SINGAPORE: On Tuesday (Jan 20), a young Singaporean turned to an online forum to seek advice after her mother, a Myanmar national and long-time permanent resident, was once again rejected for Singapore citizenship.
In a post shared on r/askSingapore, she explained that her mother has lived in Singapore for more than two decades.
“She came over from Myanmar to Singapore to marry my dad. My dad left me when I was 7 years old; we still have contact. He’s still considered an SG citizen, but he just went elsewhere to make a new family and left us all alone,” she said.
“And my mom gave birth to 3 daughters; I am the youngest. All of us are SG citizens, we went to kindergarten, primary school, secondary school, poly, and university. Well, I just graduated secondary school. It’s not necessarily her, but we win government awards every year for academics, we have worked in Singapore, and my mother has worked in Singapore.”
Despite her long stay and contributions, her mother’s citizenship applications have been rejected repeatedly.
The young woman said her mother has filed multiple appeals and even sought help from their local Member of Parliament, but every attempt has ended in rejection.
“I feel sad for her. She’s a single mom, and we kinda need the benefits like the CDC voucher and stuff, considering our dad isn’t here, and the matter of fact is people who came here for 2-3 years manage to get citizenship, but she can’t.”
Turning to the online community, she asked why her mother keeps being rejected and whether there is anything more they can do to improve her chances.
“I don’t understand why my mom keeps getting rejected for the Singapore Citizenship. Maybe I’m just too young to understand and too stupid, can someone tell me why it’s like this?” she said.
“And how she can improve her citizenship chances….. I just feel more and more depressed every time I see the email since I usually help her.”
“There is a racial quota.”
In the comments, some netizens suggested that her mother’s age could be a factor in why her applications keep being rejected.
One shared, “Same situation as you. Had been here for 30+ years. Mom’s Malaysian Chinese; the children and grandchildren are all Singaporean. Mom works for the People’s Association.”
“She applied many times but failed; she also tried to appeal via MP, but the result was the same. It only boils down to age. SG only wants young people to support the ageing population, not add on to it!”
Another echoed this view, writing, “Her age is definitely a factor, unfortunately. Just like in any other country, once you’re above 40-45, the chance of getting citizenship is close to impossible.”
A third commented, “From my knowledge, having high earning power significantly improves your chance of obtaining a Singaporean citizenship.”
“My parents are low-income earners and do not have education beyond secondary school. They only managed to get their citizenship approved after living in Singapore for close to 40 years. Before that, they missed out on a lot of benefits conferred to Singaporeans.”
A fourth told her, “There is a racial quota. That means there is always x% of person from said ethnicity. Cannot exceed.”
Singapore Citizenship
According to The Immigration People’s website, Singapore citizenship applications may be denied due to procedural or documentation errors, as well as limited social integration.
Applicants may also be rejected for showing insufficient long-term commitment. Indicators of strong commitment include owning or investing in property in Singapore, enrolling children in local schools, maintaining stable long-term residence and employment, and not applying too soon after obtaining PR.
Applications may also be viewed unfavourably if one applies alone while a spouse or children remain overseas.
In addition, applications can be rejected if the individual has a criminal record, even for minor offences.
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