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Singapore Citizenship approved - timeline and process

Relocating, travelling or planning to make Singapore home? Discuss the criterias, passes or visa that is required.
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balv
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Singapore Citizenship approved - timeline and process

Post by balv » Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:41 pm

Background
Family: M40 born in India, F38 born in India, F7 born in SG, F3 born in SG
Attempts: Got it on 1st attempt as full family
Time in Singapore: Since 2010. PR since 2015.
Kids: Both born here. Elder kid attending MoE P1

Timeline
Oct 2024: Applied
17 May 2026: Received In Principle Approval
18 May 2026: Able to login to sgjourney.gov.sg
30 June 2026: Completed e-journey, SEV and CSS
1 July 2026: Able to submit survey for SEV and CSS
2 July 2026: Called BLS and booked an appointment for 20 July 2026. Service Center told no walk-in allowed
8 July 2026: Received final Approval
8 July 2026: Walked-in to BLS to inquire if walk-in is possible and got a confirmation that it can be done.
13 July 2026: Submitted India passport at BLS for renunciation - filled the form myself. Appointment with the high commission on 20th.
14 July 2026: E-mailed embassy for expedited process due to upcoming travel to India (with proof)
16 July 2026: Interview at Indian High Commission
20 July 2026: Received acknowledgement letter from Indian High Commission at BLS
21 July 2026: Appointment at ICA for Oath taking

Some things to dodge:

Filling the MHA form - better to get the BLS guys do it. I was getting an unknown error due to a file format issue. The error pops up in a different page and BLS was clueless why it happened. I had to figure out the problem myself after a lot of trial and errors.

Ack Letter on Renunciation: Submit this in the ICA completion of formalities page and make the process as complete. I have seen many discussions saying not to because this is not your renunciation letter. Oath taking wont be possible without this. There will be a new link for you to upload the final renunciation letter. If you are still worried, you can go to ICA without submitting the ACK letter and wait for the officer to ask you to do so.

Sca2023
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Re: Singapore Citizenship approved - timeline and process

Post by Sca2023 » Wed, 22 Jul 2026 1:03 pm

Hi Balv,
Some questions, would be glad to know.
Appreciate if you could share more details about the HCI interview process for renunciation, like what to expect, mine is scheduled in very near furture. Did you received children surrender certificate prior to yours or at the same timing. 21 July 2026 oath taking you had mentioned, was it auto scheduled by ICA, or you managed to reschedule it on an earlier date? do the completion of formalities and oath taking happens at the same appointment? at the time of receiving acknowledgement letter from BLS, do they handover surrender certificate and cancelled passport together or it is later sent to you after the HCI interview. Would really appreciate if you could answer the above.

balv
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Joined: Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:11 pm

Re: Singapore Citizenship approved - timeline and process

Post by balv » Thu, 23 Jul 2026 5:44 pm

Sca2023 wrote:
Wed, 22 Jul 2026 1:03 pm
Hi Balv,
Some questions, would be glad to know.
Appreciate if you could share more details about the HCI interview process for renunciation, like what to expect, mine is scheduled in very near furture. Did you received children surrender certificate prior to yours or at the same timing. 21 July 2026 oath taking you had mentioned, was it auto scheduled by ICA, or you managed to reschedule it on an earlier date? do the completion of formalities and oath taking happens at the same appointment? at the time of receiving acknowledgement letter from BLS, do they handover surrender certificate and cancelled passport together or it is later sent to you after the HCI interview. Would really appreciate if you could answer the above.
HCI interview is quite straightforward - asks basic questions like how long you are in Sg etc. I got the surrender cert for the children after 10 days. I havent received mine yet, so i guess i get it along with renunciation cert. I rescheduled the oath taking appointment on 21st - yes both of them happens together.

Sca2023
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Joined: Thu, 19 Jan 2023 12:50 pm

Re: Singapore Citizenship approved - timeline and process

Post by Sca2023 » Fri, 24 Jul 2026 10:49 am

Hi Blav,

If i understand correctly, you managed to complete the formalities and oath taking on the same day, without receiving the surrender certificate and with just submission of the acknowledgement slip from HCI that renunciation is in progress. Also, you were able to reschedule the COF and oath taking appointment to an earlier date than the auto scheduled date provided by ICA. Appreciate if you could confirm the same.

balv
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Joined: Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:11 pm

Re: Singapore Citizenship approved - timeline and process

Post by balv » Sat, 25 Jul 2026 8:24 am

Sca2023 wrote:
Fri, 24 Jul 2026 10:49 am
Hi Blav,

If i understand correctly, you managed to complete the formalities and oath taking on the same day, without receiving the surrender certificate and with just submission of the acknowledgement slip from HCI that renunciation is in progress. Also, you were able to reschedule the COF and oath taking appointment to an earlier date than the auto scheduled date provided by ICA. Appreciate if you could confirm the same.
Yes, That is correct!
You can reschedule the oath taking appointment as many times as you want. Ideally, we have to complete the formalities by uploading the acknowledgement slip before you go for the oath taking. Iw as not sure if I could upload it and went without completing the upload process. I uploaded the document at ICA just before the oath taking.

balv
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Posts: 4
Joined: Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:11 pm

Re: Singapore Citizenship approved - timeline and process

Post by balv » Sat, 25 Jul 2026 8:27 am

balv wrote:
Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:41 pm
Background
Family: M40 born in India, F38 born in India, F7 born in SG, F3 born in SG
Attempts: Got it on 1st attempt as full family
Time in Singapore: Since 2010. PR since 2015.
Kids: Both born here. Elder kid attending MoE P1

Timeline
Oct 2024: Applied
17 May 2026: Received In Principle Approval
18 May 2026: Able to login to sgjourney.gov.sg
30 June 2026: Completed e-journey, SEV and CSS
1 July 2026: Able to submit survey for SEV and CSS
2 July 2026: Called BLS and booked an appointment for 20 July 2026. Service Center told no walk-in allowed
8 July 2026: Received final Approval
8 July 2026: Walked-in to BLS to inquire if walk-in is possible and got a confirmation that it can be done.
13 July 2026: Submitted India passport at BLS for renunciation - filled the form myself. Appointment with the high commission on 20th.
14 July 2026: E-mailed embassy for expedited process due to upcoming travel to India (with proof)
16 July 2026: Interview at Indian High Commission
20 July 2026: Received acknowledgement letter from Indian High Commission at BLS
21 July 2026: Appointment at ICA for Oath taking

Some things to dodge:

Filling the MHA form - better to get the BLS guys do it. I was getting an unknown error due to a file format issue. The error pops up in a different page and BLS was clueless why it happened. I had to figure out the problem myself after a lot of trial and errors.

Ack Letter on Renunciation: Submit this in the ICA completion of formalities page and make the process as complete. I have seen many discussions saying not to because this is not your renunciation letter. Oath taking wont be possible without this. There will be a new link for you to upload the final renunciation letter. If you are still worried, you can go to ICA without submitting the ACK letter and wait for the officer to ask you to do so.
Update:
22 July 2026: Collected citizenship certificate for children
23 July 2026: Singpass ID changed pink
23 July 2026: SMS received to make appointment to collect physical IC

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