Law Minister Stresses Difficulty in Renouncing or Obtaining Indonesian Citizenship

Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas has emphasised that the process for renouncing or obtaining Indonesian citizenship is not straightforward. Speaking at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, Supratman explained that foreign nationals wishing to obtain Indonesian citizenship must fulfil various requirements, including a residency period. “For those who want to become citizens, they must reside in Indonesia for five consecutive years or ten non-consecutive years. They must certainly be individuals with financial capability,” he said. Regarding applications to renounce Indonesian citizenship, he stated that the government, through 15 ministries and agencies, conducts checks on the individual applicant. This is to ensure the applicant has fulfilled all obligations during their time as an Indonesian citizen. “We must ensure that the person wishing to renounce their citizenship has no tax arrears and no connection to any ongoing criminal cases. This must be verified by 14 to 15 ministries and agencies,” Supratman said. According to him, applications from foreign nationals to become Indonesian citizens currently range from 1,000 to 1,500 people. Meanwhile, requests to renounce Indonesian citizenship number around 300 people. “Even then, not all are necessarily approved,” he added. The statement was made by the Law Minister in response to public unease regarding the fee increases for renouncing Indonesian citizenship and naturalisation, as stipulated in Government Regulation Number 30 of 2026. The regulation stipulates that a change of citizenship from foreign national to Indonesian citizen incurs a fee of Rp75 million, naturalisation based on marriage costs Rp25 million, while an application for a decree concerning the loss of citizenship at one’s own request is Rp5 million. The Law Minister urged the public not to worry about the adjustment, as it had undergone various considerations. Furthermore, he noted that the fees do not directly impact the general public.