Don't want to renounce Singapore citizenship

[PNGMK]

Lisa,

If you're daughter isn't caught out (as crystal was) then yes, she may get away with it.

Boys have more issues due to NS.

[malcontent]

Hi everyone, I am in a similar position and have received a letter from ica asking me to choose between both citizenships. The letter gives me 90 days to respond but I do not wish to renounce my singapore citizenship even though it sounds like this is inevitable. What if i went back to singapore using my singaporean pp , would it flag me? Crystalalcove, what did you do in the end? Can someone please advise what I should do? Help, please.

Singapore does not recognize dual citizenship, so taking up another citizenship is already tantamount to renouncing… you just haven’t completed the paperwork yet. If you renounce cleanly, you can still visit Singapore. If your kids are not Singapore citizens, your choice is even more clear. No point fretting about it.

My daughter currently holds dual citizenship and has no intention of renouncing. I’ve expressed to her that this may not be possible but she seems convinced that as long as she does not exercise her citizenship privileges there will be no problem. I looked it up and apparently its not technically illegal to retain both, its a grey area. Any truth to this?

If the country that does not allow dual citizenship remains unaware… its not so much gray, but tenuous.

After age 18 [edit: 21] when you renew a Singapore passport, I believe the form does require you to tick a box verifying you hold no other citizenship or passport.

I’m not sure you’d want to go into more details than this in a public forum.

[sarawong0911]

Does anyone know what happens if the letter from ICA is ignored?

[sarawong0911]

I don't think there is anything new to add to this Sara. It does appear that ICA have stopped turning a blind eye to women who are dual citizens. Furthermore Cystal has not logged on since 2018 so she is unlike to respond.

Hi PNGMK you’ve been on this forum for years and from trolling the forums I see that your replies are always astute and informative. I’m seeking your expertise on this — Have u heard of the outcome from a female sc who was given such a letter? There are many rumours on this forum and others so I’m trying to verify them for myself. Not trying to cheat the system as I left sg when I was 21, have no investments of any sort in Singapore ( not interested in buying HDB or cashing out cpf either) , I am just concerned about my family that I want to visit and parents who are aging that I may need to care for in the next decade or so.

[sarawong0911]

Hi everyone, I am in a similar position and have received a letter from ica asking me to choose between both citizenships. The letter gives me 90 days to respond but I do not wish to renounce my singapore citizenship even though it sounds like this is inevitable. What if i went back to singapore using my singaporean pp , would it flag me? Crystalalcove, what did you do in the end? Can someone please advise what I should do? Help, please.

Singapore does not recognize dual citizenship, so taking up another citizenship is already tantamount to renouncing… you just haven’t completed the paperwork yet. If you renounce cleanly, you can still visit Singapore. If your kids are not Singapore citizens, your choice is even more clear. No point fretting about it.

No kids. Just aging parents I’m worried about.

[PNGMK]

I don't think there is anything new to add to this Sara. It does appear that ICA have stopped turning a blind eye to women who are dual citizens. Furthermore Cystal has not logged on since 2018 so she is unlike to respond.

Hi PNGMK you’ve been on this forum for years and from trolling the forums I see that your replies are always astute and informative. I’m seeking your expertise on this — Have u heard of the outcome from a female sc who was given such a letter? There are many rumours on this forum and others so I’m trying to verify them for myself. Not trying to cheat the system as I left sg when I was 21, have no investments of any sort in Singapore ( not interested in buying HDB or cashing out cpf either) , I am just concerned about my family that I want to visit and parents who are aging that I may need to care for in the next decade or so.

You may want to seek legal assistance. I don''t believe there is an actual criminal penalty with refusing to surrender your Singapore citizenship (i.e. no prison, caning, fine) but you may find you cannot renew your Singapore passport or vote for example.

[sundaymorningstaple]

If she has been notified and subsequently ignores the timeline given to renounce, it is always a possibility of it being canceled by the government in absentia and if she tries to enter Singapore using it, she is liable to have it confiscated. I cannot vouch for this, but we have see some pretty strange stuff over the past 17 years. A lawyer with immigration expertise might be a good idea before you find yourself in hot water.

[Lisafuller]

Lisa,

If you're daughter isn't caught out (as crystal was) then yes, she may get away with it.

Boys have more issues due to NS.

Wow, somehow in the year I’ve been on the forum, I’ve never seen you sign off with your name.

[Lisafuller]

Does anyone know what happens if the letter from ICA is ignored?

They may reach out through you through other means if the notification is particularly important. Although other than that I’d imagine it’s the same as getting out of jury duty in the US, one could always claim they never received the letter, the ICA would be none the wiser.

[Lisafuller]

Singapore does not recognize dual citizenship, so taking up another citizenship is already tantamount to renouncing… you just haven’t completed the paperwork yet. If you renounce cleanly, you can still visit Singapore. If your kids are not Singapore citizens, your choice is even more clear. No point fretting about it.

