Indonesian diaspora welcomes dual citizenship plans but questions ‘political will’ to implement
- The government is working on changing the law to allow dual citizenship, a minister has said, even as lawmakers express mixed views about the idea
- Diaspora members urge the government to strengthen the Indonesian passport, while analysts note possibility of ‘lifetime visa’ in lieu of dual citizenship
Members of the Indonesian diaspora have welcomed an announcement from a high-ranking government official that plans to allow for dual citizenship are in the works, but they are wary of whether there is enough political will to make it happen.
“We welcome the discourse [to allow] dual citizenship, because in the end, the diaspora and children of mixed marriages also benefit from it, as well as the country,” Enggi Holt, an Indonesian who lives in Britain, told This Week in Asia.
“But we also have to see how far the government dares to change the paradigm, from single citizenship to dual citizenship, because the costs will be very high. [An amendment to the law] is a political process between the government and the legislature, so the sticking point is, do they have the political will or is it just a political campaign? If it’s a political campaign, it’s not worth digging further.”
Indonesia does not allow adults to hold dual nationalities, and children of mixed marriages must decide their nationality at the age of 21.
However, Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, said the government was working on changes to that law.
