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Consequences of Mixed Marriages on Citizenships and Stay Permits for Foreigners

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Consequences of Mixed Marriages on Citizenships and Stay Permits for Foreigners

Consequences of Mixed Marriages on Citizenships and Stay Permits for Foreigners
Dian Dwi Jayanti, S.H.Si Pokrol
Si Pokrol
Bacaan 10 Menit
Consequences of Mixed Marriages on Citizenships and Stay Permits for Foreigners

PERTANYAAN

My father and mother were married in Indonesia. My mother was previously a Japanese Citizen, and after marriage, she automatically changed to an Indonesian Citizen. However, both my parents have been separated for more than 20 years and my father has remarried. When I asked my father the reason why he did not divorce my mother, his answer was that he was afraid that my mother would lose her citizenship and might be deported back to Japan. Is this true?

DAFTAR ISI

    INTISARI JAWABAN

    In the event of marriage between Indonesian Citizens (Warga Negara Indonesia/ "WNI") and expatriates or Foreign Citizens (Warga Negara Asing/ "WNA") or so-called mixed marriages, people of different nationalities who conduct mixed marriages may obtain citizenship from their husbands/wives and may also lose their citizenships, in accordance with the methods which have been determined under the prevailing citizenship law.

    So, does a mixed marriage automatically change the citizenship of a foreigner to an Indonesian Citizen, and could the divorce also be used as a reason for the immediate deportation of the foreign citizen concerned?

    Please read the review below for a further explanation.

    ULASAN LENGKAP

    This article is an English translation of Konsekuensi Perkawinan Campuran Terhadap Kewarganegaraan dan Izin Tinggal WNA which was written by Dian Dwi Jayanti, S.H., and was published on Wednesday, 1 February 2023.

    This article below is an update of the article entitled Impact of Mixed Marriages on Citizenships and Stay Permits for Foreigners (Dampak Perkawinan Campuran Terhadap Kewarganegaraan dan Izin Tinggal WNA) which was written by Erizka Permatasari, S.H. and was first published on Tuesday, 24 November 2020.

    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.

    Impact of Mixed Marriages on Citizenships

    Mixed marriages are marriages between two persons in Indonesia who are subject to different laws, due to differences in citizenship and one of the parties is an Indonesian Citizen.[1]

    Couples who conduct mixed marriages may acquire citizenship from their husbands/wives or may lose their citizenships, in accordance with the procedures which are regulated under the prevailing nationality law.[2]

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    In order to become Indonesian Citizens, known as naturalization (in Bahasa Indonesia: pewarganegaraan), i.e. the procedure for foreigners to obtain Indonesian Citizenship through an application.[3]

    Foreign Citizens (Warga Negara Asing/ "WNA") who are legally married to Indonesian Citizens (Warga Negara Indonesia/ "WNI") may obtain Indonesian Citizenship by submitting a statement of becoming citizens in front of an authorized official.[4]

    However, in order to make such a statement, the relevant foreigner must have resided in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia for at least 5 consecutive years or for 10 non-consecutive years, unless the acquisition of said citizenship causes dual citizenship.[5]

    Therefore, we would like to clarify that your mother, who is originally a Japanese Citizen and got married to your father who is an Indonesian Citizen, does not automatically make your mother an Indonesian Citizen as you said. There are requirements that must be fulfilled by your mother, as outlined above.

    Requirements on Naturalization

    Furthermore, applications for naturalization may be submitted by applicants if they meet the following requirements:[6]

    1. has reached the age of 18 (eighteen) or married;
    2. at the time of submitting the application, the applicant has resided in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia for at least 5 (five) consecutive years or at least 10 (ten) years intermittently
    3. physically and mentally healthy;
    4. is able to speak Bahasa Indonesia and acknowledges the state fundamental principles of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia;
    5. never convicted of a criminal offense with imprisonment of 1(one) year or more;
    6. if the Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia is acquired, it will not cause dual citizenship;
    7. has a profession and/or a steady income; and
    8. pay a naturalization fee to the Government Treasury.

