the "laissez passer" from European countries is recognized by most south eastern Asian countries. I have requested and used one once, no problem.

 

[sumyunggai]

Didn't he say the same?

The point is that it still forms part of current law. Citizenship is a theoretical concept, not a passport or a card, and a person who for instance holds an Indonesian passport is not necessarily an Indonesian citizen - they are two separate things.

If a pre-August 2011 born child wants to get an Indonesian passport, he needs to prove his citizenship, which he can do either by UU/12 2006 or UU 62/1958. The determination of citizenship is done in 2016.

Ok you could say 'he was already a citizen prior to August 2011, therefore he remains one'; i.e. his citizenship was determined at birth under the old law which is no longer active - but this doesn't really reflect the way things work - that you are making a passport (or whatever) in 2016, and the check of whether you are a citizen or not is done today (with first check in UU 62/1958) - you weren't given proof of citizenship at birth.

Put simply UU 62/1958 is still part of citizenship law.