Indonesia is proposing a revision to Law 12 of 2006 to permit limited dual citizenship, offering a potential shift in how the state manages its global diaspora. According to reporting from Indonesia at Melbourne, the forthcoming policy breaks from singular nationality rules, though eligibility will remain tightly restricted to selected individuals whose expertise is considered important to national development, including state-nominated specialists.
Rewriting Law 12 of 2006 for the Favoured Few
The Indonesian state has maintained an equation linking loyalty with singular nationality. That stance is shifting under a new government proposal to amend Law 12 of 2006. As Indonesia at Melbourne details, this prospective dual nationality will not apply broadly to the millions of overseas Indonesians living abroad. Instead, lawmakers intend to limit the status to selected individuals whose expertise is considered important to national development—specifically naming researchers, nuclear scientists, medical specialists, and athletes nominated by ministries or state agencies.
This narrow criteria follows the rollout of the Global Citizenship of Indonesia (GCI) scheme launched in January 2026. Designed as a visa-based stand-in for dual nationality, the GCI attracted only a handful of applicants in its initial months. The state’s pivot toward actual dual citizenship for a select tier of professionals highlights an awareness of talent retention challenges, even if the application pool remains selective.
The Financial Cost of Leaving and the Threat of Brain Drain
The urgency behind these legislative discussions stems from official anxiety over skilled migration. Data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Law indicates that nearly 8,000 Indonesians have formally renounced their citizenship over the past five years. Policymakers and scholars increasingly view this outflow as a potential brain drain risk.
At the same time, the financial barriers to relinquishing citizenship have climbed. Under Government Regulation 30 of 2026, which took effect on August 1, the fee to renounce Indonesian citizenship jumped fivefold from Rp1 million (US$55.3) to Rp5 million. These simultaneous regulatory adjustments illustrate a government raising the friction of exit while proposing dual citizenship as an incentive to lure elite expertise back home.
Thick Versus Thin Citizenship on the Pitch and in Policy
The debate over who qualifies for Indonesian legal flexibility plays out vividly in the realm of international sports. A wave of public enthusiasm has greeted naturalized soccer players bolstering the national squad’s pursuit of its first World Cup berth since 1938. Close to nine in ten players in recent national squads underwent naturalization, most through ancestry links, with Australian-born athletes Mitchell Baker and Luke Vickery securing citizenship within three days of each other in July ahead of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and 2030 World Cup qualifiers.
Sociologist Gerard Oonk defines this dynamic as a contrast between “thick” and “thin” forms of citizenship. Athletes possessing thin genealogical ties find themselves embraced by the public and state. Meanwhile, millions of overseas Indonesian migrant workers in domestic, construction, agricultural, and care sectors—whose remittances have long sustained the national economy—remain excluded from similar considerations. Critics note that limiting dual nationality strictly to state-recommended experts formalizes this classed hierarchy rather than correcting it.
Unanswered Questions and the Road Ahead
A central challenge facing the proposed legislation is a lack of empirical data. Indonesia currently lacks systematic data on the scale and impact of brain drain, leaving policymakers to rely on assumptions about which migrants are worth retaining.
Independent initiatives aim to bridge this analytical gap. The Diaspora Indonesia Institute (DII), an independent think tank comprising Indonesian academics from around the world, is scheduled to launch on 17 August 2026. Whether such institutions can push Jakarta to broaden its definition of belonging beyond elite scientists and athletes remains the defining question for Indonesia’s evolving diaspora policy.
How should Jakarta balance national security with the economic power of its global workforce? Share your thoughts below.
