Child born in Singapore to foreign parents

[tatuanui]

Hi. Firstly, I've browsed some of the forum and done a bit of searching so please go easy on me if this has been discussed a million times already. I'm new to this forum and forums in general.

I am a kiwi and my wife is Indonesian. We'll be having our first child here in Singapore around xmas/new year. I have a P1 EP and my wife has a DP tagged on to my EP.

From what I can gather, our child will be Singapore Permanent Resident through being born in Singapore but not a Singapore citizen?
Do we need permission to have a baby here?!?!?!
If we have a boy then he is not liable for national service unless I apply for PR?
Does our baby need a passport to travel overseas or do they travel on one of our passports until a certain age?
If we want/need to get a passport for our child, do we just get one from either parent's embassy as a citizen born overseas?
Can we claim the parental tax rebate?
Anything else I should know?

Cheers and much appreciated.

[beppi]

I am a kiwi and my wife is Indonesian. We'll be having our first child here in Singapore around xmas/new year. I have a P1 EP and my wife has a DP tagged on to my EP.
From what I can gather, our child will be Singapore Permanent Resident through being born in Singapore but not a Singapore citizen?

As far as I know, your child will not be PR and definitely not citizen of Singapore. I guess there will be some formalities involved in getting him/her a DP (tagged to your EP) for Singapore - ask ICA!

Do we need permission to have a baby here?!?!?!

Again ask ICA!

If we have a boy then he is not liable for national service unless I apply for PR?

He will have to do NS if he is a second generation PR (which means he becomes PR together with you as your dependent).
It is possible to become PR and keep kids on a DP, in which case they don't have to serve - but it has many other implications and shouldn't be decided lightly based only on NS.

Does our baby need a passport to travel overseas or do they travel on one of our passports until a certain age?
If we want/need to get a passport for our child, do we just get one from either parent's embassy as a citizen born overseas?

Yes he/she will need a passport to cross any border.
I don't think the old system of tagging a baby to one of the parents' passports still exists - and anyway it was always impractical, as he/she wouldn't be able to travel with the other parent then.
You can get a passport from the embassy of the country (countries) he/she is citizen of.
Ask the embassies of NZ/Indonesia whether (and how) your child can get their citizenship!

Can we claim the parental tax rebate?

Not sure. Ask IRAS!

Good luck and happy times with your Little One!
(If you need more advice from a foreigner parenting in Singapore, send me a PM!)

Greetings,
Frank

[tatuanui]

Thanks Frank!

[econoMIC]

Hi. Firstly, I've browsed some of the forum and done a bit of searching so please go easy on me if this has been discussed a million times already. I'm new to this forum and forums in general.

I am a kiwi and my wife is Indonesian. We'll be having our first child here in Singapore around xmas/new year. I have a P1 EP and my wife has a DP tagged on to my EP.

Congrats!

From what I can gather, our child will be Singapore Permanent Resident through being born in Singapore but not a Singapore citizen?

Wrong! Your child will not be a PR because you are not one and of course not a citizen. You will be able to apply for an LTSVP and later on student pass for your child once born.

Do we need permission to have a baby here?!?!?!

No.

If we have a boy then he is not liable for national service unless I apply for PR?

Your child could only obtain PR if you apply for PR and then sponsor him for PR in your own application. In that case he would have to do NS. However as things stand now, there will be no NS for the child as nobody is a PR.

Does our baby need a passport to travel overseas or do they travel on one of our passports until a certain age?

Singapore is very strict on this. The child will need her own passport

If we want/need to get a passport for our child, do we just get one from either parent's embassy as a citizen born overseas?

That would be over-simplifying things. You will need to register the birth with the embassy/high commission you want your child to be a citizen of. Then once you completed this you can apply for a passport for her. Preferably that would be NZ of course.

Can we claim the parental tax rebate?

If there is one then yes. This depends on your tax status here. But if you are more than 183 days a year in Singapore then yes provided there is one.

Anything else I should know?

Plenty I guess. Being a dad isn't easy I was told.

Cheers and much appreciated.

[tatuanui]

Thanks econoMIC!

[tatuanui]

OK, I'm starting to build up a picture here.

So far... (from MOM)

Both P and Q1 Pass holders can apply for a Dependant's Pass for their:
* Spouse
* Unmarried or legally adopted children under 21 years of age, including newborns

*For babies born in Singapore, the parent has to report to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) with the letter issued by the hospital to obtain a short term visit pass. This pass is valid for 42 days, during which, an application for DP can be submitted.

