Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Number of Singaporeans Who Renounced Their Citizenship Over the Past Three Years

Question:

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many Singaporeans renounced their citizenship over the past three years; (b) what proportion are naturalised Singapore citizens; and (c) whether the annual renunciation rate has increased amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1.   Over the past three years, an average of 1,480 citizens per year renounced their Singapore Citizenship (SC). Of these, 21% were naturalised SCs. The annual renunciation rate of citizens has remained low at under 0.1% of the citizen population. We had not seen an increase in renunciation rate during the COVID-19 pandemic.