Brain Gain: How to Lure Indonesia’s Best and Brightest Back Home (Without Just Begging)
We’ve already dissected #KaburAjaDulu, the social media-fueled mass exodus where young Indonesians take one look at traffic, salaries, and government efficiency, and decide that leaving is the best investment in their future. We get it. Not everyone dreams of filling out BPJS forms for a living.
And we can’t even blame them. Life abroad comes with the undeniable perks of consistent electricity, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, and the idea that your job should actually pay you enough to afford rent. It doesn't.
But running is easy. Returning? Now, that’s the real challenge. If brain drain is the problem, then brain gain is the actual solution. Not just plugging the leaks, but making sure the best minds actually want to flow back.
However, no one is coming back just because we ask nicely. The old-school guilt-tripping approach of "Kamu nggak cinta Tanah Air?" is ineffective. People don’t leave because they hate Indonesia. They leave because Indonesia isn’t making itself worth staying for.
So, the question isn’t "How do we stop people from leaving?" it’s "How do we make them want to come back?"
Money Talks, but So Does Career Growth
Nothing kills the "Welcome back!" energy faster than offering someone who worked at Tesla a salary that barely covers a kos-kosan in Tebet.
Let’s get one thing straight:
Nobody is asking for Singapore-level salaries. But if the best minds are coming back only to be handed a paycheck that makes them nostalgic for their overpriced London rent, there’s a problem.
💰 Make the Money Worth It
Competitive salaries for top-tier professionals. It’s simple: If you want high-quality talent, pay them like they’re high-quality talent. "Exposure" and "passion for the country" don’t pay the bills.
Localized expat-style packages for returning Indonesians. If you’re throwing perks at foreign hires, why not offer similar benefits to returning Indonesians with international experience?
Salaries should reflect value creation. No one is asking to shower money on every returnee just because they spent three years in Melbourne. But if they’re bringing tangible skills, networks, and expertise, compensate them accordingly.
📈 Careers That Actually Go Somewhere
Maybe “at least you’re home with family!” isn’t the career pitch returning Indonesians are looking for.
Pipeline returning Indonesians into leadership roles. Instead of handing top positions to foreign hires, why not fast-track homegrown global talent into decision-making roles? We keep talking about wanting Indonesia to be globally competitive, so let’s actually use the global expertise we have.
Public-private collaboration to create high-level career tracks. Imagine a structured “Indonesia Global Talent Program” that doesn’t just drop returnees into the existing workforce but places them where they can make real impact; whether that’s in industry, policymaking, or building the next-gen economy.
Indonesia needs to stop treating its best and brightest like interns with international diplomas and start making it actually worth their while to come home. Otherwise, let’s not act surprised when the first thing returnees do after landing at Soekarno-Hatta is Google "work visa requirements in Canada."
Nationalism Is Cute, but Opportunity Is Sexy
Loving Indonesia and wanting a fulfilling career are not mutually exclusive. Just because someone values Nasi Padang, Pancasila, and last-minute Lebaran flights doesn’t mean they’re ready to accept a pay cut and a cubicle with a broken aircon in the name of nationalism.
So instead of shaming people into coming back, how about giving them an actual reason to return?
🇮🇩 Make "Building Indonesia" the Coolest Thing to Do
Indonesia has all the ingredients for greatness: a growth economy, a young workforce, and the kind of untapped potential that foreign investors drool over. But somehow, we’re still acting like returnees should just "figure it out" instead of actively making their return a strategic career move.
Stop begging and start selling: Instead of "We need you to come back," the message should be "Imagine being part of the team that transforms Indonesia into a global powerhouse."
Show, don’t tell: People need real, high-profile success stories of returnees who built billion-dollar companies, revolutionized industries, or shaped policy. Right now, all they see are struggles, red tape, and job listings that make them nostalgic for their overpriced shoebox apartment in Tokyo.
💼 The Best and Brightest Should Run the Show
If someone has international experience, global networks, and a track record of success abroad, why on earth are we making them start from scratch?
Returnees should be the default choice for leadership positions in industries where global knowledge is a competitive advantage. You can’t say you want to "go global" and then let mediocre local hires block returning experts from the top jobs.
Companies and government agencies should be actively recruiting returnees. If we can roll out the red carpet for foreign consultants charging us millions for "advice," we can certainly make an effort to bring back highly skilled Indonesians.
Strategic hiring incentives: If companies prioritize hiring returnees, they should get tax breaks or other financial incentives.
Bottom line: Stop framing returning as a sacrifice. Make it a power move. Because while national pride is great, opportunity is what seals the deal.
Tax Breaks That Don’t Make Locals Riot
Now, we know what you’re thinking: "Tax breaks for returnees? Are you serious?!" Because nothing says "Selamat datang di Indonesia!" quite like your fellow citizens side-eyeing you for getting a better deal on your tax bill while they still have to navigate the same nightmarish bureaucracy just to file theirs.
