Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia's Law Ministry has reaffirmed that obtaining citizenship is a strict and selective process amid public debate over the nationality status of a scholarship alumna's child.Director General of General Legal Administration (AHU) Widodo made the statement during a press conference on Thursday in response to viral discussions surrounding the child of LPDP (Endowment Fund for Education) scholarship alumna Dwi Sasetyaningtyas.Widodo stressed that although interest in Indonesian citizenship remains relatively high, the process of acquiring — or relinquishing — citizenship is neither automatic nor simple.”The government is highly selective and strict in granting citizenship status,” he said.To qualify, applicants must reside in Indonesia for five consecutive years. If their stay is not continuous, they must have lived in the country for at least 10 years in total. Applicants must also obtain formal authorization from the relevant authorities in their country of origin.He added that requirements would be further tightened under the planned revision of Law No. 12 of 2006 on Citizenship, citing concerns that some individuals may seek citizenship for improper purposes.Widodo also presented data showing fluctuating approval rates in recent years. In 2020, 29 of 37 applications were approved. In 2021, 61 of 63 applications were granted, followed by all 63 applications in 2022. In 2023, 66 of 69 applications were approved.However, approvals dropped sharply in 2024, with only 20 of 165 applications granted. In 2025, two of 147 applications have so far been fully processed and approved.He further noted that 714 children from mixed marriages are currently applying for Indonesian citizenship.Public debate intensified after Sasetyaningtyas posted a statement on social media saying, “It's enough for me to be an Indonesian citizen, not my child,” while displaying her child's British passport, prompting discussions about citizenship rules and dual nationality.