Ministry of Law and Human Rights States Child of LPDP Alumni Still Holds Indonesian Citizenship
Jakarta, VIVA – The Director General of General Legal Administration (AHU), Widodo, stated that the child of Dwi Sasetyaningtyas (DS), an alumnus of the Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) scholarship program, still holds Indonesian citizenship if referring to the principles of citizenship law.
Widodo explained that the UK, where DS resides, does not adhere to the ius soli system or automatic citizenship based on place of birth, so citizenship status is not automatically granted even if the child was born there.
“If it does not adhere to the place of birth and also does not have a lineage, then the lineage is that of an Indonesian citizen, in that place it is not recognised, meaning the child’s status is that of an Indonesian citizen,” said Widodo in a press conference in Jakarta, Thursday, February 26, 2026.
Regardless of that, considering the child’s young age, the child is not yet at the age to determine their own citizenship status. In that context, Widodo said that DS potentially violated her child’s rights.
“This is certainly a lesson for all of us, especially since the Child Protection Law does not allow forcing anything on the rights of the child, meaning the parents are too intervening in their child’s life,” he said.
Based on information gathered by the Directorate General of AHU, DS and her husband are Indonesian citizens who studied for postgraduate degrees abroad with LPDP. Based on the principle of lineage, a child born from their marriage is directly an Indonesian citizen.
However, regarding DS’s controversial post recently that her child has a British passport, the Directorate General of AHU will confirm further. This is because DS has not coordinated with the Ministry of Law regarding her child’s citizenship.
“This certainly raises the question, was the child indeed born there, in the UK? While the UK is one of the countries that does not adhere to ius soli, not based on the place of birth,” he said.
The Directorate General of AHU will also communicate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British Embassy regarding the citizenship status of DS’s child.
“Is it just a statement on social media, or is it a formal legal intention expressed to relate to the status of her child?” said Widodo.
It is known that the polemic began with DS’s post on her personal Instagram account on February 20, 2026. In the video, the LPDP alumnus showed the passport of her second child who had just obtained British citizenship.