Nearly 99,000 Malaysians gave up citizenship for Singapore nationality from 2015 to mid-2025
Between 2015 and June 2025, over 98,000 Malaysians renounced their citizenship to obtain Singapore nationality, averaging more than 9,000 annually. The highest figure was in 2024, with 16,930 individuals. Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail disclosed this on 7 August in response to a parliamentary question.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: From 2015 to June 2025, over 98,000 Malaysians renounced their nationality in order to obtain Singapore citizenship. This was disclosed by Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on 7 August. He was responding to a Parliamentary Question filed by Datuk Seri Takiyuddin bin Hassan, an opposition Member of Parliament for Kota Bahru. Takiyuddin had asked for the number of Malaysians who applied to become Singapore citizens from 2015 to 2025, broken down by year. The year 2024 recorded the highest number of Malaysians renouncing their citizenship, with as many as 16,930 individuals doing so. In a written reply, Saifuddin provided the following breakdown:
| Year | Number of Malaysians who renounced citizenship for Singapore citizenship |
| 2015 | 7,394 |
| 2016 | 8,654 |
| 2017 | 7,583 |
| 2018 | 7,665 |
| 2019 | 13,362 |
| 2020 | 5,591 |
| 2021 | 7,956 |
| 2022 | 5,623 |
| 2023 | 11,500 |
| 2024 | 16,930 |
| 2025 (as of 30 June) | 6,060 |
| Total: | 98,318 |
23,472 individuals granted Singapore citizenship in 2023
According to Singapore’s National Population and Talent Division (NPTD), 23,472 individuals were granted Singapore citizenship in 2023. The information was published on 24 September 2024. The number of new citizenships granted for 2024 is not yet available. From 2019 to 2023, Singapore granted an average of 22,400 citizenships per year, slightly above the average of 21,600 in the previous five years. The Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore reported that, in 2023, 2,776 new citizens were aged 21 to 30, while 6,150 were aged 31 to 40. Approximately 20 per cent of the new citizenships were granted under the Family Ties Scheme to foreign spouses of Singapore citizens, according to a written reply on 7 January 2025 by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam to then-Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh. In total, between 2019 and 2023, Singapore granted 111,890 individuals citizenship.
