National Service Deferment Procedure in Singapore.

[ccsaus]

Dear MS,
It has been a year and a half, just an update of my case from page 8...now, hubby, son and I all OZ citizen with OZ PP. Hubby renounced SG citizen. I renounced SG PR. We got CPFs back. Then I wrote an inquiry letter to CMPB. Same letter like this received:
>>>>
1. Please refer to your email dated xxx regarding your request for your son, xxx to be granted deferment from his full-time National Service (NS) till his age of 21, pending renunciation of his Singapore citizenship (SC).

2. All male Singaporeans or Permanent Residents (PR) are required to fulfil their NS obligations under the Enlistment Act. As a Singapore citizen, xxx is required to apply for exit permit (EP) at the age of 13 years old and to register for NS upon reaching the age of 16½ years old. He is also required for NS enlistment at the earliest opportunity after reaching the age of 18 years, unless he is granted deferment from NS for his overseas studies. We are enclosing the EP leaflet for your retention.

3. Under the Singapore Constitution, Singapore citizens can only renounce their Singapore citizenship (SC) after reaching the age of 21 years. Those below 21 years can apply for NS deferment till 21 years pending renunciation of their SC.

4. You have indicated that xxxx intends to request for NS deferment till his age of 21 to renounce his SC without serving NS. We are enclosing the application forms for your completion. We will assess his eligibility for such deferment once we have received the application.

5. Thank you and regards.
>>>>
My son’s first EP will be expired at the end of the year. His SG PP will expire at the end of next month. Shall I wait his PP expire first, then apply deferment? Or I should apply asap?

Thanks in advance.

Boy oh Boy , time do fly and I feel that I getting old

Congrats !! Woo Hoo !! Home run baby home run !!

Apply now . Follow the docs to the T

You will need to get Public Notary to legalize your son OZ PP, citizenship and hubby and yourself too. Please do not go to the JP as it is not legal
It will cost you a bomb based on a piece of paper. nego in a set.
I did for my sons years ago at Wolloogong and did it for a mere AUD20.00
It will take about two months for them to process and you will get the first EP till 16 or 16 1/2 . By then you will need to inform them to get another EP that will last till 21
Remember read the docs attached and fill it properly.
Once you get the snail mail from CMPB, it is all good
PS if your son has a change of heart and decide to stick wtih SG citizen then he will need to serve NS by 21
This is the end result for those that follow the rules

Dear MS,

We got the approval letter today.
My tears dropped.
My son showed me a typical teen’s don’t-care face.
Only I know what happened and will happen.
Thank you so much.
Without this thread, I wont even get my first move right.
I wish it can help more parents like me.

cheers

[sundaymorningstaple]

MS, as you know, the above message from ccsaus, is what makes what we do here so rewarding and why we keep on doing it. You have been a godsend to a lot of people on this board. Thank you for sticking it out through the rough patch a while back. Cheers, mate!

sms

[nicnoel]

Hello administrators and friends,

Thank you for posting the advice etc here. It's is heartening to know that others care.
I need some advice and I hope to hear from some of you.

I am slowly recovering from depression and my family decided that its best for us to migrate to Australia. I'm a happily married 43yr father with 2 sons aged 12 and 10.

To avoid the issue of bond etc (and problems later on) for my two sons, what would be the best approach for me?

Find a job first in Aus or try to apply PR right from the get-go?

Any advice most welcomed, thanks in advance!

[curious0ne]

Hello All,

My wife and I have been residing in uk for over a decade and we have 2 boys aged 5 and 3 this year.

We are currently considering whether to stay in UK for good hence renouncing citizenship for the boys or moving back (before the eldest goes into Primary one). I am currently still a UK PR with Singapore passport. My wife is a Singapore PR while both boys have got singapore passports. However all three of them have got British Citizenship. I have also claimed baby bonus for the eldest but not yet for the younger one.

If we renounce the singapore citizenship for the boys now,

a. Presumably we need to return the baby bonus (for the eldest)?

b. Will this affect them travelling back to sg on uk passports (visit grandparents/relatives) in any ways in the future?

c. Assuming there are no complicated issues renouncing before they turn 13? eg bond?

d. Will both of us as parents also need to give up our sg status (citizen & pr) or we are OK to keep ours?

Very much appreciated for any advice.

[Holler]

Hi there, I just came across this thread and the many helpful cases for well-meaning parents like myself who made the mistake for applying for a Singaporean citizenship for the kids at birth because of sentimental ties.

