Registration for Serving in Transmigration Areas Reopened

The Ministry of Transmigration has reopened registration for members of the 2026 Patriot Expedition Team for graduates with D4, S1, S2, and S3 qualifications. Transmigration Minister Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara stated that there is no age limit, but priority is given to young individuals with adequate health.

The quota is 1,458 people who will later be deployed to 53 transmigration areas,” he said during a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Monday, 4 May 2026.

Iftitah explained that the team’s mission is to alleviate poverty. The activities are not limited to research but also include community assistance and service for one year in transmigration areas, such as teaching in schools or supporting farmers.

The teams to be deployed will include those entering 45 national priority transmigration areas. Additionally, there will be focus on 10 points in Papua.

Iftitah said the government is focusing on 53 areas out of 154 transmigration zones. This focus stems from Pre-Feasibility Studies or pre-feasibility assessments involving research mapping and economic potential, leading to Feasibility Studies or follow-up feasibility assessments.

Registration for the Patriot Expedition Team is open from 1 to 25 May 2026. Participants include those from 10 partner universities and other universities not included. Registration can be accessed via the link tep.transmigrasi.go.id.

“Private universities, universities anywhere across Indonesia may participate in this programme,” he stated.

Iftitah wants to change the perception that transmigration merely relocates problems or even poverty from the origin areas. The deployment of university graduates to the field is expected to provide tangible benefits to the community. “We see that transmigration actually has great potential to eradicate poverty in Indonesia,” he remarked.

He envisions transmigration areas becoming empowered through their existing potentials, such as in Samboja, East Kalimantan. That area is estimated to develop further with plans for oil and natural gas production this year.

Previously, the Patriot Expedition Team was first implemented in 2025. The government dispatched 2,000 people divided into 400 teams to 154 transmigration areas.