Now, applicants can electronically submit a request for an Immigration Certificate (Surat Keterangan Keimigrasian or SKIM) with fewer supporting documents.
The Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has announced a new policy to provide more leniency for children of dual nationalities who wish to become permanent Indonesian citizens. This announcement was made by Heru Tjondro, the director of the immigration residence permit department, via an official statement on Monday, the 4th of March.
According to Tjondro, the revamped requirements for naturalisation-related processes were focused on the Immigration Certificate (Surat Keterangan Keimigrasian or SKIM) that the applicant in question must submit.
“The immigration has made it easier [now] for the applicants to request their SKIM as one of the requirements to apply for permanent Indonesian citizenship,” Tjondro explained. “The applicants can [now] ask for SKIM electronically, the conditions of which are the applicants must have resided in Indonesia for at least five years, proven by either an academic certificate, a letter of confirmation by the ward [where the applicant is currently residing], or, if possible, a passport issued by the Indonesian government.”
According to Government Regulations (Peraturan Pemerintah or PP) No. 21/2022, a child whose parents are of different nationalities can also submit a citizenship bio as published by the local branch of the Department of Population and Civil Registration to replace the required SKIM. Nonetheless, should the child in question happen to be born outside Indonesia even though one of the child’s parents is of Indonesian nationality, submitting a SKIM remains mandatory.
Tjondro further specified that the applicants who have been born between the 1st of August, 1988, and the 31st of July, 2006, should start deciding whether they wish to apply for permanent Indonesian citizenship or not.
“The truth is there are so many children of dual nationalities who have yet to determine their permanent citizenship,” Tjondro added. “Some might have applied for it, but they [usually] would not make up their minds about their citizenship until they pass 21 years of age. This could result in the applicants not realising that they are no longer eligible for Indonesian citizenship.”
Chapter 44 of Government Regulations (Peraturan Pemerintah or PP) No. 12/2006 breaks down the types of dual-nationality applicants who are eligible for possible permanent Indonesian citizenship:
- Applicants who were born under a legally recognised marriage between a father of Indonesian nationality and a mother of foreign nationality;
- Applicants who were born under a legally recognised marriage between a father of foreign nationality and a mother of Indonesian nationality;
- Applicants who were born out of wedlock, whose mother is of foreign nationality and whose father is of Indonesian nationality. However, the father must acknowledge the applicant’s paternity before the applicant turns 18 years old or enters marriage;
- Applicants who were born out of wedlock, whose mother is of Indonesian nationality and whose father is of foreign nationality. However, the father must acknowledge the applicant’s paternity before the applicant turns 18 years old or enters marriage;
- Applicants who were born under a legally recognised marriage between a father of Indonesian nationality and a mother of Indonesian nationality, but, due to a certain circumstance, the applicant’s place of birth was outside Indonesia;
- Applicants whose birth father or mother is of Indonesian nationality but were legally adopted by a step-parent of foreign nationality before the applicant turned 5 years old.