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Planned diaspora visa program will be continued by next minister: Yasonna
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Illustration of an Indonesian visa. (Shutterstock/Paolo Gallo)
Y
asonna Laoly, on his last day in office as law and human rights minister on Monday, said his predecessor should ensure the success of the Overseas Citizenship of Indonesia (OCI) visa plan, underlining that the inclusion of the Indonesian diaspora community was key to ensuring Indonesia’s long-term success.
There is still a lot of “conservatism” within the Indonesian government regarding the plan to grant lifelong, multiple-entry visas to members of the Indonesian diaspora and their spouses who hold foreign passports. But discussions to expedite the special permit are still ongoing as interest in capturing the diaspora’s talent and economic benefits prevails, Yasonna said.
In recent years, the government has come up with various schemes to attract skilled foreigners and members of the diaspora to the country, including by referencing India’s overseas citizenship permit scheme to allow ex-Indonesian citizens and children of mixed marriages economic, residential and employment rights.
During his time as the law and human rights minister, Yasona said, great effort has been put by several ministries into realizing the plan put forth by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, including working visits to India and discussions on the scheme’s details.
“Research on the implementation of the OCI will be deepened and will positively impact the diaspora community. It is currently being drafted by the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister,” Yasonna said at an OCI public discussion held by the Indonesian Diaspora Network-United on Monday.
“We need to collectively fight for this so that it can be done as soon as possible. Honestly, there was some conservatism among several ministers on the topic, but we continued pushing it,” he added.
A change in the ministries’ leadership does not change the government’s policies, Yasona said, underlining that the drafting process will continue alongside consultations with the diaspora community.
