Mixed marriages
A marriage between a foreigner and an Indonesian is commonly referred to as a mixed marriage.
Marriage
Foreigners who want to get married with an Indonesian man or woman in Indonesia, should consider legal assistance from the very beginning. This may sound odd, but the bureaucracy involved can be quite overwhelming.
This stems from the fact that in matrimonial affairs we are dealing with (national) civil law, (Islamic) family law and local (adat) customary laws, as since its inception the Republic of Indonesia is a multi-cultural and multi-religious country.
If a foreigner does not have a (recognized) religion, one must be declared before he/she can get married. The Indonesian government recognizes six religions, being: Islam, Catholic, Protestant, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Inter-faith marriages are not recognized in Indonesia. Note that agnostic beliefs or atheism are not accepted as a faith.
Besides the rules in Indonesia, the foreigner must also take into account the policies of its native country if he/she wants the marriage to be recognized there as well.
A public announcement 10 days before the intended wedding date may be requested. Laws and procedures differ per country and religion, so it goes too far to get into every possible detail. However, hereafter we provide an overview of mixed marriage arrangements that are most common in Indonesia.
Note that ‘hush & hurry’ marriages are ill-advised. Please contact AdvintA well in advance if you have decided to get married in Indonesia, so we can inform you about the particular procedures and assist you with the appropriate documentation.
- The parties must be of the opposite gender; same-sex marriages are forbidden.
- The man and woman must have the same religion; if one does not have a recognized religion, you must declare one.
- A minimum age of 21 years old is required for both men and women; a parental letter of consent is required if one is younger.
Muslim marriage
The population of Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, which is reflected in the family laws.
Most mixed marriages take place between foreign non-Muslim men and Indonesian Muslim women, in which case a conversion of faith is required.
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According to Islam, it is forbidden for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man. So if your wife-to-be is Muslim and you are not, you first have to convert to Islam before you can marry her in Indonesia.
This can be done in a separate ceremonial before the wedding by an Imam of the local Mosque (Mesjid) or at the wedding day itself by a clerk of the local Religious Affairs Office (Kantor Urusan Agama) upon prior request. The Imam or religious affairs officer can inform you beforehand about the details and will guide you through the procedure.
Note that (unlike in Christianity) Islam has no official clergy. Among others, that means that an Imam is usually appointed by the local community rather than by a higher religious institution. Meanwhile, an official of the local Religious Affairs Office (KUA) is a civil servant employed by the government.
In contrast to a Muslim woman, it is permissible for a Muslim man to marry a Christian (Catholic or Protestant) woman, based on shared historic-religious roots. Because Islam is a so-called patri-lineal religion in which the man is the head of the family, he is expected to raise any children resulting from this marriage as Islamic. The wife can either remain Christian or convert at a later stage.
After conversion if applicable, the pre-marriage documentation must be arranged.
There is a substantial amount of paperwork involved for the foreign national as well as the Indonesian citizen when getting married. This table provides a basic overview of the documentation required.
Muslim mixed marriage documentation*
| Person | Documents | Authority | Notes |
| Foreign national |
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| Indonesian citizen |
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| Jointly |
|
|
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*This information is not legally binding and may be subject to change. Document provision and marriage customs may vary per country and region. Contact your embassy and KUA office for more information.
If you are residing in Indonesia as an employee, entrepreneur or retiree, the following additional documentation may be required:
Local ID card (KTP).
Police self-report / endorsement letter (STMD).
Tax settlement letter.
Make sure that the documents submitted to the KUA office are complete and valid, not only to conduct the wedding ceremony, but also to register the marriage and the subsequent issue of the marriage booklets (Buku Nikah).
The foreign pre-marriage documentation usually has to be translated in Bahasa Indonesia by a verified translator and then legalized.
The authenticity of the Indonesian documentation has to be verified.
The Indonesian Directorate-General for Consular Affairs in Jakarta regulates legalization, translation and validation requirements and can inform you regarding current procedures and revisions if any.
After completing the pre-wedding paperwork, a marriage requires the following 2 formalities to be fulfilled in Indonesia:
- A religious wedding ceremony.
- A prescribed marriage registration.
The wedding ceremony has to be held first, after which the marriage can be officially registered.
A mixed-marriage Muslim ceremony can be held at the local KUA office, so that afterwards the marriage can be directly registered at the KUA by the Religious Affairs Officer.
Two adult witnesses should be present at the ceremony. If you cannot provide these witnesses, employees of the KUA office may act as such. Besides these witnesses, a marriage guardian (wali nikah) must be present which should be the father of the bride.