So, I think junior will get a DP and I then register the birth with NZ govt and apply for citizenship and then a NZ passport for Jr.

[tatuanui]

So, for an update...

PTR (parental tax relief) tax credit is available to tax residents but only if the child becomes a citizen within 12 months of birth (fair enough - I thought it would be too good to be true to give me a tax credit for not producing a Singaporean citizen!)

I can apply for NZ citizenship for our daughter (that's an update too, we fund out the gender) as soon as I have the original birth certificate and can also apply for a NZ passport at the same time. Of course, this may be delayed if the original birth certificate is required for the Singaporean DP (dependants' pass) application.

For any other kiwi's reading this info, it's useful to know that all documents sent to NZ for citizenship and/or passport application should be the originals (they'll be returned) but they will accept a photocopy of your passport if the copy is made and endorsed at the NZ High Commission in Ngee Ann City, Orchard Rd. That's great because I don't want to be without my passport for 6 weeks!

Next I need to find out if we can get citizenship and passport from Indonesia. NZ doesn't mind if you have dual citizenship/passports but we're not sure about Indonesia yet. I know Singapore doesn't allow it.

[Jeppo]

Indonesia doesn't allow dual citizenship. If you want her to have Indo cit then you would be best getting that before NZ. I believe they will let her have both NZ and Indo cit while a child but will need to decide which she wants to keep before she turns 18. If she doesn't decide and Indo finds out they will take away her citizenship automatically.

[Vaucluse]

Hi. Firstly, I've browsed some of the forum and done a bit of searching so please go easy on me if this has been discussed a million times already. I'm new to this forum and forums in general.

I am a kiwi and my wife is Indonesian. We'll be having our first child here in Singapore around xmas/new year. I have a P1 EP and my wife has a DP tagged on to my EP.

Congrats!

From what I can gather, our child will be Singapore Permanent Resident through being born in Singapore but not a Singapore citizen?

Wrong! Your child will not be a PR because you are not one and of course not a citizen. You will be able to apply for an LTSVP and later on student pass for your child once born.

Do we need permission to have a baby here?!?!?!

No.

If we have a boy then he is not liable for national service unless I apply for PR?

Your child could only obtain PR if you apply for PR and then sponsor him for PR in your own application. In that case he would have to do NS. However as things stand now, there will be no NS for the child as nobody is a PR.

Does our baby need a passport to travel overseas or do they travel on one of our passports until a certain age?

Singapore is very strict on this. The child will need her own passport

If we want/need to get a passport for our child, do we just get one from either parent's embassy as a citizen born overseas?

That would be over-simplifying things. You will need to register the birth with the embassy/high commission you want your child to be a citizen of. Then once you completed this you can apply for a passport for her. Preferably that would be NZ of course.

Can we claim the parental tax rebate?

If there is one then yes. This depends on your tax status here. But if you are more than 183 days a year in Singapore then yes provided there is one.

Anything else I should know?

Plenty I guess. Being a dad isn't easy I was told.

Cheers and much appreciated.

Nice reply. Everything correct, as far as I know.


Mrs Cluse and I were on P1 then applied for and received PR.

Our littlest one was born here, no permission needed, and was granted PR as well.

Tax deductibles . . . yes.

[tatuanui]

Indonesia doesn't allow dual citizenship. If you want her to have Indo cit then you would be best getting that before NZ. I believe they will let her have both NZ and Indo cit while a child but will need to decide which she wants to keep before she turns 18. If she doesn't decide and Indo finds out they will take away her citizenship automatically.

Thanks Jeppo. It seems that she can have dual citizenship until she turns 18 (or gets married) and then has three years to decide (so effectively until she's 21). I think by then she will certainly be big enough to decide for herself is she wants NZ or Indo citizenship. I wonder if Singaporean citizenship would be an option also having ben born here. Nice to have options anyway.

[Vaucluse]

I wonder if Singaporean citizenship would be an option also having ben born here.

NO.

Nice to have options anyway.

Yes, well . . . Singapore Citizenship is not one of them

[taxico]

Nice to have options anyway.

Yes, well . . . Singapore Citizenship is not one of them

i am one of those that believe the singapore passport is well worth having, and still worth keeping.

[Vaucluse]

Nice to have options anyway.

Yes, well . . . Singapore Citizenship is not one of them

i am one of those that believe the singapore passport is well worth having, and still worth keeping.

I would agree . . . but the question was whether or not the child was eligible for Singapore citizenship . . . he/she is not