Keeping both Australian and Singaporean (dual) citizenship

orangepi · Post by **orangepi** » Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:03 pm

Hi,

I am currently a holder of both Australian and Singaporean citizenship. I was born and bred in Australia. I am an Australian citizen by 'birth' and a Singaporean citizen by 'decent' meaning that my parents were Singaporean citizens at the time of my birth.

I have to renounce my citizenship this year when I turn 22. Is there a way I will be able to remain a dual citizen? I am reluctant to give up my Singaporean citizenship as I plan to work in Singapore after I complete my university studies. I am aware that Singapore allows dual citizenship under certain circumstances. Does anyone know what these circumstances are? Will educational background be one?

How else can I retain dual citizenship? I am willing to hear any 'under the table' ways of keeping both.

Cheers

Mad Scientist · Post by **Mad Scientist** » Fri, 08 Jan 2010 5:12 am

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Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Fri, 08 Jan 2010 6:59 am

Additionally, this is a credible board, therefore we will delete any suggestions that are in violation of local laws.

Capisce?

orangepi · Post by **orangepi** » Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:04 am

Sorry, I should have rephrased what I meant by 'under the table' as this was clearly misinterpreted by readers.
I was merely suggesting ways one could get away with both citizenships.

There have been older posts on this forum about people who still have multiple citizenships including their Singaporean one. I want to know how that is possible with the clear stance against duel citizenship in Singapore.

orangepi · Post by **orangepi** » Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:08 am

So, sundaymorningstaple and mad scientist....don't get too exited.

cheers

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:37 am

If both parents are Singapore Citizens by birth then they are breaking Singapore law. That's how. If only one parent is a Singapore Citizen they may have dual citizenship until the age of majority (21) after that, they are in violation of Singapore Law. Full Stop.

Mad Scientist · Post by **Mad Scientist** » Fri, 08 Jan 2010 1:26 pm

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john_nyc_71 · Post by **john_nyc_71** » Fri, 08 Jan 2010 2:00 pm

If the Singapore government is aware that you have Australian citizenship (and I assume they do), then you have to renounce one, unless the law or the current practice is changed.

As far as I know, there is no law that says you cannot have dual nationality or hold two passports. All the law says is that if you have another nationality or passport, then this gives the Singapore government the right to revoke your Singapore citizenship. So this means it is ultimately up to the government to decide whether to enforce this or not, and as far as I am aware, they are very consistent about enforcing this for minors with two citizenships when they turn 21.

If the Singapore government is not aware of your Australian citizenship, then theoretically you could get away with holding both citizenships, and as explained above, you wouldn't have violated any law (to the best of my knowledge).

However, there will be several occasions where you will be asked whether you have acquired another citizenship (renewal of passport, registration to vote overseas, etc). This makes it somewhat tricky since you were Australian from birth, so I don't know if that counts as "acquiring" a citizenship. I honestly don't know what happens if you do declare that you have acquired another citizenship when you renew your passport. I would assume that the government will generally not renew your passport in that case, but that is not the same as revoking your citizenship (you can be a citizen and not have a passport).

Mad Scientist · Post by **Mad Scientist** » Mon, 11 Jan 2010 9:58 am

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john_nyc_71 · Post by **john_nyc_71** » Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:00 am

I guess in theory (and I emphasize this "in theory") part, the SG government can choose to let you keep your citizenship (since Singapore's constitution leaves it up to the government to decide whether to take away your SG citizenship or not).

But I personally do not know of anyone who has been granted such an exception. I am pretty sure that if the SG government does grant exceptions, they are not going to publicize it.

Mad Scientist · Post by **Mad Scientist** » Tue, 12 Jan 2010 8:14 am

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orangepi · Post by **orangepi** » Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:04 am

Thanks john_nyc_71 for that very logical and thorough explanation. You've been the most helpful so far.

I am female so I don't need to worry about NS...I have no idea why mad scientist made the assumption I am male.

Anyway, I think you need to chill out mad scientist.

From what I've been reading (especially from this forum ), it is a bit of a Grey area.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:45 am

[quote="orangepi"]
I am female so I don't need to worry about NS...I have no idea why mad scientist made the assumption I am male.

Anyway, I think you need to chill out mad scientist.

From what I've been reading (especially from this forum ), it is a bit of a Grey area./quote]

He probably got the idea because I believe 100% of the questions in the past 5 years here have been from males so the assumption was a pretty easy one to make. Especially seeing the majority of questions have to do with NS obligations.

I made the same assumption.

No, it's not grey at all. You can try to read it grey, but if you do, it'll come back and bite you in the butt. You can count on it.

Post by **Strong Eagle** » Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:08 pm

orangepi wrote:From what I've been reading (especially from this forum ), it is a bit of a Grey area.

There is no 'grey'. Singapore is abundantly clear. You can only hold Singapore citizenship when you reach age of 21. End. Period. If you wish to retain your Singapore citizenship, Singapore will require that you renounce your Australian citizenship, in writing, and in front of a Australian consular official.

There is no 'grey'. There is only flying under the radar.

john_nyc_71 · Post by **john_nyc_71** » Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:11 am

To be clear, I wasn't implying that you are likely to succeed in your quest to keep both citizenships. I was just pointing out that a strict reading of the constitution leaves the enforcement up to the government, but I do not know of any exceptions given to your situation (where the person holding dual nationality is a minor and about to turn 22 and the Singapore government is aware of the person's dual nationality).

Grey areas, however do exist. I am not familiar with Australian law, but UK law for example allows you to resume your nationality after renouncing it. So if you had UK and Singapore nationalities as a minor, you could renounce your UK citizenship, show proof of that renunciation to extend your Singapore citizenship after turning 22, and then resume UK citizenship later. You will then encounter a problem when your SG passport expires (or if you attempt to register to vote overseas), because to renew it you will have to answer the question about whether you have acquired the citizenship of another country. (I suppose you could argue that resumption of citizenship is not the same as acquisition but I am not enough of an expert to comment on such subtleties). I have heard rumours, none of which I can confirm, that some people have successfully renewed their SG passports even though they revealed that they have another citizenship. This is the only situation where I have heard rumours about exceptions being made. But they are strictly rumours.

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