KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 6,060 Malaysians renounced their citizenship to take up Singapore nationality as of June 30 this year, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the number of Malaysians giving up their citizenship and adopting Singaporean nationality had risen in recent years.
Saifuddin Nasution added that there were 7,394 cases reported in 2015, 8,654 in 2016, 7,583 in 2017 and 7,665 in 2018.
He said this in a written parliamentary reply to Kota Bharu MP Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who is also PAS secretary-general.
Takiyuddin had asked for the total number of Malaysians who had applied for Singaporean citizenship from 2015 to 2025.
Saifuddin Nasution said 16,930 citizenship renunciations were made last year, up from 11,500 in 2023.
“The figure in 2022 was 5,623, lower than the 7,956 recorded in 2021.”
The highest annual total was in 2019, with 13,362 cases, which fell to 5,591 cases in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Singapore’s National Population and Talent Division, based on information published on Sept 24 last year, 23,472 individuals were granted Singapore citizenship in 2023.
However, the number of new citizenships granted for 2024 has not yet been disclosed.
From 2019 to 2023, the republic approved 22,400 citizenships per year, slightly more than average of 21,600 in the previous five years.
According to a written reply on Jan 7 by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam to then-Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh, about 20% of the new citizenships granted were under the Family Ties Scheme to foreign spouses of Singapore citizens.
Between 2019 and 2023, Singapore granted 111,890 citizenships in total.