The dilemma on hand is minibeanie's Singapore citizenship. Apparently, he's able to hold on to his Finnish citizenship until the age of majority, 21 in Singapore. Upon reaching his 21st birthday, he will then have to decide whether he prefers chicken rice or reindeer stew, durian or lingonberry :D
I think having a choice is always a good thing. Besides the luxury of choice, the pros are if we decide to stay in Singapore for awhile, education and medical services are always a lot cheaper for citizens. Then there's the government's Baby Bonus scheme. S$5000 from the government for daycares, kindergartens or even insurance policies. But $5k is not a princely sum. I loathe to think that I'm committing minibeanie to 2 years of servitude for that sum of money.
The servitude I'm referring to is the compulsory National Service (NS) that every Singaporean male has to submit to at age 18(?). We've nothing against NS. In fact, we believe it builds character and changes boys to men, as the cliche goes. However, my bugbear is that minibeanie apparently has to serve NS even if he decides NOT to become a Singapore citizen. I guess timing is the key here. He cannot renounce his citizenship until 21 while NS is served at 18. Then the second issue is the loss of freedom in living in another country after he passes a certain age without posting an exorbitant sum called the bond. I'm not sure what is this age and the amount but I remembered it was a 'choke-choke-gasp-for-air' figure. A search at mindef.gov.sg was futile. Does anyone know??
Decisions decisions....
minibeanie is 1 year, 5 months & 3 weeks old
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Over the last few days, minibeanie...
- ... can count up to 20 in English & Chinese, and 10 in Finnish (Dec 09)
- ... had a crew cut in a salon (& mummy hated it!)
- ... has been jumping like a flea
- ... took off his pants all by himself
- ... has all 4 incissors (Feb 09)
- ... learnt how to aim the spoon into his mouth
- ... has his first bottom-left molar (Dec 08)
- ... broke an egg
- ... said "apple" & "egg"
- ... has been feeding himself (16m)
Handy Labels
- milestone
- Chengdu
- feed
- pregnancy
- food
- sleep
- holiday
- China
- recipe
- Christmas
- Finland
- family
- party
- earthquake
- poop
- birthday
- little friends
- babyism
- illness
- misc
- solids
- Australia
- braxton hicks
- hospital
- jet lag
- labour
- school
- singapore F1
- speech
- summer
- teething
- EtonHouse
- Pediped
- Shanghai
- anniversary
- baby swimming
- birth
- birth story
- car seat
- game
- just for fun
- name
- play
- singapore
- sling
- winter
- Beijing
- Dunstan's babies' secret language
- Easter
- Fathers' Day
- Mothers' Day
- New Year
- autumn
- baby proof
- baby shower
- birth plan
- blocked nose
- book
- breastfeeding
- christening
- creep
- crib
- drool
- first month
- genes
- haircut
- heat rash
- hotpot
- house hunting
- jaundice
- kimi raikkonen
- nesting instinct
- nursery rhymes
- personality
- playdough
- presents
- reading
- safety
- separation anxiety
- talk
- teeth brushing
- toy
- ugly maternity wear
- weaning
5 comments:
We're facing a similar yet different situation with our 2 boys. Yes, Mindef is silent on such 'sensitive' issues on their web, which is making it very confusing for many overseas parents. I've heard as many different versions from different parents on their sons' "liability" to NS.
Again, I'm not sure, but since MB is not born in S'pore, I don't think he needs to post a bond. And if you stay in S'pore, MB can be a PR, which has pretty much the same privileges as a citizen.
Thanks for the PR idea! that seems like a good workaround to the issue :P
Actually, waiting until 21 is too late. You have to make a decision by age 12 or 13 (there seems to be some disagreement about the exact age).
He can hold dual passports now. By age 12/13, you have to decide whether you want to give him the choice to avoid NS by renouncing Singaporean citizenship. You do this by sending a letter to the gov to ask for a deferment of NS until 21. At 21, he can decide whether to renounce his Singaporean citizenship or to enter NS. There are some other requirements such as not holding a Singaporean passport or IC past 12.
Wow, this is an issue close to many hearts. And this is Mindef's reply to my query. I thought I'd post it to make it 'public':
-----------------------------------
For Pre-Enlistee (PE) Age 13-16.5:
Overseas trip more than 3 month but less than 2 years >> only Exit Permit required
Overseas trip 2 years or longer >> Exit Permit & Bond required
For PE "Age 16.5 & Above before enlistment to NS:
Overseas trip more than 3 month or longer >> Exit Permit & Bond
For PE that is going overseas for studies, the bond requirement is:
Banker?s Guarantee
Bond Quantum ? Minimum of S$75,000 or an amount equivalent to 50% of the combined annual gross income of both parents for the preceding year, whichever is higher
Anyone can furnish the required Banker?s Guarantee on behalf of Pre-enlistee's parents.
For PE going overseas for other reasons (accompanying parents on overseas employment):
Personal Guarantee (Deed)
Paper agreement between MINDEF , parent and 2 sureties
Must satisfy following conditions :
Both parents residing overseas in the same country
Ns Liable persons residing and staying in the same country where at least 1 parent is working.
Both parents have not given up Singapore citizenship or PR
Father/Siblings are not defaulters
Criteria of sureties
Above 21 years old
Either Singapore citizen or PR
Gainfully employed
At least 1 surety must be residing in Singapore
Relative (siblings)
Hi, How are you ?
I have to make same decision for Lum.... Luckily she is a girl and no need to go to army but still she has to decide which nationality to choose when she is 20.
However... In Belgium's case, we can just chooose Japan and then leave Belgium nationality as it is. Japanese embassy does not contact Belgium goverment to remove her nationality...
So, after all, lots of people still have double passport even though it is not allowed...
But I suppose Singapore is stricter for this kind..?
I think it is not so nice for them to choose one country... why don't they understand both of them are their country !!!
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