Citizenship Status of LPDP Scholarship Awardee DS's Child Draws Government Scrutiny

JAKARTA - The citizenship status of Dwi Sasetyaningtyas (DS), an alumnus of the Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) scholarship scheme, has drawn government attention after DS claimed her child held a British passport.

DS subsequently sparked controversy by stating that she alone was an Indonesian citizen and her child was no longer an Indonesian national.

The Director General of General Legal Administration (AHU), Widodo, clarified that the child of DS remains an Indonesian citizen (WNI) under Indonesian citizenship law principles.

Widodo explained that the United Kingdom, where DS resides, does not adopt the ius soli system or automatic citizenship based on birthplace. “If there is no birthplace system and no patrilineal descent, then patrilineal descent would make someone an Indonesian citizen. In that case, the child’s status is Indonesian citizen,” said Widodo on Thursday (26 February 2026).

Widodo noted that DS’s child is still very young and therefore unable to independently determine his or her own citizenship status.

The government has requested that DS refrain from intervening in her child’s right to choose their own citizenship in the future. Any such intervention could potentially violate the child’s rights.

“This is certainly a lesson for us all, particularly given that the Child Protection Act prohibits forcing matters related to parental rights. This means parents are excessively intervening in their children’s affairs,” he stated.

Under the principle of patrilineal descent, children born from their marriage automatically acquire Indonesian citizenship status.

Widodo stated that his ministry would seek further clarification regarding DS’s social media posts claiming that her child had already obtained a British passport. Moreover, DS has not yet coordinated with the Ministry of Law regarding her child’s citizenship status.