Dewi Savitri Wahab, the ministry’s expert for social culture and empowerment of Indonesians abroad, said the government was well aware of the Indonesian diaspora’s hopes for dual citizenship that could grant them legal certainty.

However, the government’s plan to revise the 2006 Citizenship Law to allow dual citizenship in 2016 has been met with opposition from lawmakers, who cited security concerns. Dual nationality also remains unpopular among some Indonesians at home, who consider it a kind of disloyalty.

“The regulation has not changed. […] We need consensus among all stakeholders in this country,” Dewi said at the fifth congress of the Indonesian Diaspora Network Global (IDN Global) in Jakarta on Saturday.

She urged IDN Global to start taking real action, adding that “complaining” alone through such a biennial congress would not solve the problem.

“There must be intensive discussions involving all major stakeholders. [The diaspora] should provide scientific and convincing arguments to assure lawmakers over the benefits [of dual nationality],” Dewi said.

Indonesia only recognizes dual nationality for persons under the age of 18, who are typically children from mixed-nationality marriages. They are obliged to choose a nationality after reaching 18.

The Indonesian diaspora numbers around 8 million people, according to an IDN Global estimate.

In September 2017, the government launched a diaspora card, an identity card for members of the Indonesian diaspora, as an alternative to the yet unsuccessful attempt to revise the Citizenship Law.

The diaspora card, however, was met with what Dewi described as a “lower-than-expected” response.

The Foreign Ministry has so far issued 607 diaspora cards for Indonesians overseas and 244 for former Indonesians. It aims to provide more than 1,000 cards by the end of this year.

“Despite the government’s good intentions [in introducing the diaspora card], many Indonesians overseas were reluctant to apply for the card, because it has limited privileges,” said Butce Lie, IDN Global vice president for America.

Indonesians living overseas, including Indonesian citizens, people of Indonesian descent as well as former Indonesian citizens and their children, are eligible for the card, as stipulated in a 2017 presidential regulation on the diaspora card.

However, only Indonesian citizens abroad can use it as an alternative identity document to open bank accounts, own property and establish businesses in Indonesia.

Card holders who have renounced their Indonesian citizenship are not entitled to such privileges, since they are bound by other regulations, such as the 2015 government regulation on house ownership for foreigners.

That is among the main concerns of the Indonesian diaspora, particularly Indonesians marrying foreigners, since many of their next of kin live in Indonesia.

Iwan Wibosono, the president of IDN Global’s Australia chapter, said he expected Indonesia to be at least like India, which grants noncitizens of Indian birth, descent or origin who live outside the country greater economic and social privileges than foreigners with no Indian roots, for instance multipurpose lifelong visas.

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