The Government Considers an Overseas Citizen Scheme for RPerpres on Diaspora

The Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Affairs (“Kemenko Kumham Imipas”) is currently intensifying efforts to harmonize the substance of the Draft Regulation of the President (“RPerpres”) on Indonesian Diaspora, in line with the direction of amendment to the Draft Bill (“RUU”) on Citizenship. This initiative is undertaken because provisions concerning the diaspora are presently dispersed in a fragmented manner across various sectoral regulations.

“The absence of a single, unified concept of diaspora has resulted in legal uncertainty regarding the subject of law, overlaps with the citizenship regime, ancestry-based restrictions that lack strong justification, and the failure to incorporate elements of actual ties and contributions to Indonesia,” stated Legal Analyst Amin Salasa from the Center for Legal Services Policy Strategy of the Ministry of Law.

One of the most suitable options for regulating the Indonesian diaspora is to adopt an Overseas Citizen of India (“OCI”)-type scheme. This model is considered successful in bridging the need to provide facilities and privileges to former citizens and their descendants without violating the principle of single citizenship, which is strictly upheld under the constitution of the country of origin.