Foreigners Can Own Electronic ID Cards, here is the Difference with Ones Owned by Indonesian Citizens

PERTANYAAN

Is it true that foreigners can have electronic ID cards? What are the requirements and are cards different from those of Indonesian Citizens in general?

INTISARI JAWABAN

Foreigners or Foreign Citizens can own electronic ID Cards with one condition: the foreigner must have a permanent stay permit and be 17 years old or have married or been married.

So, what makes the electronic ID Cards for foreigners different from the ones owned by us as Indonesian Citizens?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of WNA Bisa Punya KTP Elektronik, Ini Bedanya dengan Milik WNI, written by Prof. Dr. Zudan Arif Fakrulloh, S.H., M.H., and published on Tuesday, 23 May 2023.

This article below is an update of the article with the same title written by Prof. Dr. Zudan Arif Fakrulloh, S.H., M.H. from Seleb Jurist and was first published on Wednesday, 23 June 2021, and updated by Dian Dwi Jayanti, S.H. on Tuesday, 23 May 2023.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

The Definition of Residents Include Foreigners

Before answering your question, it is important to know that in order to fulfill the state's obligation to protect and recognize every population event and important event experienced by residents/population, every resident is entitled to population administration and civil registration services.[1] This is the essence of the Population Administration Law as amended by Law 24/2013.

So, what does a resident mean (in Bahasa Indonesia, resident means penduduk)? Article 1 number 1 Law 24/2013, which amends Article 1 number 2 Population Administration Law, stipulates that residents are Indonesian Ctizens and foreigners residing in Indonesia. Therefore, Indonesian Citizens (Warga Negara Indonesia "WNI") and Foreign Citizens (Warga Negara Asing "WNA") residing in Indonesia are entitled to the same services in population registration and civil registration, protection of personal data, and legal certainty over ownership of population documents.

Electronic ID Cards for Foreigners

Moreover, you need to understand first that the population administration system in Indonesia basically does not only regulate Indonesian Citizens but also includes foreigners.

As for the electronic ID Cards (Kartu Tanda Penduduk Elektronik "KTP-el") of foreigners, it is regulated in Article 1 number 13 Law 24/2013 which amends Article 63 number 1 Population Administration Law, as follows:

Indonesian Citizens and foreigners with permanent stay permits who are 17 years old or have married or have been married are required to have electronic ID Cards.

Then, electronic ID Cards for foreigners also regulate the limitation of their validity period, namely foreigners are required to report the extension of the validity period or replace the electronic ID Cards to the Implementing Agency no later than 30 days before the date the validity period of the permanent residence permit expires.[2]

For information, Indonesian laws and regulations have integratively regulated Indonesian Citizens and foreigners in Indonesia. For example, if a foreigner is born in Indonesia, the Population and Civil Registration Office issues a birth certificate. Similarly, if a foreigner passes in Indonesia, a death certificate will be issued as stipulated in Presidential Regulation 96/2018.

This is because the presence of foreigners certainly requires supervision regarding their legality and movements in order to maintain public order, and foreigners must obey and respect various regulations in Indonesia.

On the other hand, foreigners are still restricted in their movements such to legal and political restrictions. Because the foreigners concerned are also still subject to the laws of their country of origin.

Requirements for Issuing Electronic ID Cards for Foreigners

As explained earlier, not every foreigner can have an electronic ID Card, but foreigners who have a permanent residence permit who are 17 years old or have married, or have been married are required to have an electronic ID Card.

In more detail, Article 16 Presidential Regulation 96/2018 regulates the requirements that must be fulfilled to apply for electronic ID Cards for foreigners, as follows:

1. 17 years old, married, or have been married;
2. family card;
3. travel document; and
4. permanent stay permit card.

Thus, the foreigner concerned must have a residence address in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the application procedure is the same as for Indonesian Citizens, which is simply coming to the nearest Population and Civil Registration Office for the registration of electronic ID Cards.

Differences between Electronic ID Cards Owned by Indonesian Citizens and Foreigners

Answering your second question, there are at least 4 (four) differences between electronic ID Cards owned by Indonesian Citizens and Foreigners, including the following:

1. All electronic ID Cards for foreigners have a validity period in accordance with the permanent residence permit issued by the Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Meanwhile, electronic ID Cards for Indonesian Citizens are written to be valid for life.
2. All information contained in electronic ID Cards for foreigners such as gender, religion, marital status, and occupation, is written in English.
3. Regarding the citizenship column, for electronic ID Cards for Indonesian Citizens, all citizenship columns are filled with “Indonesia”, but for foreigners, it will be adjusted to their respective citizenship. For example, Italian, English, Netherlands, and others are written.
4. The color of the electronic ID Cards for foreigners is orange, while the electronic ID Cards for Indonesian Citizens is blue.

You can read more about the standards and specifications of electronic ID Cards in Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs 72/2022.

It should be noted that even though foreigners can own electronic ID Cards, they are not allowed to vote and be elected in general elections. This is confirmed in Article 198 section (1) Law 7/2017, namely:

Indonesian Citizens who on the day of voting have reached the age of 17 years or more, have married, or have been married have the right to vote.

The article mentioned above means that the right to vote is only owned by Indonesian Citizens. This is another form of limitation of rights for foreigners. This needs to be emphasized considering that the issue of foreigners' ID Cards often arises in the days leading up to general elections.

These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 23 of 2006 on Population Administration as amended by Law Number 24 of 2013 on the Amendment to Law Number 23 of 2006 on Population Administration;
2. Law Number 7 of 2017 on General Elections as amended by Government Regulation in Lieu of Law Number 1 of 2022 on Amendments to Law Number 7 of 2017 on General Elections;
3. Presidential Regulation Number 96 of 2018 concerning Requirements and Procedures for Population Registration and Civil Registration;
4. Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 72 of 2022 on Standards and Specifications for Hardware, Software, and Electronic Identity Card Stamps and the Implementation of Digital Population Identity.

---

[1] Article 3 Law Number 23 of 2006 on Population Administration (“Population Administration Law”) jo. Letter a Considerations to Law Number 24 of 2013 on the Amendment to Law Number 23 of 2006 on Population Administration (“Law 24/2013”).

[2] Article 1 number 13 Law 24/2013 which amended Article 63 number 4 Population Administration Law.