SINGAPORE: A young man who’s spent his entire life in Singapore feels disheartened after being rejected twice for citizenship.
Posting on r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum, on Saturday (Jan 4), he shared that he was born and raised in Singapore and is currently pursuing an engineering degree at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
“I finished serving the army about 2 years ago and noticed all my high school friends who were PR managed to get citizenship except me,” he said. “However, I have been rejected twice since ORD. My service transcript performance is very good.”
He also mentioned that he and his family have never been in legal trouble. “I’ve never been stopped by a police officer or broken a law,” he wrote.
With no clear understanding of the reasons behind the rejections, the young man turned to the forum for help. “I’m feeling a bit lost on what I can do from here and would like some advice,” he said.
“Keep on trying, and don’t give up…”
In the discussion thread, many Singaporean Reddit users found it hard to understand how someone who had already served NS and shown a strong commitment to Singapore could still be rejected.
One user said, “I always thought serving NS would get your citizenship approval chance to 100%; damn, I was wrong.”
Another commented, “There’s something very wrong with our system when people who grew up here and serve NS don’t get citizenship, but economically profitable immigrants get it.”
A third suggested, “Graduate, get married to an SG girl and sink your roots here. Perhaps that will increase your chances of obtaining citizenship.
Nonetheless, thank you for your service. If you intend to live in Singapore as a citizen, keep trying and don’t give up.”
Others recommended that he try reaching out to his MP for help. One user shared, “Bro, I was in the same boat as you. I grew up in Singapore, served NS, had a good army transcript, and got rejected (I studied overseas for Uni).
You need to appeal to ICA through your MP; that’s what I did. Trust me, I know your pain; it was heartbreaking to get that rejection, especially after growing up here and doing my service.”
Common reasons for being rejected
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) does not disclose the reasons for rejecting a Citizenship application. Still, a few common reasons might explain why it didn’t work out.
As noted on The Immigration People’s website, potential causes for rejection may include missing steps in the application process, submitting the wrong documents, leaving out essential paperwork, or making errors in the forms.
However, if you believe you’ve done everything correctly, the issue could lie in your profile not being convincing enough, particularly in terms of your financial stability and level of commitment to Singapore.
What you can do after being rejected
If you feel that you’ve contributed enough to the country, you can submit an appeal to the ICA within six months of the rejection date.
While there’s no set format for the appeal letter, it should clearly explain why you believe your rejection was unfair and how recent changes in your circumstances make you a stronger candidate for citizenship.
For example, you can highlight a significant salary increase, a recent promotion, or new personal milestones like getting married or having a baby, owning property, or volunteering or doing charitable work you’ve been involved in. These factors can help strengthen your case.
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