    If the relevant foreign citizen does not acquire Indonesian Citizenship due to the fact that he/she holds dual citizenship, then he/she may be granted a permanent residency permit/ stay permit in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations.[7]

    A permanent stay permit is a permit granted to certain foreigners to reside and settle in Indonesian territory as Indonesian residents.[8]

    Thus, mixed marriages in Indonesia do not automatically change a person's nationality, unless after marriage the foreign party undertakes naturalization by fulfilling the requirements specified in the prevailing laws and regulations.

    Citizenship Status of a Person

    Furthermore, based on the information you provided, your mother was previously a Japanese Citizen, however, after marrying an Indonesian Citizen, she changed her nationality to become an Indonesian Citizen.

    It should be noted that the Lecturer/Vice Dean II of the Faculty of Law at the Universitas Sriwijaya, Dr. Ridwan, S.H., M.Hum in the Workshop entitled Implementation of Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia about Citizenship Services and Citizenships Conducted Online, which was organized by the Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Direktorat Jenderal Administrasi Hukum Umum/ “AHU”), explained that in accordance with Law 12/2006, Indonesia adheres to the principle of single citizenship, namely every people can only have one nationality.

    Moreover, based on Japanese Law, if your mother converts to become an Indonesian Citizen, then she will lose her previous Japanese Citizenship, as regulated under Article 11 of The Nationality Law (Law No. 147 of 1950) and its amendments, which state:

    A Japanese national shall lose Japanese nationality when he or she acquires a foreign nationality by his or her own choice.

    The abovementioned article affirms that a Japanese Citizen will lose his/her citizenship when he/she acquires foreign citizenship of his/her choice.

    For this reason, in this case, you need to re-confirm your mother's citizenship status, whether she has really changed it to become an Indonesian Citizen or has only obtained a stay permit in Indonesia. Both of these have different consequences.

    Reasons Why a Person Loses Citizenship

    An Indonesian Citizen may lose his/her citizenship if he/she:[9]

    1. acquires another citizenship voluntarily;
    2. will not refuse or will not relinquish other citizenship when the person concerned has the opportunity to do so;
    3. is declared of having relinquished their citizenship by the President at their voluntary request, the person is aged above 18 (eighteen) or married, is living abroad, and with the relinquishment of the Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia does not cause them to become stateless;
    4. has entered into foreign military service without prior approval from the President;
    5. has voluntarily entered into the services of foreign entities in a position whereby law, such a position in Indonesia in accordance with laws and regulations may only be occupied by the Indonesian Citizens;
    6. has voluntarily taken an oath or declared allegiance to a foreign country or part of the said foreign country;
    7. was not obligated but has voluntarily participated in a referendum that is civic in nature for a foreign country;
    8. possesses a passport or travel document equivalent to a passport from a foreign country or a letter that may be construed as a valid citizenship identity from another country on his/her name; or
    9. living outside the territories of the Republic of Indonesia for 5 (five) consecutive years for non-official purposes, without valid reason and deliberately refusing to declare their intention to remain as Indonesian Citizens before the 5 (five) year limit ends, and in each of the next 5 (five) years, the said person fails to declare their intention to remain an Indonesian Citizen to Indonesian Representative Offices whose work area covers the said person’s residence although the said Representative Office has duly notified them in writing, as long as the person concerned does not become stateless.

    According to the abovementioned reasons, then in order to answer your question, if a foreign citizen changes his/her nationality to become an Indonesian Citizen due to his/her marriage with an Indonesian Citizen, but then he/she is divorced, the divorce will not cause him/her losing his/her citizenship as an Indonesian Citizen unless he/she undertakes the actions as regulated under Article 23 Law 12/2006 above.

    Therefore, if your mother is an Indonesian Citizen who has undertaken naturalization, she will not lose her citizenship even though she is divorced from your father.

