KUALA LUMPUR – The Indonesian government is exploring the possibility of allowing dual citizenship for its skilled workers in a bid to address the republic’s brain drain problem.
Several news agencies quoted Maritime and Investment Affairs Coordinating Minister Luhut Panjaitan as saying that this was being considered to entice highly qualified individuals back into the Indonesian workforce.
“We also invite the Indonesian diaspora and we give them also, soon, dual citizen (sic).
“Which I think will…bring very skilful Indonesians back to Indonesia,” he said.
Luhut was speaking at a briefing attended by Microsoft’s chief executive officer Satya Nadella who committed to investing US$1.7 billion (RM8.11 billion) in Indonesia.
Indonesia currently prohibits dual citizenship, and thousands of skilled individuals have renounced their nationality due to better employment and income opportunities abroad.
According to data from the Directorate-General of Immigration, almost 4,000 Indonesians obtained Singaporean citizenship from 2019 to 2022. – April 30, 2024