SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA of domestic legislation.3056 As a result of these reservations, the UN Committee which oversees the Convention has stated that the reservations are “impermissible since these articles are fundamental to the implementation of all the other provisions of the Convention”.3057 In the 2022 UPR submission for Singapore, the High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the need to ensure that children born in Singapore who cannot acquire another nationality are able to automatically acquire Singaporean nationality.3058 Population Reported stateless persons Singapore has consistently reported 1,109 stateless persons to UNHCR in the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.3059 As of February 2019, Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority reported 1,303 persons.3060 This number has improved slightly since January 2016, when the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law reported that 1,411 stateless persons were living in Singapore.3061 Of that figure, 59% were reported to be male, and 41% female.3062 Recent recommendations from the CERD Committee, as discussed above, indicate that reported data on the number of stateless persons in Singapore may not be updated or comprehensive.3063 In 2016, it was reported that 85% of stateless persons were Permanent Residents.3064 In 2020, the Minister for Home Affairs reported that 76% SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA of Singapore’s current stateless population are Permanent Residents of Singapore, meaning that the percentage of stateless persons with access to benefits conferred by being a Permanent Resident diminished significantly between 2016 and 2020.3065 While Permanent Residents can access healthcare, educational benefits and Certificates of Identity which facilitate travel, stateless persons who are not Permanent Residents do not receive the same benefits.3066 They are issued a Special Pass, which must be renewed every six months to continue their residency in Singapore.3067 Singapore’s stateless population consists primarily of three groups: persons born in the country before independence who did not meet the requirements of citizenship which were in effect at that time, permanent residents who have lost their foreign citizenship, and children born to foreign nationals not recognised as citizens in their home countries.3068 In particular, the separation in 1965 between Singapore and Malaysia was a key contributor to the complication of proving one’s citizenship, as individuals were displaced and at times did not have the necessary paperwork to document their right to citizenship.3069 In 1957, the Citizenship Ordinance offered all residents born in Singapore or the Federation of Malaya, and British citizens, the ability to register for a Singapore citizenship.3070 It also offered naturalisation to residents living in Singapore for more than ten years who were ready to take an oath of allegiance and renounce their allegiance to other countries.3071 However, the Ordinance also inevitably made it possible for the Government to TABLE 79 Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR Country Singapore 2019 (year start)3072 2020 (year end)3073 2021 (year end)3074 2022 (year end)3075 1,303 1,109 1,109 1,109 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022. 264 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) However, the Ordinance also inevitably made it possible for the Government to deny citizenship to those deemed as displaying dissatisfactory representations to the Constitution or the Queen. deny citizenship to those deemed as displaying dissatisfactory representations to the Constitution or the Queen.3076 During this time of significant change, some residents were not able to or did not register themselves as citizens of the new nation of Singapore.3077 After the separation between Singapore and Malaysia in 1965, individuals who were displaced and did not have the appropriate paperwork to prove their place of birth were then left to face significant complications in proving their citizenship.3078 Causes of Statelessness Discriminatory nationality laws A constitutional provision stipulates that a child born in Singapore to a citizen mother and a father who is a foreign diplomat will not be a citizen. This is despite the fact the child should be eligible for citizenship by descent through their citizen mother.3079 The limitation on the ability of married women to confer nationality to their foreign spouse on the same basis as men3080 also constitutes gender discrimination. Finally, Singapore law’s retention of the concept of illegitimacy, as applied to children born out of wedlock, creates a discriminatory imbalance and an increased risk of statelessness for these “illegitimate” children.3081 References in the citizenship constitutional law to children’s fathers or parents are to be construed as references to their mothers only.3082 This means that for children whose father is a Singaporean citizen yet their mother is not, they may not acquire Singapore citizenship by birth or descent. Lack of legal safeguards against childhood statelessness Citizenship laws of Singapore provide explicit protection to foundling children, deeming them citizens at birth.3083 However, there is no explicit protection provided to stateless children, leaving the children of stateless people in Singapore at a greater risk of becoming/remaining stateless themselves, and potentially perpetuating the stateless status through several generations. This risk can, in theory, be tempered by the Government’s exercise of its discretionary power to grant citizenship by birth or registration to any child in Singapore.3084 Children of migrant workers and foreigners within Singapore are at risk of statelessness due to this lack of protection. Citizenship laws of Singapore provide explicit protection to foundling children, deeming them citizens at birth. However, there is no explicit protection provided to stateless children, leaving the children of stateless people in Singapore at a greater risk of becoming/remaining stateless themselves, and potentially perpetuating the stateless status through several generations. Citizenship stripping The government may deprive citizens by registration or naturalization (or those enrolled as citizens prior to Singapore’s 1965 independence) of their citizenships under a series of circumstances, most notably if they resided outside of Singapore for five continuous years without registering annually at the Singaporean consulate.3085 When a citizen renounces their citizenship or is deprived thereof, their citizen children of under 21 years may also be deprived of their citizenship.3086 According to Article 140(2) of the Constitution, decisions made by the government regarding citizenship “shall not be subject to appeal or review in any court”.3087 REPORT 2024 265