Indonesia’s diaspora is estimated at about six million people worldwide, yet it has not historically been seen as a boon for the country. The Indonesian government wants to change that – aiming to stem brain drain and attract top talent from its pool of people with ties abroad. But a recent offer of citizenship to children of mixed-nationality marriages has been met with scepticism. In the last two years, only 111 applicants have taken up the offer of naturalisation.
So, why is Indonesian citizenship so unappealing for its diaspora?
An Indonesian entrepreneur cannot simply fly to New York to close a transaction in three days’ time.
For one thing, the Indonesian passport ranks 107th out of 183 on the Henley Passport Index, which measures how many destinations a passport holder can access without a prior visa. Contrast this with neighbours: Singapore sits in 1st place, Brunei in 19th, Malaysia in 12th, and Thailand in 60th. An Indonesian entrepreneur cannot simply fly to New York to close a transaction in three days’ time, nor can an Indonesian lawyer easily attend an international arbitration proceeding in London scheduled for the next week. This is not because Indonesians are any less capable or qualified, but simply because their passports do not allow them to be agile. This makes Indonesians less competitive in the global market – be it for business or professional opportunities.
In addition, services provided for Indonesians abroad are far from stellar. Overlapping web pages filled with conflicting information and outdated regulations mean that one can only hope that the closest representative office replies to emails with the necessary information (and not another boilerplate response) within the next 48 hours. And while the government’s effort to be more approachable through social media accounts is laudable, it appears as though officials are too busy creating viral content for their social media accounts, rather than announcing important news on official channels. It is not uncommon for Indonesians to go through a labyrinth of fellow Indonesians to finally obtain an official’s personal WhatsApp number just to get a reliable response.
The idea of allowing a lifetime visa for “former” Indonesians may sound like a good compromise, but this policy does not adequately address the larger issue. Despite a lifetime permit to stay in Indonesia, issuing visas to these Indonesians nonetheless means treating them as foreigners, particularly for the purposes of property ownership. Since Indonesia does not allow dual citizenship, when one foregoes the country’s citizenship for practical reasons while working abroad, one also loses the right to own freehold property in Indonesia. This understandably discourages them from resettling and investing their hard-earned money in Indonesia.
A solution would be to revise the law to allow dual citizenship for adults. This would allow Indonesians who are eligible to acquire another nationality to utilise the benefits of the other nationality’s privileges at no cost to the Indonesian government.
A shift in mindset is long overdue, and lessons could be drawn from neighbours such as the Philippines.
A shift in mindset is long overdue, and lessons could be drawn from neighbours such as the Philippines. Overseas Filipino workers are the leading source of remittances received in the Philippines, accounting for more than nine per cent of its GDP. The Philippines allows dual citizenship under the Philippine Dual Citizenship Act. Individuals born as Filipinos who have also acquired another country’s citizenship through naturalisation are allowed to keep or regain their Philippine citizenship. This allows them to enjoy full civil, economic, and political rights in the Philippines, including owning property, engaging in business as a Filipino, and practicing a profession with a licence or permit from the government.
Given that Indonesia’s population is roughly double the Philippines’, allowing Indonesians to do the same will have a sizable economic impact.
With sufficient political support, any associated issues can be solved with relative ease. For instance, the government may consider limiting dual citizens’ voting rights subject to their country of residence, while providing them with the ability to travel under the Indonesian passport and affording them the same property ownership rights as those granted to other Indonesians.
The Indonesian diaspora has had enough of sentimental lectures on patriotism and nationalism. They need no instruction to shed tears when they sing Ibu Sud’s Tanah Airku (My Homeland) lyrics “biar pun saya pergi jauh, tidak ‘kan hilang dari kalbu” (even if I go far away, my homeland will still be in my soul). What they need is pragmatic and practical solutions that will allow them to navigate their lives with ease and to legally belong to their homeland.
It is time for the Indonesian government to take meaningful steps to address this longstanding issue so that the Indonesian diaspora can truly sing, “Engkau kubanggakan” (I’m proud of my homeland). Indonesians can and should be citizens of the world.