My husband and I have been living in UK for over a decade now. Both our children (daughter aged 10 and son aged 3) are born in UK and hold dual Singapore-British citizenship. For my son, we made the second mistake of receiving the Baby Bonus even though he has never lived in Singapore. I tried endless to return the Baby Bonus but MSF insisted there is no law to allow that. Ludicrous they should force us to receive state benefits against our will.

My question for all the knowledgeable people on these forum is this. Is there a chance that we can renounce my son's Singapore citizenship before he turns 5? What's best course of action for doing so? Return the citizenship certificate and passport?

Thanks. Btw, what's happened to the kids mentioned in some of older posts? Did they get their deferment and renounciation eventually?

There are two ways you can do.
One sending a cover letter stating your intention to renounce son SG citizenship and PP with all supporting docs for the whole family to CAB , ICA. You will need to notarise all docs .
Send via snail mail
Alternatively , visit SG and bring all docs to ICA second floor and look for Citizen Advise Bureau . Talk to them and this will expedite process .
From memory before age of 5 you are allowed

Dear MS,

Things have come to pass. My husband finally acquired British citizenship and is going to renounce his Singapore citizenship. I enquired about the possibility of renouncing my 3 year old son's citizenship at the same time, but the High Commission in London gave a standard answer that children cannot renounce their citizenship before the age of 21.

"Under Singapore Constitution, one of the three conditions stated that a citizen must be of the age of 21 or above before he can submit an application to renounce Singapore citizenship. Please be advised that children are not eligible to renounce their Singapore citizenship until the age of 21 as this is the Constitutional requirement."

What should I do? Would the Citizens Advice Bureau give a different answer? Such a vexing situation. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Holler]

Hello All,

My wife and I have been residing in uk for over a decade and we have 2 boys aged 5 and 3 this year.

We are currently considering whether to stay in UK for good hence renouncing citizenship for the boys or moving back (before the eldest goes into Primary one). I am currently still a UK PR with Singapore passport. My wife is a Singapore PR while both boys have got singapore passports. However all three of them have got British Citizenship. I have also claimed baby bonus for the eldest but not yet for the younger one.

If we renounce the singapore citizenship for the boys now,

a. Presumably we need to return the baby bonus (for the eldest)?

b. Will this affect them travelling back to sg on uk passports (visit grandparents/relatives) in any ways in the future?

c. Assuming there are no complicated issues renouncing before they turn 13? eg bond?

d. Will both of us as parents also need to give up our sg status (citizen & pr) or we are OK to keep ours?

Very much appreciated for any advice.

Hi there, we are also in the same situation. Only that my husband just acquired his UK citizenship and so would be renouncing his Singapore citizenship soon. We wanted to renounce our son's Singapore citizenship at the same time. But I received a standard reply that children cannot do so before 21 years of age. See my post under the name "Holler".

Let me know how things go with your process.

[Mad Scientist]

Dear MS,

Things have come to pass. My husband finally acquired British citizenship and is going to renounce his Singapore citizenship. I enquired about the possibility of renouncing my 3 year old son's citizenship at the same time, but the High Commission in London gave a standard answer that children cannot renounce their citizenship before the age of 21.

"Under Singapore Constitution, one of the three conditions stated that a citizen must be of the age of 21 or above before he can submit an application to renounce Singapore citizenship. Please be advised that children are not eligible to renounce their Singapore citizenship until the age of 21 as this is the Constitutional requirement."

What should I do? Would the Citizens Advice Bureau give a different answer? Such a vexing situation. Any tips would be appreciated.

First of all, have you gained UK citizenship. If not, then this might prove difficult
You can go to CAB Singapore at ICA level 2 to renounce your child SG citizenship but it is reviewed on its merit
However if you have gained foreign citizenship and have cut all ties with SG i.e HDB apartments , no tangible assets or otherwise then your chances to get this done is much higher

[Mad Scientist]

Hello All,

My wife and I have been residing in uk for over a decade and we have 2 boys aged 5 and 3 this year.

We are currently considering whether to stay in UK for good hence renouncing citizenship for the boys or moving back (before the eldest goes into Primary one). I am currently still a UK PR with Singapore passport. My wife is a Singapore PR while both boys have got singapore passports. However all three of them have got British Citizenship. I have also claimed baby bonus for the eldest but not yet for the younger one.

If we renounce the singapore citizenship for the boys now,

a. Presumably we need to return the baby bonus (for the eldest)?

No you do not have to

b. Will this affect them travelling back to sg on uk passports (visit grandparents/relatives) in any ways in the future?