The wedding ceremony is being lead by the KUA officer as the marriage leader (penghulu nikah) who abides by the Muslim marriage requirements called ‘ijab kabul’. The religious affairs officer can inform you beforehand about the preparations and will guide you through the ceremonial procedures.
Note that after the wedding ceremony, a wedding feast with family, friends and neighbors (walimah) may be held at another venue. If there is no party, it is advisable to have some Indonesian relatives present at the wedding ceremony to show that the Indonesian spouse's family endorses the marriage.
After the wedding ceremony, the marriage is registered at the local KUA office, after which the office will issue the marriage booklets to the newly-weds.
A Muslim marriage does not have to be recorded separately at the local civil registry office, known as Kantor Catatan Sipil (KCS). That’s because the KUA office itself (unlike a church) is a government body that registers the marriage and issues the marriage booklet, which in Indonesia is sufficient proof that the marriage is legitimate.
However, if the married couple moves abroad, you may present your marriage booklets to the civil registry office and request a civil confirmation. Thereafter, get a sworn translation of your Muslim mixed marriage via the consulate for use outside Indonesia.
Indonesia has no central depository of civil actions, including marriages. So it may be difficult to obtain an official, translated record of your marriage abroad when you have relocated to a third country.
If the couple wants the mixed marriage to be registered in the foreigners’ home country as well, you should contact your embassy in Indonesia on how to proceed. Thereafter, you can obtain a version of your marriage certificate from your native country.
Marriages will not be officially registered at foreign embassies, as the act of marriage is a local government matter.
Above all, a marriage in Indonesia is seen as a religious act. According to religious customs, Muslim marriages that are not officially registered are therefore still recognized to a certain extent.
Such a marriage is legal religiously (sah) according to Islamic law, when it complies with the following requirements:
- Bride and groom present.
- Mutual marital consent (Ijab dan Kabul).
- Supervised by a marriage guardian (Wali Nikah).
- Two adult witnesses present at the ceremony.
Without the complete paperwork and the presence of relatives of the bride a/o groom (walimah) however, such a religious marriage will not be officially registered at the Religious Affairs Office (KUA).
This type of religious Muslim marriage is known as a secretive marriage (nikah bawah tangan) or a serial marriage (nikah siri).
These religious ceremonies are performed quietly, for example if family members of the bride or groom are opposed to the marriage or if the groom is already married but wishes to have an additional wife without official consent.
Because this type of marriage is not officially registered at the KUA office this means that:
- No marriage booklets will be issued.
- The husband/groom will not be stated on the birth certificate if a child is born.
- The foreign partner cannot obtain a spouse residence permit for Indonesia and the Indonesian partner cannot obtain a spouse visa of the foreigners’ native country.
Indonesian Islamic law provides an opportunity to get an unregistered marriage administratively acknowledged on the following grounds:
- A marriage performed by a couple who was legally free to marry.
- In order to file for a divorce.
- Uncertainty about the legitimacy of the marriage re fulfillment of all the marriage requirements.
- Claiming loss of the marriage booklets.
Requests for administrative acknowledgement (isbat nikah) have to be filed at the Religious Islamic Court. The request can be filed by the husband, the wife, their children, the marriage guardian, or another party who has a legitimate interest in the marriage.
A court hearing will be part of the proceedings which includes witnesses and examination of the evidence provided. If granted, the court will issue a decree that the religious marriage previously performed has been acknowledged and that the KUA office shall issue official marriage booklets.
Christian marriage
As with all marriages in Indonesia, the Christian couple must also have the same religion, so if a Catholic wants to marry a Protestant, one of them has to adopt the faith of the other.
A written declaration of conversion is sufficient; inquire at the church where you intent to get married about the conventions of such a letter.
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Christian mixed marriage documentation*
| Person | Documents | Authority | Notes |
| Foreign national |
|
|
|
| Indonesian citizen |
|
|
|
| Jointly |
|
|
|
*This information is not legally binding and may be subject to change. Document provision and marriage customs may vary per country and region. Contact your embassy and the KCS office for more information.
If you are residing in Indonesia as a foreign employee, entrepreneur or retiree, the following additional documentation may be required:- Local ID card (KTP).
- Police self-report / endorsement letter (STMD).
- Tax settlement letter.
- Family book or birth certificate of your children (if applicable).
The foreign pre-marriage documentation usually has to be translated in Bahasa Indonesia by a verified translator and then legalized.
The authenticity of the Indonesian documentation has to be verified.
The Indonesian Directorate-General for Consular Affairs in Jakarta regulates legalization, translation and validation requirements and can inform you regarding current procedures and revisions if any.
Ten days after the wedding announcement, the actual wedding can be held; this requires the following 2 formalities to be fulfilled in Indonesia:
- A religious wedding ceremony.
