RI should accept dual citizenship<\/p>\n
It was interesting to read in the Nov. 15 edition of The
\nJakarta Post that the 1958 Law on Citizenship may be revised. A
\nworking committee is currently debating amendments to the present
\nlaw that states that the citizenship of a child is determined by
\nthe citizenship of the father.<\/p>\n
The current law is discriminatory. Why should a child take the
\nfather's nationality? I have an Indonesian wife and we live in
\nIndonesia but any children that result from our marriage will
\nillogically be regarded as British, even though the child will
\nhave been born here, raised here and have an Indonesian mother.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 14, Kedaulatan Rakyat reported a case involving an
\nAustralian man living in Solo who failed to advise the
\nimmigration office that he had married an Indonesian woman and
\nthat they had a son. Presumably because the couple could foresee
\nbureaucratic difficulties in the future the child was registered
\nillegally as an Indonesian citizen. Consequently, when the case
\nwas uncovered, the immigration office decided that the father,
\ntogether with his seven-year-old \"Australian\" son, be deported.<\/p>\n
It seems absolutely ridiculous that the children of a marriage
\nbetween a foreign man and an Indonesian woman need to have a visa
\nto be allowed to stay with their own mother. Surely the best
\nanswer to this problem is to recognize the principle of dual
\nnationality, whereby the children of such a marriage have the
\nright to hold two passports. Dual nationality is an accepted
\nconcept throughout the world so why the resistance to it in
\nIndonesia?<\/p>\n
While a committee is looking at the immigration laws it should
\nalso examine why it is that my wife can move to my country and
\nget the right to stay and ultimately a passport, with all the
\nrights that it offers (e.g. freedom to work) within a short space
\nof time, whilst I am made to feel no better than a criminal here
\nin Indonesia, having to report to the immigration office and
\npolice every month and leave the country every six months to get
\na new social visa.<\/p>\n
DAVE GREENWOOD<\/p>\n
Yogyakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-should-accept-dual-citizenship-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }