Immigration reminds the age limit for dual citizenship for mixed marriages

POLEWALI MANDAR - The Polewali Mandar Immigration Office (Polman) has tightened supervision of immigration administration through socialization of citizenship rules for mixed marriage families in West Sulawesi. This step is taken to reduce the number of administrative errors in documents that are still common.

Head of the Sulbar Travel, Residence Permit and Immigration Status Section, Daud Randa Payung, emphasized that understanding the law on Law Number 1 of 1974 is crucial in the modern era. This includes the validity of marriages between Indonesian citizens and foreign nationals which must be in accordance with the law in Indonesia.

"This socialization is a preventive step to reduce administrative errors that often occur in the community," said Daud, quoted from ANTARA, Tuesday, April 28, 2026.

Regarding the status of citizenship, Head of the Population Registration Service, Andi Erniati, reminded that there were strict limits for children from mixed marriages. Based on the applicable regulations, the child only holds limited dual citizenship status.

"Children from mixed marriages are obliged to choose one of the nationalities at the latest at the age of 21," said Andi Erniati.

He detailed that dual citizenship rights only apply until the age of 18 or before the child gets married. After passing the age threshold, the subject is given a maximum of three years to determine their citizenship status.

Apart from legal status, the government also emphasizes the importance of registration in the Family Card (KK) and Birth Certificate to guarantee children's civil rights. According to Law Number 12 of 2006, the protection of Indonesian citizens remains attached to children born abroad from mixed marriages, as long as one of their parents proves to have Indonesian citizenship and has a legally valid marriage bond.