Singapore Constitution Articles 128–139: Dual Citizenship, Renunciation & Deprivation 2026

Constitutional Basis

Article 122(3) and the related citizenship provisions.

Current I C A Framework

ICA states that minors who obtained Singapore citizenship by descent or registration must take the ORAL after turning 21 and before their 22nd birthday to retain Singapore citizenship.

Deadline

The ORAL must be taken within 12 months after turning 21 and before the 22nd birthday.

Consequence Of Failure

ICA states that failure to take the ORAL within the required period results in automatic loss of Singapore citizenship on the 22nd birthday.

Foreign Renunciation Evidence

ICA currently requires a Foreign Citizenship Renunciation Certificate before the ORAL can be taken.

Where To Take Oath

ICA states that the ORAL can be taken at the ICA Services Centre in Singapore or, for persons living overseas, at the nearest Singapore Overseas Mission.

Fee

ICA states that there is no fee for taking the ORAL.

Processing

ICA states that the ORAL process is completed on the same day when properly conducted.

Important Nuance

The minor ORAL rule should not be generalized to every child born with multiple nationalities in exactly the same way without checking the citizenship route and the precise constitutional provision that created the person's Singapore citizenship.

Constitutional Basis

Article 128

Minimum Age

21

Sound Mind

The person must be of sound mind.

Foreign Citizenship

The person must be a citizen of, or about to become a citizen of, another country.

War Restriction

The Government may withhold registration if the declaration is made during a war in which Singapore is engaged.

National Service Rule

For a person subject to the Enlistment Act, the Government may withhold registration unless the person has discharged the required full-time service, completed at least 3 years of operationally ready national service in lieu of it, or complied with conditions determined by the Government.

Current I C A Eligibility

ICA currently states that a citizen can renounce Singapore citizenship only if the person is aged 21 or above, of sound mind and has acquired citizenship of another country.

Current I C A Fee

ICA currently charges a S$35 processing fee for a citizenship-renunciation application.

Current I C A Processing

ICA currently states that general processing takes approximately 3 months from receipt of all required documents, although some cases can take longer.

Mandatory Documents

• Statutory Declaration of Renunciation Form
• Advisory Note on Renunciation Implication
• MINDEF Advisory Note for male applicants
• Original Singapore Identity Card
• Valid Singapore Passport
• Singapore Citizenship Certificate where applicable
• Evidence of foreign citizenship

Ground

Voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship

Age Threshold

The relevant conduct concerns a person who is of or over 18 years of age, including specified retention after a foreign citizenship was acquired before 18.

Covered Acquisition

Registration, naturalisation or another voluntary and formal act, other than marriage, can trigger the constitutional deprivation power where the statutory conditions are satisfied.

Marriage Exception

The general voluntary-acquisition ground expressly excludes acquisition by marriage, while Article 134(1)(b) separately addresses a specified category of woman who is a Singapore citizen by registration under Article 123(2) and acquired foreign citizenship by virtue of marriage to a non-citizen.

Effect

If the Government makes a deprivation order under Article 134, citizenship ceases from the date of the order.

Not Automatic

Article 134 is a power to deprive by order. It should not be simplified into a statement that foreign citizenship acquisition always causes instantaneous automatic loss of Singapore citizenship without the constitutional deprivation process.

Foreign Rights

Article 135(1)(a) covers voluntary claims and exercise of rights under foreign law that are accorded exclusively to citizens or nationals of the foreign country, other than rights connected with passport use.

Foreign Passport

Article 135(1)(b) covers applying to foreign authorities for issue or renewal of a passport or using a foreign passport as a travel document.

Political Voting

Article 135(2) deems voting in a political election outside Singapore to be the voluntary claim and exercise of a foreign-national right for Article 135(1)(a).

Ten Year Residence

Article 135(1)(c) covers a citizen aged 18 or above who has been ordinarily resident outside Singapore continuously for 10 years, including qualifying pre-1986 residence, where the person has not during that period or thereafter entered Singapore by the specified Singapore-issued certificate or travel document and has not during the relevant period been in specified Singapore Government, international-organisation or designated service.

