Immigration: Double Citizenship Child Passport Applicable Up To 18 Years

The Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections stated that for children with dual citizenship, there are a number of special rules that make their passports only valid.

"The provisions for Indonesian passport for child subjects with dual citizenship should not exceed the age limit for the child to state choosing his citizenship," said the Coordinator of the Public Communication Function of the Directorate General of Immigration Achmad Nur Saleh in a statement in Jakarta, Wednesday, as reported by Antara.

Provisions regarding the obligation of children with dual citizenship to determine citizenship status are regulated in Law Number 12 of 2006 concerning Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia (United States).

Article 6 paragraph (1) of the Citizenship Law stipulates that children who have dual citizenship must state their citizenship choices after the age of 18 or when they are married.

As for children with dual citizenship, for example, those born from mixed marriages between Indonesian citizens (WNI) and foreign nationals (WNA).

Meanwhile, Article 6 paragraph (3) of the Citizenship Law emphasizes that children with dual citizenship are required to convey their elected citizenship no later than three years after reaching the age of 18 years or after marriage.

Achmad gave an example, if a child with dual citizenship is 18 years old when applying for a passport replacement, the validity period for a passport that can be given is a maximum of three years.

This condition occurs because the child has not chosen citizenship and the limit for choosing citizenship is until the age of 21.

He explained that there are a number of special requirements to apply for Indonesian passports for children with dual citizenship. Parents are required to register their child status before the age of 18.

After that, when applying for a passport, parents are asked to attach various important documents, including the electronic ID cards of Indonesian citizens' parents, family cards, child birth certificates, as well as marriage certificates or parental marriage books.

"If one of the parents is a foreign citizen, the immigration residence permit must also be attached which is still valid, along with a photocopy of the passport belonging to the parent," he said.

Achmad reminded parents and children with dual citizenship to be proactive in understanding and carrying out the obligation to make statements on choosing citizenship before the specified time limit.

That way, he added, children will not experience problems in immigration or administrative documents, such as passports whose validity period is cut or limited.

"Every country has a different principle in terms of citizenship, so this is a very important thing to pay attention to parents and children," said Achmad.