- A prescribed marriage registration.
The wedding ceremony has to be held first, after which the marriage can be officially registered.
A mixed-marriage Christian ceremony should be held at the local church (Gereja), lead by the pastor or reverend.
Two adult witnesses should be present at the churchly blessing. If you cannot provide these witnesses, employees of the KCS office may act as such.
The church can inform you beforehand about the preparations and will guide you through the ceremonial procedures.
Note that after the wedding ceremony, a wedding party or reception with family, friends and neighbors may be held at another venue, but this is not necessary for the marriage to be legitimate.
After the wedding ceremony, the church will issue a religious marriage certificate which should be signed by the bride and groom, the witnesses and the pastor/reverend.
After the religious ceremony, the marriage must be registered within 60 days at the KCS office who will then issue a civil marriage certificate. A Christian marriage which is not registered by the local civil registry office is not considered legitimate in Indonesia, as a church is not a government body.
It is common practice to have civil servants of the KCS office present in church during the wedding, so that the Christian marriage can be directly recorded in the civil registry.
You may request a sworn translation of your civil marriage certificate from your consulate for use abroad. If as a foreigner, you want the mixed marriage to be registered in your home country as well, you should contact your embassy in Indonesia on how to proceed. Thereafter, you can obtain a version of your marriage certificate from your native country.
Marriages will not be officially registered at foreign embassies, as the act of marriage is a matter of the local government.
Hindu, Buddha or Confucian marriage
The legal requirements for these 3 types of religious marriages are basically the same as for a Christian mixed marriage in Indonesia.
If conversion of faith is applicable, inquire at the temple (Candi) on how to proceed.
A mixed-marriage religious ceremony should be held at a temple, lead by the religious leader. The cleric (together with your fiancée and future in-laws) can inform you beforehand about the preparations and will guide you through the ceremonial procedures.
Wedding abroad
Considering the extensive bureaucracy involved regarding mixed marriages in Indonesia, you may prefer to get married abroad.This is usually done in the foreigners’ native country (although it is also possible to get married in another country of your choice).
If you want the overseas marriage to be recognized in your native country as well as in Indonesia, then inform yourself about the marriage requirements at the civil registry office in Indonesia and the Indonesian embassy in your home country respectively before you get married.
After the wedding and the marriage registration, you will receive the marriage certificate which is recognized by the foreigners’ national government.
Be advised that the Indonesian embassy a/o the local registry office may request to see the foreign pre-wedding documentation in order to verify and register your foreign marriage certificate.
- Verification by the Indonesian embassy or consulate in the country where you got married.
This should include a certified and sworn translation into Bahasa Indonesia of the marriage certificate. If it concerns an inter-faith marriage without prior conversion of the foreign spouse, the embassy may not always validate your marriage certificate.
- Reporting the foreign marriage at the applicable local government registry in Indonesia.
This should be done within 30 days from the date of arrival in Indonesia, at the local government office of the district where the couple will reside. Muslim couples report at the KUA office and all other religions at the KCS office.
- Registration of the foreign marriage at the applicable local government office.
After verification, you will receive a marriage report certificate (Tanda Bukti Laporan Perkawinan), which proves that your overseas marriage is now legitimate in Indonesia.
*This information is not legally binding and may be subject to change. Document provision and marriage customs may vary per country and region.
Prenuptial & postnuptial agreement
When getting married, it is of vital importance that the couple takes into account what will happen with their assets in the event of divorce or death. It is vital that a prenuptial agreement is made (prior to the wedding), in case the marriage ends in a divorce.
If no prenuptial agreement has been made, it may still be possible to make a so-called postnuptial agreement regarding the separation of assets during a marriage.
Prenuptial agreement
A prenuptial agreement is a written legal contract entered into by a couple before marriage that primarily specifies the division of their assets in case the marriage ends through divorce.
In a mixed foreign-Indonesian marriage, drawing up prenuptial agreement (prenup) is not only essential in the event of a divorce. It is also needed to secure property rights between husband and wife during their married life.
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Without a prenup, the Indonesian law stipulates community of property between husband and wife.
Community property requires consensus between the husband and wife if one wants to sell the property. However, assuming community property in mixed marriages interferes with another law that prohibits foreigners to fully own property in Indonesia.
One cannot obtain legal consent from another who has no right to grant it, as the foreigner only has right of use (Hak Pakai). In that case right of ownership (Hak Milik) has to be assigned to a third party.
