THE HAGUE - Three Indonesian-born Dutch “adoption” survivors have won recognition of their Indonesian citizenship status after decades, with government findings concluding that all three acquired Indonesian citizenship at birth.

Ana Maria van Valen, Casmat van Bloppoel and Indra Jaya Laksana marked the development on Indonesia’s Independence Day on Aug. 17, appearing together at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague after years of campaigning through Akarku Indonesia.

Citizenship-status documents for all three obtained by Migrant Times say they acquired Indonesian citizenship at birth. Laksana’s determination was issued under his legal name, Scipio Jean Luc, the identity under which he was raised in the Netherlands and which he has described as false.

The Ministry of Law found that the three acquired Dutch nationality while still too young to legally choose a citizenship or express their own wishes. It also found no record that any of them had formally applied to relinquish Indonesian citizenship or had been recorded as having lost it.

Van Valen said that means they still have to formally end their Dutch citizenship before Indonesian passports can be issued.

“So yes, we need to end it formally,” she told Migrant Times, adding that they can obtain Indonesian passports once that process is completed.

She said the end of their Dutch citizenship will also be formally registered with the Netherlands’ Immigration and Naturalisation Service, or IND, which she described as necessary for their rights as former Dutch citizens.

Their Indonesian civil-registration process is already underway. Van Valen said she has received a digital Indonesian population identity, or IKD, and completed biometric registration at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague. She said she will later collect her physical identity card in Surabaya and complete the remaining passport process with immigration authorities.

Van Valen said the three are expected to attend an official ceremony together. She will complete her remaining civil-registration and immigration procedures in Surabaya, while Van Bloppoel and Laksana will do so in Pati and Bandung, respectively, according to their domiciles.

Laksana described the process as long and exhausting, but said returning to the Netherlands accompanied by Indonesian officials carried deep symbolic meaning for him. “When we were taken to the Netherlands we had no protection,” he told Migrant Times. “This time we returned under the guidance of a team from the Ministry of Law.”

He said an Indonesian Embassy official met the group at Schiphol Airport and embassy transport took them from there, making the arrival feel markedly different from his usual trips to the Netherlands. AHU personnel then guided them through the administrative process and coordinated paperwork with embassy officials.

“We are very happy of course, but it feels a bit strange,” Van Valen said. She described the recognition as both a major change and a new beginning. “As WNI I feel in a stronger position to work, build and set up things and cooperate. Personally we can build on our future here now.”

She said Akarku Indonesia plans to strengthen its work in Indonesia and seek closer cooperation with the Social Affairs Ministry, lawmakers, immigration authorities and other agencies.

Among its priorities, she said, is developing clearer procedures for other Indonesian-born adoption survivors seeking Indonesian citizenship, as well as easier access to visas or residence permits for those who do not pursue citizenship.

Van Valen said the group also wants greater support for affected families and survivors, including access to psychological care in Indonesia. She said their cases could also strengthen the position of other Indonesian-born people seeking recognition after being sent abroad as children.

For Laksana, the emotional turning point came when Director General Widodo presented them with the citizenship findings. “When we did another photo session outside in front of KBRI, all [the] tension released and I cried,” he said. “I was very happy.”

He said the decision also carried personal meaning beyond citizenship documents. “There’s justice for us and our parents, who unfortunately are not with us,” Laksana said. “I feel free now from the past.”

Indonesia’s Independence Day gave that feeling additional significance. Laksana said that during Indonesia’s 80th Independence Day celebrations last year, he had wished that the meaning of merdeka, or freedom, would one day include him. He set himself the goal of resolving his status before the 81st anniversary.

“This came true, just before Aug. 17,” he said.

Van Valen said they are also following legal efforts by Chilean adoptees in the Netherlands as they consider whether to pursue action over their own cases. She said any such effort would require time, money and significant emotional commitment.

The findings follow a direct appeal by Van Valen, Van Bloppoel and Laksana to Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas in Jakarta on June 12. At the time, Supratman said the government could pursue either restoration or formal confirmation of their Indonesian citizenship status. By July, their cases had moved into cross-agency clearance.

The cases follow reporting published in April on Indonesian-born people trying to reconstruct their identities and family histories after being sent to the Netherlands as children. A 2021 Dutch government inquiry documented serious abuses surrounding past intercountry adoptions, including falsified documents, child trafficking, fraud and corruption.

For Van Valen, that recognition is both personal and part of a broader struggle. “The recognition of Indonesia is a human right, justice for all victims,” she said. “And also personally, we feel complete.”