Effect

If the Government makes a deprivation order under Article 135, the person ceases to be a citizen from the date of the order.

Important Correction

Article 135 does not merely concern passports and foreign political elections. The 10-year continuous ordinary-residence ground is a separate and important limb of Article 135(1)(c).

Constitutional Provision

Article 133

Notice

Before making an order under Article 129, 132, 134 or 135, the Government must give written notice stating the proposed ground and the person's right to have the case referred to a committee of inquiry.

Application Deadline

Under current Singapore Citizenship Rules rule 10(1), a person given an Article 133 notice must apply within 21 days to have the case referred to a committee of inquiry.

Committee Composition

The committee consists of a Chairperson who is a person qualified to be appointed as a Supreme Court Judge and two other members chosen from a panel appointed by the Government.

Nature Of Committee

The Constitution does not itself describe the committee as an 'independent tribunal'. It is a statutory constitutional inquiry body constituted under Article 133 and the Third Schedule framework.

Resident In Singapore

The current Singapore Citizenship Rules provide that where the person is in Singapore or ordinarily resident in Singapore, the inquiry notice must inform the person of the right to be present and represented by an advocate and solicitor.

Outside Singapore

Where the person is not in Singapore and not ordinarily resident in Singapore, the current rules provide for written representations and representation by an advocate and solicitor.

Inquiry

The committee conducts the inquiry in the manner prescribed by the rules and submits a report to the Government.

Government Decision

The Government must have regard to the committee's report in making the deprivation order, but the committee itself does not make the final deprivation order.

Delegation

The Third Schedule allows specified citizenship functions to be delegated to public officers in the circumstances provided by the Schedule, and an aggrieved person can appeal to the Minister from certain delegated public-officer decisions.

Government Minister

The functions of the Government under Part 10 are exercised by such Minister as the President may direct.

No Court Appeal

Third Schedule section 2 provides that a decision of the Government under Part 10 is not subject to appeal or review in any court.

Delegation

Section 3 permits delegation of specified citizenship functions to public officers, with an appeal to the Minister from decisions of delegated public officers in the circumstances stated.

Committee Rules

Section 4 authorises rules governing committees of inquiry under Article 133, including circumstances in which the inquiry may proceed by written representations.

Important Caveat

The Third Schedule's no-appeal/no-review rule is a specific constitutional citizenship framework and should not be confused with the ordinary judicial-review rules applying to unrelated immigration or administrative decisions.

Constitutional Rule

Article 128(2)(b) allows withholding registration of a renunciation declaration by a person subject to the Enlistment Act unless the specified NS conditions are met.

Full Time Service

One qualifying route is discharge of liability for full-time service under section 12 of the Enlistment Act.

Operationally Ready Service

A second route is rendering at least 3 years of operationally ready national service under section 13 in lieu of the full-time service.

Government Conditions

The Constitution also permits withholding unless the person has complied with such conditions as may be determined by the Government.

Current I C A Position

ICA currently warns that the Government may reject a male citizen's renunciation if he has enjoyed citizenship privileges, including possession or use of the Singapore passport, and has outstanding National Service obligations.

Correction

It is inaccurate to state that every male citizen can renounce only after fully completing all NS obligations or obtaining MINDEF approval. The constitutional standard is the more specific Article 128(2)(b) framework, while ICA separately describes the practical treatment of outstanding NS obligations.

I C A

ICA administers citizenship applications, renunciation, minor oath-taking and citizenship records. Current ICA guidance provides the online renunciation process, required forms and documents.

Minister

The Constitution assigns Part 10 Government functions to the Minister directed by the President under the Third Schedule. The citizenship deprivation decision should therefore not be described simply as an ICA operational decision.

M I N D E F

MINDEF is relevant to male NS-liable applicants because of the Article 128 National Service restriction and the required MINDEF Advisory Note in current renunciation applications.

Foreign Authority

A person using the minor ORAL route must provide the foreign citizenship renunciation evidence requested by ICA. The exact foreign renunciation procedure is governed by the foreign country's law.

Government Gazette

The effect of a deprivation order follows the Constitution. The original statement that every deprivation order is necessarily 'gazetted by ICA' is too specific and should not be treated as a constitutional requirement.