Schematic overview:
| Ownership rights | Foreign spouse | Indonesian spouse | Notes |
| Without prenup: | Right of Use (Hak Pakai) | Right of Use (Hak Pakai) | Re family home / house |
| With prenup: | Right of Use (Hak Pakai) | Full ownership (Hak Milik) | Re family home / house |
Joint ownership of a house for a mixed couple is not possible, because a foreign individual, married or unmarried, cannot have full ownership rights in Indonesia.
Full ownership of the family home for the Indonesian spouse is only possible with a prenup which describes the partition of property between the husband and wife. With a prenup, the house is in the name of the Indonesian spouse.
The prenuptial agreement may include the condition that in the event of a divorce, the house will be sold and that part of the proceeds will be awarded to the foreign spouse.
Indonesian law does not dictate a prescribed format of a prenuptial agreement, so the couple is free as to which assets are included and how it is divided, as long as it does not violate the law.
To minimize future misunderstandings however, the prenup should include full disclosure of all assets and liabilities and specify what each spouse will receive if the marriage is dissolved.
Contact AdvintA well in advance of the intended wedding date, to draft a legally sound prenuptial agreement which suits both partners.
As there is no standard format for a prenuptial agreement, you should consult with our lawyer to draft the agreement.
Thereafter, the prenup can be signed by the couple in mutual consent and legalized by a notary. Then, the prenuptial agreement must be registered twice to be legally acknowledged.
This must be done before the wedding date at:
- The local KUA office (re Muslim couples) or the KCS office (re non-Muslim couples).
- The local district court (re all religions).
When approved by both registrars, the prenuptial agreement will take effect towards both partners and against third parties upon the date of registration.
In addition, these registration requirements prevent the recording of back-dated prenups. A back-dated prenup is dated prior to the wedding day, but signed after the marriage and therefore not valid. Without registration at the district court, the prenup is considered non-existent in case of any future disagreements.
If your wedding will be performed outside Indonesia and you cannot come to Indonesia just to sign a prenuptial agreement, the prenuptial agreement must be governed under Indonesian law and legalized by the Indonesian embassy in that foreign country, after which it can be registered.
The Indonesian prenup is only applicable to assets in Indonesia.
If the foreign spouse still has assets in his/her native country, then it is advisable to also have a valid foreign prenuptial agreement in place that is applicable only to those oversees properties. The foreign prenup can be made in the spouses’ country of origin and should not contradict the contents of the Indonesian prenup.
It is recommended that each prenup mentions the other as part of the entire marriage agreement. This is a so-called ‘back-to-back’ prenuptial agreement.
Postnuptial agreement
Instead of trying to get a back-dated prenup registration, it is advisable to draft a postnuptial agreement (postnup) in case no prenuptial agreement was made and registered before the wedding. Indonesia’s law on marriages only recognizes prenuptial agreements, but the Indonesian Civil Code of Law provides a special provision regarding property division in the course of a marriage.
The postnup ensures a division of property in a valid, existing marriage from the date of signature, after which the community property regime no longer exists. So the existing property prior to the postnup has to be determined and partitioned.
The postnup serves as a legal contract between husband and wife and also takes effect upon third parties such as creditors.
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Postnuptial agreements are usually created to settle property ownership in mixed marriages.
As explained in the prenup section, full ownership of a joint home for the Indonesian spouse in a mixed marriage is not possible without a prenup.
Such a situation creates the legal basis for making a valid postnup during a marriage, which restores the legal right of the Indonesian citizen to wholly own property in Indonesia under the Indonesian Civil Code.
The grounds and contents of the postnup must be compliant with the Civil Code of Law.
A postnuptial agreement is not a common document so it requires full disclosure of all assets and liabilities, have to be entered into voluntarily by both parties and have terms that are fair and impartial.
After jointly signing the postnup, the assets concerned will be assumed separated. Then both husband and wife will have control over their individual assets without requiring consent from the other or having to rely on a third party as the legal owner.
The postnup agreement must be recorded in a notarial deed.
Then the agreement must be reported to the marriage registrar being:
- The KCS office for non-Muslim couples.
- The KUA office for Muslim couples.
The application for registering the postnup agreement can be filed by the husband a/o wife or via a power of attorney granted to a third party such as the legal consultant who drafted the agreement.
When approved by the registrar, the postnuptial agreement will take effect towards both partners and against third parties upon the date of registration.
Summary
It is important to keep the marriage agreement up-to-date.
No agreement can take into account all possible future events at once, such as birth, illness, relocation a/o capital growth.
Besides the need of a legal specialist to draw up the marriage agreement, AdvintA can help you to review the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement periodically to keep it up-to-date regarding your current family situation.
So before you get married in Indonesia, please contact us so we can help you with the documentation, registration and the correct procedures.