LPDP Alumni's Child is Still a WNI, the AHU Directorate General Questions the Status of British WNA

Director General of General Legal Administration (Dirjen AHU) of the Ministry of Law (Kemenkum) Widodo in a press conference Thursday, February 26, 2026

JAKARTA - The Director General of General Legal Administration (Dirjen AHU) of the Ministry of Law (Kemenkum) Widodo questioned how the LPDP alumni Dwi Sasetyaningtyas could get a United Kingdom (UK) passport for his child.

This is because Indonesia based on Law Number 12 of 2006 concerning Indonesian Republic Citizenship adheres to the principle of ius sanguisnis (based on lineage) and adheres to a single citizenship system. It is known that currently Dwi Sasetyaningtyas and her husband are still Indonesian Citizens (WNI).

"Well, if two Indonesian citizens have descendants, of course their children are Indonesian children. It remains then where the child was born, whether he adheres to ius sanguinis based on lineage, if from the lineage is still an Indonesian citizen. Or ius soli (based on place of birth)," said Widodo, Thursday, February 26.

Based on the video circulating, in various media, the child recipient of the LPDP is recorded or said to be a British or UK citizen. This is because Britain does not adhere to ius soli to determine someone as its citizen.

"Of course this is a question, whether his child was indeed born there, in England, while England is one of the countries that do not adhere to ius soli and are not based on the line of the place of birth," he said.

Director General of General Legal Administration (Dirjen AHU) of the Ministry of Law (Kemenkum) Widodo in a press conference Thursday, February 26, 2026

Widodo also highlighted the issue of the age of Dwi's children, who are both still minors. Based on the law in force in Indonesia, the child has not been allowed to choose his nationality before reaching the age of 18 years to a maximum of 21 years or married.

Then in some conditions, continued Widodo, a person can switch citizenship because they have a permanent resident in a country for a certain period of time. However, this rule applies to adults who have the right to determine their citizenship.

"If you look at the lineage of birth and parents, of course (his son - ed) is still a citizen of Indonesia. But the same as his parents, he was transferred to or informed as if he were a foreign citizen," he explained.

Widodo reminded Dwi not to interfere with his underage child's right to determine his nationality, because there is a law that prohibits coercion against children.

"So this certainly does not teach us all, especially the Child Protection Law, which should not impose everything on the child's human rights when parents intervene too much in their children, this is a lesson for all of us," he said.

Widodo said the government was drafting the Citizenship Bill (RUU) which would tighten the provisions regarding the acquisition and release of Indonesian citizen status. In the last five years, the interest of foreign citizens to become Indonesian citizens has been quite high, reaching hundreds to thousands of applications. However, the naturalization process is carried out strictly and selectively.