Citizenship issue...
This is the best thing I have heard so far regarding my citizenship issue!British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61)
13. — (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person who has ceased to be a British citizen as a result of a declaration of renunciation shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a British citizen, to be registered as such a citizen if—
(a) he is of full capacity; and
(b) his renunciation of British citizenship was necessary to enable him to retain or acquire some other citizenship or nationality.
(2) A person shall not be entitled to registration under subsection (1) on more than one occasion.
(3) If a person of full capacity who has ceased to be a British citizen as a result of a declaration of renunciation (for whatever reason made) makes an application for his registration as such a citizen, the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, cause him to be registered as such a citizen.
Official link to the Home Office webpage regarding this issue:
Can I register as a British citizen if I have previously given up my citizenship?
As you can see, I am not that enthusiastic about getting the Singapore citizenship. This kind of thing, well, it's more like an administrative problem to me... Now, since I got to know about this, I just have to pray that the law won't change - to keep my escape route open.
If you get to choose, would you choose to hold an EU passport or a Singapore passport?
Now I have an added incentive to go to the UK to do PhD - that will help me open my network there. Part of the escape route plot.
Singapore is stupid in not allowing people hold dual citizenship. They say that Singaporeans are not ready and probably it may take another 20 - 30 years for that to realise... I don't know what is there to be ready about though. Before you make it realise, those who can go somewhere else would have - like some of my friends now, even though they are native Singaporeans.
If Singapore can't even keep native true-blue Singaporeans around, no bureaucratic measure is going to keep people like us - who acquired our Singaporean identity - around. Remember, if we can give up our native country's citizenship (not applicable to me - the HKID thing is a PR status and does not involve citizenship), we can give up Singapore's as readily.
Anyway, from what I know quite a bit of Hongkongers who grew up in Singapore don't identify themselves as Singaporeans. I am already a more 'Singaporean' one - and I do still bear this kind of thinking. To us who are immigrants citizenship status is not important - what is more important is security and convenience - that is why a lot of people in Hong Kong tried so hard to get Canadian or US or British citizenships and yet in the end they still decide to continue living in HK. It doesn't mean that we are loyal to those countries, it doesn't mean that we identify with those countries - we just need those passports so that we can run when we need to. Like the analogy I always use... I can go hide in some village in Czech Republic anytime and no one will be able to find me :P
People will denounce us for our lack of loyalty, and why would we need to run? This is something that those people won't understand. There is no need to explain; we just have to hide in some village in Czech Republic and we won't hear you anymore. And while you are still scolding us, we would already be enjoying life reading newspapers by the fireplace and farming cows so oh well, you do whatever you want :P
Labels: Policy and Politics, Random