My daughter currently holds dual citizenship and has no intention of renouncing. I’ve expressed to her that this may not be possible but she seems convinced that as long as she does not exercise her citizenship privileges there will be no problem. I looked it up and apparently its not technically illegal to retain both, its a grey area. Any truth to this?

If the country that does not allow dual citizenship remains unaware… its not so much gray, but tenuous.

After age 18 when you renew a Singapore passport, I believe the form does require you to tick a box verifying you hold no other citizenship or passport.

I’m not sure you’d want to go into more details than this in a public forum.

She’s already 18 going on 19 this year and hasn’t needed to renew her SG passport, so I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. If she doesn’t renew, that doesn’t mean her citizenship just evaporates though, does it? Just that she can’t travel abroad using her Singapore.

[Lisafuller]

On second thought what I am curious about is why the SG govt even allows dual citizenship for children at all. If they are so set on having people pick one, why not just do away with allowing them to hold more than one altogether?

[malcontent]

My daughter currently holds dual citizenship and has no intention of renouncing. I’ve expressed to her that this may not be possible but she seems convinced that as long as she does not exercise her citizenship privileges there will be no problem. I looked it up and apparently its not technically illegal to retain both, its a grey area. Any truth to this?

If the country that does not allow dual citizenship remains unaware… its not so much gray, but tenuous.

After age 18 when you renew a Singapore passport, I believe the form does require you to tick a box verifying you hold no other citizenship or passport.

I’m not sure you’d want to go into more details than this in a public forum.

She’s already 18 going on 19 this year and hasn’t needed to renew her SG passport, so I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. If she doesn’t renew, that doesn’t mean her citizenship just evaporates though, does it? Just that she can’t travel abroad using her Singapore.

Upon checking, I think it is age 21 and not 18.

An interesting snippet from Wikipedia…

However, such persons must renounce their foreign citizenship, if any, before reaching 22 years of age. The Constitution of Singapore is silent on a Singapore citizen who acquired citizenship by birth and is a foreign citizen by descent. So long as such a person refrains from exercising the rights of foreign citizenship, the Government has no grounds for depriving them of his Singapore citizenship and they may hold on to dual citizenship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore ... nality_law

[sundaymorningstaple]

If the country that does not allow dual citizenship remains unaware… its not so much gray, but tenuous.

After age 18 when you renew a Singapore passport, I believe the form does require you to tick a box verifying you hold no other citizenship or passport.

I’m not sure you’d want to go into more details than this in a public forum.

She’s already 18 going on 19 this year and hasn’t needed to renew her SG passport, so I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. If she doesn’t renew, that doesn’t mean her citizenship just evaporates though, does it? Just that she can’t travel abroad using her Singapore.

Upon checking, I think it is age 21 and not 18.

An interesting snippet from Wikipedia…

However, such persons must renounce their foreign citizenship, if any, before reaching 22 years of age. The Constitution of Singapore is silent on a Singapore citizen who acquired citizenship by birth and is a foreign citizen by descent. So long as such a person refrains from exercising the rights of foreign citizenship, the Government has no grounds for depriving them of his Singapore citizenship and they may hold on to dual citizenship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore ... nality_law

Another interesting point which may well explain a lot of SGC application rejections besides ethnic quotas. Length of TIME of residency - in the same link that Mal just posted, the following is indicated.....

Foreign nationals may become Singaporean citizens after completing a residence requirement (normally 10 years) and renouncing any previous nationalities.

[sundaymorningstaple]

This would lend me to believe that both assumptions are correct. If a person hold dual nationality at birth, it's an open question as to renunciation re: not using the foreign nationality in Singapore. But if you are applying for SGC for any other reason other than receiving said nationalities due to ancestry/birth then you will have to renounce.

With regard to dual citizenship for minors born to both US and Sg parents, up till a few years ago (not actually sure when it changed) The US issued by the Department of State a "Certification of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America" as long as one parent was a US citizen with at least 10 years residency in the US prior to the birth of the child. (Both of my children have these type of Birth Certs). It was because the US was a major trading partner, the local government here kind of turned a blind eye with those with US/SG citizenship by birth as long as no one blatantly advertised the fact.

[Lisafuller]

If the country that does not allow dual citizenship remains unaware… its not so much gray, but tenuous.

After age 18 when you renew a Singapore passport, I believe the form does require you to tick a box verifying you hold no other citizenship or passport.

I’m not sure you’d want to go into more details than this in a public forum.

She’s already 18 going on 19 this year and hasn’t needed to renew her SG passport, so I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. If she doesn’t renew, that doesn’t mean her citizenship just evaporates though, does it? Just that she can’t travel abroad using her Singapore.

Upon checking, I think it is age 21 and not 18.

An interesting snippet from Wikipedia…

However, such persons must renounce their foreign citizenship, if any, before reaching 22 years of age. The Constitution of Singapore is silent on a Singapore citizen who acquired citizenship by birth and is a foreign citizen by descent. So long as such a person refrains from exercising the rights of foreign citizenship, the Government has no grounds for depriving them of his Singapore citizenship and they may hold on to dual citizenship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore ... nality_law

Pretty sure this is where she got her info. Interesting.