If you do all the steps properly , no worries

c. Assuming there are no complicated issues renouncing before they turn 13? eg bond?

Once it is accepted no bond is required. Bond is under the purview of MINDEF

d. Will both of us as parents also need to give up our sg status (citizen & pr) or we are OK to keep ours?

Definitely YES, It is either here or there . You cannot bake the cake and eat it yourself


To OP;

Sorry for the late reply as I was not well for sometime now
Very much appreciated for any advice.

[Strong Eagle]

Sorry for the late reply as I was not well for sometime now

I did not know, MS, and I sincerely hope that you are getting and feeling better.

[Think22]

Dear all,

I'm about to leave Singapore with my family for Germany. My wife is PR holder, my two smaller kids are german passport holder.
However, my step son (Singapore passholder) will turn 10 soon. I intend to apply for German citizenship for him.

Please help me to understand the procedure, since I want my son to be able to visit Singapore at later stage.

1) I have to write a letter to MINDEF about my son's intention to renounce is SG citizenship before he turns 11! is that correct? Where can i find this information on MINDEF website? I've checked and couldn't really find much about it.

2) Once he turns 13, I have to request for deferment at CMDF or MINDEF?
What about EP?

3) At age of 16.5? 21?

Thank you for your help!

[AngMoG]

However, my step son (Singapore passholder) will turn 10 soon. I intend to apply for German citizenship for him.

I hope you have legally adopted him. I think that would be the prerequisite for him getting German citizenship quickly.

[Think22]

My wife has only care and control about my Son. We've got only the agreement of the ex husband to take him abroad.

[AngMoG]

My wife has only care and control about my Son. We've got only the agreement of the ex husband to take him abroad.

Since he is not your son, he will most likely only be able to apply for German citizenship after the requisite 8 years of stay on his own, seeing as he is not the descendant of a German citizen (unless his biological father is also German). If your wife becomes German after the minimum 3 years of continuous stay in Germany, then he would also be able to become German, I think. You can check here (German) (I assume you are German). There may be some attenuating circumstances that allow him to change citizenship earlier since he is your stepson; I suggest you do your research there.

If your wife does not want to become German, that may adversely impact your ability to give up his Singaporean citizenship in time edit: I mean adversely impact the timeline; either way he can become German citizen. If you want to do so, I strongly recommend you adopt the son, with consent of the biological father, if I am not mistaken. Then, he should be treated as if he were your biological son (wikipedia, German):

Der Erwerb der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit kann seit dem 1. Januar 1977 auch durch Adoption erfolgen. Minderjährige erwerben bei der Adoption durch Gesetz (§ 6 StAG) automatisch die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit, wenn einer der Annehmenden Deutsche/r ist.

A person can obtain German citizenship through adoption as well since January 1977. Persons not of age (less than 18 years old) that are adopted legally automatically obtain German citizenship, if one of the adoptive parents is German.

Once he obtains German citizenship, he needs to renounce his Singaporean citizenship anyway (or rather, you renounce for him).

[Think22]

Thanks for your reply. My wife ex husband does not agree on adoption of his son.

I'm not sure if my is willing to give up her indo citizenship.

[Mad Scientist]

Dear all,

I'm about to leave Singapore with my family for Germany. My wife is PR holder, my two smaller kids are german passport holder.
However, my step son (Singapore passholder) will turn 10 soon. I intend to apply for German citizenship for him.

Please help me to understand the procedure, since I want my son to be able to visit Singapore at later stage.

1) I have to write a letter to MINDEF about my son's intention to renounce is SG citizenship before he turns 11! is that correct? Where can i find this information on MINDEF website? I've checked and couldn't really find
much about it.

Incorrect. There is no info on this . Mindef only recognises your intention for your son when he turns 13. He has to leave by 11 though so that he can get a 5 year valid PP . If he renew his passport when he turns 11, he can only have a valid 2 year PP on a 5 year passport

2) Once he turns 13, I have to request for deferment at CMDF or MINDEF?
What about EP?
Apply Exit Permit (EP) when he turns 13 on his birthday . Be it here or overseas. Ensure apply for 1 year and 364 days. More than this you will need to pose a bond for anything above 2 years. Then apply to Mindef via snail mail your intention to renounce his SG citizenship when he turns 21
I have posted these in various replies to poster. Look for it and you will understand what I meant
3) At age of 16.5? 21?

21 to renounce. 16.5 is to report for CMPB for NS enlistment. if you get the approval for deferment till 21 , the reporting at 16.5 is just a formality. Again, look it up in my various reply from posters
Thank you for your help!