Academic Warns of Brain Drain Potential Due to Indonesian Citizenship Renunciation

A lecturer from the International Relations programme at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY), Dian Azmawati, has warned that the rising trend of Indonesian citizens (WNI) changing their nationality could potentially trigger a brain drain phenomenon, or the mass loss of high-quality human resources. Dian revealed that in the last five years, nearly 8,000 WNI have relinquished their citizenship status. She stated that this phenomenon requires serious attention from the government as it directly impacts the availability of talent needed for national development. “Those who are moving are individuals with the skills, education, and expertise that are precisely needed to build the country. If this trend continues to increase, it will certainly become a serious issue,” Dian said in Yogyakarta on Wednesday (8/7). Dian explained that brain drain occurs when highly competent individuals with specialised skills choose to settle and work in other countries. This results in the country of origin losing crucial human resource capacity in the long term. Although migration is part of an increasingly open global dynamic, Dian stressed that the renunciation of citizenship carries deeper consequences. “Brain drain clearly impacts the country of origin because those leaving are not just anyone. They are individuals with high competence who are actually needed to build Indonesia,” she asserted. In response to this phenomenon, Dian assessed that the government must immediately create an ecosystem capable of retaining national talent.