ppt wrote:hi,
i was a spr since child as my parents are not sc. i got my sc during my teens when my mum decided to be sc. i had to decide which of the two citizenships to keep at age of 18. i took sc since i grew up in sg. but it was still a tough decision to make as a young adult, especially because i knew that it was a not-turning-back decision. the decision for my university studies was easier than this one, because i can drop my studies if i made the wrong choice, but not here.
now i am married to a non-sc too. but i did not apply sc for my kids because it will force them to decide for a country when they havent even explored both worlds as working adults.
So, you made up the child's mind before he's even had a chance. Where are you currently located? Are you still living in Singapore? In your narrow mindedness, you are limiting their options when they comes of age. If he is growing up in Singapore, but on an LTVP and/or Student passes, his circle of friends will, of course, be a mix of nationalities depending on which school system he is in and where you are living (HDB or ethnic conclave like the old Holland Village). You should have opted for dual citizenship and annually had talks with the child so the child know the variables and what the ramifications may be. If the child is a Male child, it's even worse due to the NS issue.
Sure you can avoid NS by not getting his SGC or even PR. However let me tell you what will ultimately happen (I know this for fact and I have knows someone who is in a similar situation and I've know him since he was 15 (he 27 today and now suffers because of a father's "smart" decision.)
He was the offspring of a Male SGC and a European SPR but was born in the UK. He was brought into Singapore while still a toddler and was put on a LTVP and then student visas all through school. When he graduated from a local Int'l school, he went back to the UK for his tertiary education and when he finished he had a B.Sc & M.Sc and his father wanted to bring him back to Singapore to join in the family business. Oops. (I informed the father when the boy was 15 what was going to happen, but like a lot of locals here, they think they know everything - so he disregarded my advice). As the boy is now a man, over the age of majority, without SGC (and avoided NS), the ICA rejected all attempts for an LTVP. Also the MOM rejected all applications for EPs with the admonishment (in writing) that he had "unresolved issues with Mindef" and had to get them sorted out before MOM would consider any type of work pass. You see, the problem is ICA and MOM are not stupid, unlike the average local who thinks that they will ultimately be able to pull the wool over the eyes of the authorities. One look at the Application and the nationalities of the Parents (one a SG citizen) and the game was up. The ruse by the parents was obvious and the boy cannot qualify for an EP because of not doing NS (because they saw what the parents did).
The boy only has to thank his parents for putting him into that situation. Now, take it a little bit further. Let's assume the child goes to school here up through their A levels or IB as it were. The odds of him finding a soul mate while doing his As is a distinct possibility and she/he might be willing to wait for them to return from their overseas studies. BANG. Cannot stay in Singapore. Now he can REALLY THANK HIS PARENTS. Unfair? You bet. And he had no say in the matter of his own life. He will NEVER get an LTVP or a Work Pass in Singapore. Full Stop. Payback is a mother and the government here has an awful long memory.
I feel sorry for your children as they have had their options for their future limited by you, the parents.
