Renouncing SG citizenship for dual-national minors
Posted: Wed, 14 Jan 2026 8:43 pm
Hello,
I'm trying to work out the process to renounce the SG citizenship of my sons. This is the situation.
I do not hold Singaporean citizenship or PR status, but my wife is Singaporean. We never lived in Singapore permanently, only visiting her parents every other year for two or three weeks.
However, both our two boys (3 and 10yo respectively) were born in Singapore, as wife wanted to give birth there. Both boys left Singapore between 3 and 6 months after their birth, and apart from that, all of us have always lived abroad.
Both boys have another citizenship.
They still have a valid SG passport, but have stopped using it. They have used it occasionally, every couple of years of so, to go visit the grandparents in Singapore during school hols.
I have two questions, and I would be grateful for any advice on them:
1. From what I have gathered online, I have to write to MinDef before the eldest turns 11 to inform them of their wish to renounce SG citizenship, and then (if I got it right) to apply for NS deferment pending renunciation.
Is this correct? Should the application for NS deferment be done at the same time, or should I wait for MinDef to send me information first?
2. I have seen suggested in a thread here that for such an application to be successful, both parents need to have renounced their SG citizenship, i.e. neither parent should be a SG citizen. Is that correct?
As I explained, I am not, but partner (the boys' mother) still is.
Thank you!
I'm trying to work out the process to renounce the SG citizenship of my sons. This is the situation.
I do not hold Singaporean citizenship or PR status, but my wife is Singaporean. We never lived in Singapore permanently, only visiting her parents every other year for two or three weeks.
However, both our two boys (3 and 10yo respectively) were born in Singapore, as wife wanted to give birth there. Both boys left Singapore between 3 and 6 months after their birth, and apart from that, all of us have always lived abroad.
Both boys have another citizenship.
They still have a valid SG passport, but have stopped using it. They have used it occasionally, every couple of years of so, to go visit the grandparents in Singapore during school hols.
I have two questions, and I would be grateful for any advice on them:
1. From what I have gathered online, I have to write to MinDef before the eldest turns 11 to inform them of their wish to renounce SG citizenship, and then (if I got it right) to apply for NS deferment pending renunciation.
Is this correct? Should the application for NS deferment be done at the same time, or should I wait for MinDef to send me information first?
2. I have seen suggested in a thread here that for such an application to be successful, both parents need to have renounced their SG citizenship, i.e. neither parent should be a SG citizen. Is that correct?
As I explained, I am not, but partner (the boys' mother) still is.
Thank you!