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Thai youth who served NS has S’pore citizenship revoked, claims he couldn’t take leave to complete oath
His case is being reviewed.
A 23-year-old youth of mixed Singaporean and Thai heritage has lost his Singaporean citizenship after failing to complete his Oath of Renunciation, Allegiance and Loyalty (ORAL) in time, according to Lianhe Wanbao.
The youth, identified as Xu, was born when his Thai mother reportedly returned to Thailand to visit a relative and gave birth to him there.
Xu alleges that he was unable to take the ORAL as his requests to take leave during National Service for the necessary procedures were denied.
What is the ORAL and why take it?
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the ORAL is a necessary procedure for a minor, who is a Singaporean citizen by either descent or registration, to take within 12 months on attaining the age of 21 years to remain as a Singapore citizen.
Should the minor fail to take the ORAL within this period, “he/ she will automatically lose his/ her citizenship on attaining the age of 22 years and there is no assurance that he/ she can continue studying, working or residing in Singapore as a foreigner on any form of student pass, work pass, social visit pass or as a permanent resident”.
In the case of this particular youth, Xu’s Singaporean citizenship was gained through his descent from his Singaporean father.
Xu states that he was called to do NS in 2016 and had just turned 21 during that year on Sept. 5, when he received a letter from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore.
The letter stated that “[he] was an underage citizen who [had] attained [his] citizenship either through application or via biological ties to a Singaporean parent. As such, [he] had to complete [his] ORAL within a year to keep my citizenship.”
What does the ORAL involve?
The ORAL consists of multiple procedures, which can be extremely time-consuming.
MFA states that the following documents are required:
This step can take from a month to a year to complete.
Following that, the applicant must visit the ICA office with the original renunciation letter and another photocopy in order to take the ORAL.
For Xu, this meant having to travel back to Thailand first, in order to attain the required documents before heading down to the Thai embassy in Singapore to renounce his Thai citizenship.
Requests for leave denied
Xu alleges that while he was in NS, his requests for leave were rejected, preventing him from making the trip to Thailand and by extension, completing his ORAL in time.
Xu had been serving as a section commander who was responsible for training new recruits until Sept. 9 last year.
ICA revoked his citizenship on Sept. 5, 2017.
Xu added that he eventually managed to visit Thailand in December 2017 to retrieve the required documents.
However, his Singaporean citizenship had already been revoked by that point, which he felt was extremely regrettable.
In order to remain in Singapore, Xu now requires a Special Pass which has to be extended every three months. Should the pass fail to be approved for extension, he will have to leave Singapore.
Xu further said:
“All my family members are in Singapore and I don’t want to leave them. I have been trying to think of ways to regain my citizenship. The last time I went to ICA to reapply for citizenship, it was rejected, but I intend to try again. Hopefully, they will let me stay in Singapore. I will definitely contribute to society.”
MINDEF’s response
In response to Xu, the Ministry of Defence replied that Xu did not apply for leave nor submit relevant documents needed for leave application throughout his time in NS, until July 2017, when he was two months short of ICA’s deadline.
A MINDEF spokesperson said: “If he had submitted the relevant documents, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) would have fully supported him.”
https://mothership.sg/2018/07/thai-singaporean-citizenship-revoked/
His case is being reviewed.
A 23-year-old youth of mixed Singaporean and Thai heritage has lost his Singaporean citizenship after failing to complete his Oath of Renunciation, Allegiance and Loyalty (ORAL) in time, according to Lianhe Wanbao.
The youth, identified as Xu, was born when his Thai mother reportedly returned to Thailand to visit a relative and gave birth to him there.
Xu alleges that he was unable to take the ORAL as his requests to take leave during National Service for the necessary procedures were denied.
What is the ORAL and why take it?
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the ORAL is a necessary procedure for a minor, who is a Singaporean citizen by either descent or registration, to take within 12 months on attaining the age of 21 years to remain as a Singapore citizen.
Should the minor fail to take the ORAL within this period, “he/ she will automatically lose his/ her citizenship on attaining the age of 22 years and there is no assurance that he/ she can continue studying, working or residing in Singapore as a foreigner on any form of student pass, work pass, social visit pass or as a permanent resident”.
In the case of this particular youth, Xu’s Singaporean citizenship was gained through his descent from his Singaporean father.
Xu states that he was called to do NS in 2016 and had just turned 21 during that year on Sept. 5, when he received a letter from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore.
The letter stated that “[he] was an underage citizen who [had] attained [his] citizenship either through application or via biological ties to a Singaporean parent. As such, [he] had to complete [his] ORAL within a year to keep my citizenship.”
What does the ORAL involve?
The ORAL consists of multiple procedures, which can be extremely time-consuming.
MFA states that the following documents are required:
- A copy of Minor’s Identity Card
- Minor’s Original Singapore Citizenship Certificate
- Certified True Copy of the Renunciation Certificate of the other country
- The prescribed Oath Form duly completed/ signed/ affirmed. Minors residing overseas may take the ORAL at the nearest Singapore Missions or with the permission of the Registrar, take the ORAL in the presence of any authorised notary public or person authorised to administer Oaths.
This step can take from a month to a year to complete.
Following that, the applicant must visit the ICA office with the original renunciation letter and another photocopy in order to take the ORAL.
For Xu, this meant having to travel back to Thailand first, in order to attain the required documents before heading down to the Thai embassy in Singapore to renounce his Thai citizenship.
Requests for leave denied
Xu alleges that while he was in NS, his requests for leave were rejected, preventing him from making the trip to Thailand and by extension, completing his ORAL in time.
Xu had been serving as a section commander who was responsible for training new recruits until Sept. 9 last year.
ICA revoked his citizenship on Sept. 5, 2017.
Xu added that he eventually managed to visit Thailand in December 2017 to retrieve the required documents.
However, his Singaporean citizenship had already been revoked by that point, which he felt was extremely regrettable.
In order to remain in Singapore, Xu now requires a Special Pass which has to be extended every three months. Should the pass fail to be approved for extension, he will have to leave Singapore.
Xu further said:
“All my family members are in Singapore and I don’t want to leave them. I have been trying to think of ways to regain my citizenship. The last time I went to ICA to reapply for citizenship, it was rejected, but I intend to try again. Hopefully, they will let me stay in Singapore. I will definitely contribute to society.”
MINDEF’s response
In response to Xu, the Ministry of Defence replied that Xu did not apply for leave nor submit relevant documents needed for leave application throughout his time in NS, until July 2017, when he was two months short of ICA’s deadline.
A MINDEF spokesperson said: “If he had submitted the relevant documents, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) would have fully supported him.”
https://mothership.sg/2018/07/thai-singaporean-citizenship-revoked/
