How to Change Your Citizenship from Indonesian to Foreign Citizen

PERTANYAAN

I have a question regarding changing citizenship. My biological father is a citizen of Malaysia. If I am an Indonesian Citizen, then what are the requirements if I want to change my citizenship to Malaysian? How do I change my citizenship status?

INTISARI JAWABAN

If you wish to change your citizenship from an Indonesian Citizen (Warga Negara Indonesia/ “WNI”) to a Foreign Citizen (Warga Negara Asing/ “WNA”), then you should pay attention to the provisions for losing your citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia.

There are several requirements that must be fulfilled in order to submit an application for the loss of citizenship. What are the procedures? What documents are required?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Cara Pindah Kewarganegaraan WNI Menjadi WNA which was written by David Christian, S.H. and was published on Wednesday, 14 September 2022.

This article below is the second update of the article entitled Requirements and Procedures to Change Citizenship (Syarat dan Prosedur Pindah Kewarganegaraan) which was written by Sovia Hasanah, S.H.  and was published on Tuesday, 12 September 2017, and was first updated by Erizka Permatasari, S.H. on Wednesday, 24 November 2021.

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.

Loss of Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia

Before discussing further how to change citizenship, legally, Indonesian Citizens (Warga Negara Indonesia/ "WNI") automatically lose their citizenship due to:

1. acquire another nationality of their own accord/will;
2. does not reject or renounce other nationalities, while the person concerned has the opportunity to do so;
3. being declared to have lost their nationality by the President at his own request, the person concerned is 18 years old or married, lives abroad, and by being declared to have lost his/her Indonesian Citizenship does not make him/her stateless;
4. enter into foreign army service without prior permission from the president;
5. Voluntarily entering into foreign state services, whose positions in such services in Indonesia in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations may only be held by Indonesian Citizens;
6. Voluntarily take an oath or pledge allegiance to a foreign country or part of the said foreign country;
7. are not obligated but participate in some constitutional election, for a foreign country;
8. have a passport or a letter in the nature of a passport from a foreign country or a letter that can be interpreted as a valid citizenship certificate from another country on his/her behalf; or
9. has resided outside of the territory of the Republic of Indonesia for 5 continuous years for non-state service purposes, for no valid reason, and for not expressing a desire to remain an Indonesian Citizen before the relevant 5-year period ends, and every subsequent 5 years the person concerned does not submit a statement wanting to remain an Indonesian Citizen to the representative of the Republic of Indonesia whose working area encompasses the place of residence even though the representative of the Republic of Indonesia has notified the person concerned in writing, as long as the person concerned is not stateless.

In addition, an Indonesian Citizen shall be declared to have lost his/her citizenship by the president at his/her own request if the relevant citizen is 18 years old or married, residing abroad, and by declaring that the citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia has been lost, he/she does not become stateless.

The application for the loss of citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia shall be subject to fees in accordance with the provisions of the laws and regulations in the field of non-tax state revenue applicable at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

So, in reference to the abovementioned provisions, you may be declared to have lost your Indonesian Citizenship by the president at your own request, provided that you are already 18 years old/married, residing abroad, and by being declared to have lost your Indonesian Citizenship you will not become stateless.

Thus, prior to submitting an application for the loss of citizenship, you must first arrange for a citizenship application in the destinated country, in this case, Malaysia, so that the loss of Indonesian Citizenship does not make you stateless.

So, what are the procedures for the application for the loss of citizenship? Here, we explain how to change citizenship from Indonesian Citizens to foreign citizens.

How to File an Application for Loss of Citizenship

1. Submission of Applications for the Loss of Citizenship

Indonesian Citizens who fulfill the provisions for losing citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia and residing outside the territory of the Republic of Indonesia report themselves to the representative of the Republic of Indonesia.

Applicants shall submit an application for the loss of citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia in writing by the person concerned to the president through the Minister of Law and Human Rights (“ministers”).

Applications should be made in Bahasa Indonesia and should at least contain the following:

1. full name;
2. identity card number or single identity number;
3. place and date of birth;
4. residential address;
5. profession;
6. gender;
7. the marital status of the applicant;
8. and reason for the application.

The application must be enclosed with:

1. photocopy of a birth certificate or letter proving the applicant's birth legalized by a representative of the Republic of Indonesia;
2. photocopy of a marriage certificate/marriage book, an excerpt of a divorce certificate, or an excerpt of a death certificate of the applicant's wife/husband for those who are under 18 years old and are already married and legalized by a representative of the Republic of Indonesia;
3. photocopy of Travel Documents of the Republic of Indonesia or an Identity Card that has been verified by a representative of the Republic of Indonesia;
4. a statement from a foreign country official, that by losing the citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia the applicant will become a foreign citizen;
5. proof of payment for loss of citizenship as non-tax state revenue;
6. 6 copies of the applicant's most recent photograph (colored), size 4x6 cm.

Applications and attachments are submitted electronically through information systems and directly to ministers through officials.

2. Examination of the Completeness of Application Requirements

Furthermore, the Minister shall examine the completeness of the application requirements by no later than 5 days from the date the documents are directly received.

3. Application Examination

In the event that the results of the examination of the completeness of the application requirements show incomplete required documents, the applicant will be notified electronically to complete the documents through the information system.

The applicant must complete the incomplete required documents within a maximum period of 14 days from the date the notification is submitted.

If within the specified period the applicant does not complete the required documents, the application is considered withdrawn. An application deemed withdrawn may be resubmitted according to the application.

Then, in the event that the results of the examination of the completeness of the application requirements are complete, the minister forwards the application by letter to the president within a maximum period of 14 days from the date the application is declared complete.

4. Determination of the Decision to Lose Citizenship

Furthermore, the president shall establish a decree on the loss of citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia.

Excerpts of the said presidential decree shall be submitted to the representatives of the Republic of Indonesia for a maximum of 14 days from the date of the stipulation of the presidential decree, and a copy shall be submitted to the ministers and representatives of the Republic of Indonesia.

Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia shall submit said decree to the applicant for a maximum of 7 days from the date of the presidential decree is received.

5. Announcement of the Loss of Citizenship

The Minister shall announce the name of the person who has lost the citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia in the State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia.

Registration of Changes in Citizenship Status Indonesian Citizens to Foreign Citizens

Furthermore, you must register the change of citizenship status from WNI to WNA to the representative of the Republic of Indonesia, as regulated in Article 54 Section (1) Law 23/2006:

Changes in citizenship status from Indonesian Citizens to foreign citizens outside the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, that have obtained approval from local countries must be reported by the Residents concerned to the Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia.

The local Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia shall then issue a Certificate of Release of Indonesian Citizenship.

The waiver of Indonesian Citizenship shall be notified by the local representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the authorized minister according to the provisions of the laws and regulations to be forwarded to the implementing agency which issued the relevant civil registration deed.

According to the notification, the civil registration official shall make a marginal note on the register of the civil registration deed and excerpt/quotation of the civil registration deed.

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

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 23 of 2006 on Population Administration as amended by Law Number 24 of 2013 on The Amendment of Law Number 23 of 2006 on Population Administration;
2. Government Regulation Number 2 of 2007 on Procedure for Obtaining, Losing, Nullifying, and Regaining Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia as amended by Government Regulation Number 21 of 2022 on The Amendment of Government Regulation Number 2 of 2007 on Procedure for Obtaining, Losing, Nullifying, and Regaining Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia.