Singaporean nationality law
| Singapore Citizenship Rules | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Parliament of Singapore | |
| Date commenced | 9 August 1965 |
| Repealing legislation | |
| Singapore Citizenship Ordinance 1957 | |
| Status: Current legislation | |
Singaporean nationality law is derived from the Constitution of Singapore and is based on jus sanguinis and a modified form of jus soli. There are three ways of acquiring Singaporean citizenship: by birth, by descent, or by registration. Citizenship by naturalisation is no longer granted.
Singaporean citizenship was first granted in 1959 when Singapore was a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom. At that time, Singapore had already been granted full internal self-government. Singapore Citizenship Ordinance 1957 provided Singaporean citizenship to all residents who were born in Singapore or the Federation of Malaya, British citizens who had been resident for two years, and others who had been resident for ten years. Singaporeans were still considered British subjects at that time, and their passports had the unusual nationality status of "British subject: citizen of the State of Singapore" instead of the usual "British subject: citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies".
All Singaporean citizens became Malaysian citizens on 16 September 1963 upon Singapore's merger with Malaysia on that date. Malaysian nationality law provided that Singaporean citizenship to continue to exist as a subnational citizenship. Singaporean citizenship continued to be legislated by the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, subject to the approval of the Parliament of Malaysia. Singaporean citizenship was inseparable from Malaysian citizenship; in other words, it was not possible to have Singaporean citizenship without having Malaysian citizenship.
Upon Singapore's secession from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, Malaysian citizenship was withdrawn from Singaporean citizens. Singaporean nationality law was incorporated into the new Constitution of Singapore. The constitution repealed the 1957 Ordinance, and all persons who were citizens as of 16 September 1963 by virtue of the Ordinance continued to be Singaporean citizens.
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