In Lifestyle, News
 Viewed: 814 views

Image: Jian Mason makes his Indonesian oath. Credit: bali.kemenkumham.go.id

Jian Mason, looked delighted after the ceremony to change his citizenship from Australian to Indonesian on Tuesday morning. The change of the citizenship was presented at the Bali Law and Human Rights Ministry (Kemenkumham) Office in Denpasar, and overseen by the Head of Bali Kemenkumham Office, Sutrisno.

When he was speaking to TribunBali after the ceremony, Jian said that he wanted to become Indonesian because all his family stayed in Bali and he also admitted to having a liking to Babi Guling (Suckling Pig) and other local delicacies.

“I will live my life here in Bali. I was born in Bali and while I stayed in Australia for 10 years I feel that my life is here. My mother and my family are here and Indonesia has so much potential. I am sure I can do many positive things for this country,” he said in front of his mother and father, who also attended the ceremony.

Jian’s mother, Made Yanie Mason, said at the ceremony that her son prefers to live in Bali. “He said that he wanted to be a Balinese man because I am a Balinese woman. My sons have performed the Balinese rites till now. Besides, our work needs us to be here, so I think it’s better this way,” she said.

She also said that it took four years to complete the citizenship change process. “My sons were born here, but they looked like foreigners. If we had processed the citizenship two years after they were born, it wouldn’t be complicated like this,” she added.

Jian was also accompanied by his brother, Shan Mason, who was approved two weeks before Jian, and his well-known, Australian/English businessman father, Nigel Mason.

The Head of Bali Kemenkumham Office, Sutrisno, said that the process of naturalization must follow the regulations of Indonesian Law no. 11 of 2006. It says that a foreigner can officially become an Indonesian citizen if he/she has stayed five years consecutively or 10 years inconsecutively in Indonesia, and should submit a Temporary Stay Permit (KITAS) and then KITAP before they try to change their citizenship status. Besides that, they must have a notification statement from Immigration Office.

“Then they can submit their proposal to Law and Human Rights Service Division after they can prove that they have a job here. The documents are then sent to Public Law Administration General Directorate, which will send the application to the President,” he explained.

Sutrisno also said that there is another way to become an Indonesian citizen, which is by marrying an Indonesian person. He said that there are not many applications to change citizenship to Indonesian though. “There was one application approved in 2018, but three already this year,” he concluded.

As seen in the image, at the same ceremony, Ayuk Eka Kumala Dewei, SH. also took the notarial oath in front of the Head of the Kemenkumham Regional Office.