Can Foreigners Become Civil Servants in Indonesia?

PERTANYAAN

Can Foreigners or Foreign Citizens Become Civil Servants in Indonesia?

INTISARI JAWABAN

Civil Servants (Pegawai Negeri Sipil/"PNS") are Indonesian Citizens who meet certain requirements, and are appointed as employees of the State Civil Administration (Aparatur Sipil Negara/”ASN”) on a permanent basis by the staffing officials/employment supervisory officer to occupy government positions. This means that one of the requirements for civil servants must be Indonesian Citizens (Warga Negara Indonesia/”WNI”), and not Foreign Citizens. So, what are the requirements to become a civil servant?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Bolehkah Orang Asing Menjadi PNS di Indonesia which was written by Dian Dwi Jayanti, S.H. and was published on Tuesday, 21 February 2023.

This article below is an update of the article entitled Can Foreigners Become Civil Servants in Indonesia? (Bolehkah WNA Menjadi PNS di Indonesia?) which was first written by Tri Jata Ayu Pramesti, S.H., and was first published on Tuesday, 7 July 2015. 

All legal informations which are available through Klinik hukumonline.com have been prepared for educational purposes only and are general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Can Foreigners Become Civil Servants?

In order to answer your question as to whether foreigners can become civil servants or not, first, it should be noted that a foreigner is a person who is not an Indonesian Citizen[1] or in other words, a foreigner by which you refer here is a Foreign Citizen or in Bahasa Warga Negara Asing ("WNA").

Meanwhile, the definition of Civil Servants (Pegawai Negeri Sipil/”PNS”) are Indonesian Citizens or in Bahasa Warga Negara Indonesia ("WNI") who fulfill certain requirements and are appointed as permanent employees of the State Civil Administration or in Bahasa Aparatur Sipil Negara (“ASN”) by employment supervisory officer to occupy government positions.[2]

Basically every Indonesian Citizen has the same opportunity to apply to become a civil servant after fulfilling the requirements.[3] From that provision in the article, it is clear that one of the absolute requirements to become a civil servant is to be an Indonesian Citizen.

Requirements to Become Civil Servants

In addition, this provision is also reaffirmed in Article 23 section (1) Government Regulation 11/2017, which states that every Indonesian Citizen has the same opportunity to apply to become a civil servant by fulfilling the requirements. What are the requirements to become a civil servant?

1. minimum age of 18 years and maximum age of 35 years at the time of application;
2. has never been sentenced to imprisonment based on a legally binding court decision for committing a criminal act with imprisonment of 2 years or more;
3. has never been honorably discharged at his own request or dishonorably as a civil servant, soldier of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia), member of the Indonesian National Police (Kepolisian Negara Indonesia), or dishonorably discharged as a private employee;
4. is not as a prospective civil servant, civil servant, Indonesian National Armed Forces soldier, or member of the Indonesian National Police;
5. does not become a member or administrator of a political party or engage in practical politics;
6. has educational qualifications in accordance with the requirements of the position;
7. physically and mentally healthy in accordance with the requirements of the position that is being applied for;
8. willing to be placed in the entire territory of the Republic of Indonesia or other countries determined by government agencies; and
9. other requirements in accordance with the needs of the position determined by the Employment Supervisory Officer (Pejabat Pembina Kepegawaian/”PPK”).

In our opinion, the requirement for civil servants to be Indonesian Citizens is solely for the purpose of implementing the ideal of the nation and realizing the purpose of the country itself. This ideal can be realized if the civil servants as state apparatus are Indonesian Citizens who have integrity towards Indonesia and are able to organize public services for the community/society.

If civil servants are Foreign Citizens, there will be concerns that the administration/organization of public services will not really be carried out for the sake of the country, so this could lead to the possibility of the implementation of a country that is not in accordance with the ideals of the nation. In addition, the main duties and functions of civil servants are as servants of the state and servants of the community. This may be difficult to realize if a civil servant is held by someone from a foreign nationality.

These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 5 of 2014 on State Civil Administration;
2. Regulation of the Government Number 11 of 2017 on the Management of Civil Servants as amended by Regulation of the Government Number 17 of 2020 on the Amendment to Regulation of the Government Number 11 of 2017 on the Management of Civil Servants;
3. Regulation of the Government Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration as amended by Regulation of the Government Number 26 of 2016 on the Amendment to Regulation of the Government Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration as secondly amended by Regulation of the Government Number 51 of 2020 on the Second Amendment to Regulation of the Government Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration as thirdly amended by Regulation of the Government Number 48 of 2021 on the Third Amendment to Regulation of the Government Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration.

---

[1] Article 1 number 3 Regulation of the Government Number 48 of 2021 on the Third Amendment to Regulation of the Government Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration (“Government Regulation 48/2001”).

[2] Article 1 number 3 Law Number 5 of 2014 on State Civil Administration (“Law 5/2014”).

[3] Article 61 Law 5/2014.