    Reasons for Deportation from Indonesia

    As for deportation, it is important to note that deportation is the act of forcibly expelling foreigners from Indonesian territory.[10]

    More specifically, deportation is an administrative immigration action, which is carried out by authorized immigration officials against foreigners who are located in Indonesian territory who carry out dangerous activities and are reasonably suspected of endangering security and public order or not complying with laws and regulations.[11]

    Based on this, divorce does not automatically mean that a foreigner can be deported. However, in essence, temporary/limited or permanent stay permits for foreigners may be annulled by reason of the termination of marital relations due to divorce and/or upon court decisions for foreigners who obtain limited/permanent stay permits due to legal marriages with Indonesian Citizens.[12]

    However, there are several exceptions according to Article 162 section (1) and (2) as well as Article 163 section (1) Government Regulation 31/2013 which regulates:

    1. For mixed marriages that lasted 10 years or more, the foreigner's permanent stay permit obtained due to a valid marriage remains valid even though the marriage has ended due to divorce and/or a court decision.
    2. Holders of permanent stay permits as referred to above must be guaranteed by a sponsor that is an Indonesian Citizen.
    3. For mixed marriages which lasted less than 10 years old, permanent stay permits for foreigners that are obtained due to valid marriages remain valid even if the marriage has ended due to divorce and/or upon a court decision if the foreigner concerned has a sponsor.

    So, for the relevant foreign citizen, an Indonesian Citizen sponsor is required[13] in order for the permanent stay permit to remain valid even though the marriage has ended due to divorce.

    Therefore, if your mother is still a foreigner and then divorced from your father, your mother may still remain living in Indonesia using her permanent stay permit as long as she has a sponsor that is an Indonesian Citizen.

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

    Legal Basis:

    1. Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage as amended by Law Number 16 of 2019 on the Amendment of Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage;
    2. Law Number 12 of 2006 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia;
    3. Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration;
    4. Regulation of the Government in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 on Job Creation;
    5. Government Regulation Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration as amended by Government Regulation Number 26 of 2016 on the Amendment of Government Regulation Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration as secondly amended by Government Regulation Number 51 of 2020 on the Second Amendment of Government Regulation Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration as thirdly amended by Government Regulation Number 48 of 2021 on the Third Amendment of Government Regulation Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration.

    Reference:

    The Nationality Law No. 147 of 1950 as amended by Law No. 268 of 1952, Law No. 45 of 1984, Law No. 89 of 1993 and Law No. 147 of 2004, Law No. 88 of 2008.

    NB:

    Dr. Ridwan, S.H., M. Hum presented the material entitled "How to Obtain Indonesian Citizenship According to Law Number 12 of 2006 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia" in the Workshop entitled Implementation of Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia about Citizenship Services and Citizenships Conducted Online, and was organized by the Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Direktorat Jenderal Administrasi Hukum Umum/ “AHU”) on Wednesday, 18 November 2020.


    [1] Article 57 Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage (“Law 1/1974”).

    [2] Article 58 Law 1/1974.

    [3] Article 1 number 3 Law Number 12 of 2006 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia (“Law 12/2006”).

     

    [4] Article 19 section (1) Law 12/2006.

    [5] Article 19 section (2) Law 12/2006.

    [6] Article 9 Law 12/2006.

    [7] Article 19 section (3) Law 12/2006.

    [8] Article 1 number 19 Government Regulation Number 48 of 2021 on the Third Amendment of Government Regulation Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration (“Government Regulation 48/2021”).

    [9] Article 23 Law 12/2006.

     

    [10] Article 106 number 1 Regulation of the Government in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 on Job Creation (“Perppu 2/2022”) that amended Article 1 number 36 Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration (“Law 6/2011”).

    [11] Article 75 section (1) and (2) Law 6/2011.

    [12] Article 159 section (3) letter f jo. section (4) letter g Government Regulation Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration (“Government Regulation 31/2013”).

    [13] Article 162 section (2) jo. Article 163 section (2) Government Regulation 31/2013.

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