Prabowo to Allow Limited Dual Citizenship, Dasco Responds
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives from the Gerindra Party faction, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, has responded to President Prabowo Subianto’s plan to open limited and selective dual citizenship for diaspora deemed capable of contributing to Indonesia.
Dasco said that the House has often processed government requests regarding the granting of citizenship to specific individuals, particularly for sporting purposes.
“So far, we have sometimes received requests from the government to process citizenship approvals for, for example, players in sports, football, basketball, and we then process those,” Dasco said at the Nusantara Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Friday (14/8/2026).
According to him, the policy could also target Indonesian diaspora who have the potential to contribute their labour, ideas and expertise to the country. However, many of them have long lived abroad and hold citizenship of other countries.
Dasco said the government wants to make it easier for such diaspora to obtain Indonesian citizenship without having to immediately relinquish their original citizenship.
“The government wants to facilitate citizenship here without relinquishing their original citizenship,” he said.
Nevertheless, Dasco stressed that the implementation of dual citizenship would not be carried out broadly. The government, he said, has conveyed that the scheme will be applied on a limited basis and through a strict selection process.
The plan is part of the government’s efforts to harness the potential of diaspora who have the skills and capacity to contribute to Indonesia, while still considering citizenship aspects and applicable regulations.
The House is also open to processing the government’s proposal regarding citizenship in accordance with the applicable mechanisms. Dasco emphasised that a selective approach is necessary so that the dual citizenship policy remains directed at those who genuinely have the potential to provide benefits to Indonesia.