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The Republic of Indonesia is not taking full advantage of a valuable resource in its midst: those individuals that have strong ties to the country – whether through birth, marriage, descent or long residence – but whom Indonesian law currently treats as just like any other foreigners.

In an ideal world, Indonesia would want to maximize the financial and human resource investments these “Indonesian affiliates” could offer, while perhaps limiting their political or economic influence.

Is there a way to meet these dual goals? Yes – by creating an Affiliate of Indonesia status in a revised immigration law.

Indonesia is at an international crossroads.

In the coming years and decades, it should diversify its economy from an overreliance on the export of raw materials and simple manufactured goods to higher-value areas.

It should make the strongest use of its position as the sole Southeast Asian representative in the G-20 group of powerful economies.

It should maximize its role at the forefront of Asean free-trade agreements.

Entering into important strategic alliances will shape Indonesia’s strength as an emerging power, and it must nurture these links through additional educational and cultural programs.

Indonesia has taken excellent initial steps to maximize the impact of this historic moment.

More effectively utilizing Indonesian affiliates should be part of the plan going forward. Frankly, we need the human resources.

Look, for example, to India, which has similar development and strategic goals.

The Indian government recognized that non-citizens with strong ties to India — including former citizens, spouses and children of Indian citizens and those of Indian heritage — constituted an important pool of financial and human resources.

It created a new immigration status to solidify their links to the country.

They cannot vote, obtain an Indian passport, hold government office or acquire major agricultural or plantation properties.

However, they are allowed a multiple-entry life-long visa to visit India for any length of time.

They may also seek employment and employ others (provided of course that they meet additional professional licensing requirements, such as for doctors, lawyers and architects).

In addition, they may acquire and inherit small-scale property like houses and apartments.

In line with the Indian constitution, which prohibits dual citizenship, this new immigration status is a form of citizenship in name only: “overseas citizen of India.”

But it has effectively strengthened these individuals’ emotional connections to India and their commitment to its growth.

Indeed, many overseas citizens of India have returned as frequent tourists and investors, bringing expertise and foreign-based funding that may otherwise have landed elsewhere.

Unlike India’s approach, Indonesia treats potential affiliates as equivalent to total outsiders; this does nothing to support the country’s long-term development and strategic goals.

Instead, Indonesia should create a similar intermediate status, tailored to its own needs: Indonesian affiliates would be given incentives to strengthen their existing emotional, blood and cultural attachments and to create new ones.

In the financial arena, these connections would exist at the larger economic level of investment and export links, but also at the personal level of heightened remittances, more regular visits and tourist expenditures, and increased contributions to local and neighborhood projects in their home areas.

In the arena of human capital, Indonesian affiliates would be given greater opportunities to use their skills in ways that might benefit the country – through increased educational exchanges, direct technical expertise and by focusing their efforts toward issues that concern Indonesia.

Finally, enhancing the emotional ties of such individuals will encourage them to act as informal ambassadors, representing Indonesia positively while abroad and improving the country’s public relations.

While many countries allow dual citizenship, Indonesia has decided not to.

However, a compromise Indonesian affiliate status would allow the best of both worlds: it would limit political and economic influence by non-citizens while making those with strong emotional ties to the country feel more at home here.

This can only serve to deepen their commitments and investments.

It would also address many of the unnecessary family hardships produced by the current immigration law — hardships that have been well documented by organizations such as Aliansi Pelangi Antar Bangsa and PerCa.

Although the dictates of human compassion and strategic interest sometimes conflict, in this case they coincide.

A decision by the House of Representatives to create an affiliate status would serve the long-term goals of Indonesia, and be sensitive to human needs, at this critical juncture.


Odette Sri Wardhani Lienau is an Assistant Professor of Law at Cornell University and author of the forthcoming book “Rethinking Sovereign Debt: Debt and Reputation in the Twentieth Century.” Her mother is Indonesian and her father is American.