Dasco: Dual Citizenship to Bring Home Diaspora

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Sufmi Dasco Ahmad has responded to the discourse on limited dual citizenship raised by President Prabowo Subianto during the annual session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Friday (14/8/2026). According to Dasco, the policy could provide an avenue for members of the Indonesian diaspora with potential to return and contribute to the country.

Dasco noted that the government has previously requested the DPR to process citizenship approvals for certain foreigners who have contributed in sports, such as football and basketball. “Yes, occasionally the government has asked us to process citizenship approvals for, say, athletes in football and basketball, and we process those,” Dasco said at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Friday (14/8/2026).

However, Dasco stated that the discourse presented by Prabowo has a broader scope. He said the government sees that many diaspora members have the potential to contribute their energy and ideas to Indonesia despite having lived abroad for a long time. “But from what I heard from the government earlier, there are actually many diaspora members with the potential to contribute their energy and thoughts to Indonesia, but perhaps because they have lived abroad for a long time, the government wants to facilitate citizenship here without them having to relinquish their original citizenship,” he said.

Dasco stressed that the granting of dual citizenship would not be applied generally. According to him, the government will implement the policy on a limited and highly selective basis. “So, as was conveyed earlier, it will be done on a limited and very selective basis. That is all,” he concluded.