So yes, we get it. Massive tax breaks for returnees might not sit well with the average citizen. Nobody wants to feel like they’re subsidizing people who “escaped” only to come back with an attitude and a foreign accent.
However, if structured correctly, tax incentives can actually benefit the whole country, not just the returnees. The key? Make it smart, make it strategic, and (most importantly) make it look like an investment, not a giveaway.
✔ Tiered Tax Breaks for High-Growth Industries
If you spent five years working in fintech, AI, biotech, or anything that sounds remotely futuristic, you get a nice little tax reduction for the next five years.
But if you spent those years abroad doing something that adds no real value to Indonesia’s growth, then selamat menikmati, full taxes like everyone else.
✔ Corporate Tax Incentives for Companies Hiring Returnees
Why should we expect individuals to make all the effort? Let’s make it profitable for companies to hire them too.
Firms that actively recruit returning Indonesian talent (especially in high-growth industries) should get corporate tax reductions, incentivizing businesses to tap into Indonesia’s global network instead of just hiring whoever their cousin recommends.
This way, the tax breaks aren’t just for the returnees, they benefit businesses and, in turn, the economy.
✔ Sell It as a Win for the Economy (Because It Is)
Nobody loves tax breaks unless they’re getting one. But if we position these incentives as a long-term economic strategy, people might stop complaining and start seeing the benefits.
This could be framed as an investment into Indonesia’s future wealth because more top-tier talent means more innovation, more businesses, and eventually, more tax revenue.
If done right, the benefits of attracting returnees will far outweigh the short-term revenue loss.
Be smart about tax breaks, focus on industries that actually matter, and make sure everyone understands that this is a strategy, not favoritism. Indonesia doesn’t just need people to return, it needs them to build something worth taxing in the first place.
The Expatriate Return Visa: A No-Brainer Move
Indonesia’s immigration system is about as welcoming as a mall security guard when you try to enter with an outside drink. If you’re a foreigner, you might get a warm "Welcome to Indonesia!" If you’re a first-gen Indonesian born abroad trying to reintegrate? Enjoy the bureaucratic obstacle course.
And that’s the irony. While certain countries are bending over backward to attract talent from their diaspora, Indonesia’s system treats its own overseas-born Indonesians like distant cousins who forgot to show up for Lebaran three years in a row.
Which is why an Expatriate Return Visa should have existed yesterday.
✔ Automatic Residency/Work Rights for 1st-Gen Diaspora Indonesians
If you’re Indonesian by blood but born abroad, why should you have to fight harder to work here than some random expat from Europe?
Fast-tracking residency and work permits for first-gen diaspora Indonesians is a way to immediately inject global expertise into Indonesia’s workforce.
✔ A Clear Pathway for Citizenship (If They Want It)
If someone of Indonesian descent wants to become a citizen, why should they have to endure the same bureaucracy as, say, a retiree from Belgium who just likes Bali?
Streamline the process: remove unnecessary paperwork, cut the waiting time, and stop making people prove they belong in a country their parents literally came from.
✔ Immediate Job-Matching for High-Value Industries
It’s not just about bringing people back, it’s about placing them where Indonesia actually needs them.
Tech, finance, medicine, engineering? Straight to the front of the line.
Low-demand or niche fields? Still welcome, but maybe don’t expect a red carpet.
Not Dual Citizenship
Look, we know dual citizenship is a political landmine, so this isn’t that.
This is simply making it easier for globally trained Indonesians to come back home and contribute—instead of getting frustrated with red tape and giving up.
Honestly, why is this even a debate? If Indonesia actually wants to benefit from its global talent pool, it needs to start treating them like assets, not foreigners.
At this point, it should be painfully clear: brain gain isn’t about begging. We’re not here to write emotional appeals or wave flags while singing Tanah Airku. That might work on National Day, but when it comes to actual career decisions? Patriotism alone won’t pay for a house in BSD.
If Indonesia is serious about reversing brain drain, then it needs to do more than just hope that nostalgia for Indomie and chaotic family gatherings will eventually lure people back. The goal isn’t to make returning feel like the best possible move for a person’s career, finances, and future.
So, what’s the bare minimum Indonesia needs to get right?
✔️ Globally competitive salaries because "exposure" doesn’t pay rent.
✔️ Career paths that actually lead somewhere not just vague promises of “nanti juga naik.”
✔️ Real incentives because nobody is leaving a cushy job abroad for a PowerPoint presentation on nationalism.
✔️ A streamlined return process because bureaucracy shouldn’t be hard to navigate.
We don’t need everyone to come back. But we do need the best, and the only way to get them is by making Indonesia the smartest investment of their future.
Now, someone go print this out and staple it to the doors of every major company and government office. Terima kasih.