Malaysian nationality law
This article needs to be updated.(January 2017) |
Federal Constitution of Malaysia Articles 14 to 31 | |
---|---|
Federal Legislative Council | |
Territorial extent | Malaysia |
Passed by | Federal Legislative Council |
Passed | 15 August 1957 |
Commenced | 27 August 1957 |
Status: Amended |
Malaysian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a
All persons born in Malaysia between 31 August 1957 and 1 October 1962 automatically received citizenship by birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Individuals born in the country since that date receive Malaysian citizenship at birth if at least one of their parents is a citizen. Foreign nationals may become Malaysian citizens by naturalisation after residing in the country for at least 10 years, renouncing any previous nationalities, and showing proficiency in the Malay language.
Malaysia is composed of several former British colonies and protectorates acquired in the 18th and 19th centuries whose residents were British subjects and British protected persons. After federation of its western states in 1948, the country became independent in 1957.
While Malaysian citizens no longer hold British nationality, they continue to hold favoured status when residing in the United Kingdom; as Commonwealth citizens, Malaysians are eligible to vote in UK elections and serve in public office there. However, restrictions in Malaysian law on exercising citizenship rights in a foreign country would result in the loss of Malaysian citizenship, effectively negating these entitlements.
History
Britain first established a foothold on the Malay Peninsula with the settlement of Penang in 1786. Over the course of the 18th century, the British presence expanded throughout the region.[1] British Malaya was broadly divided into three political groupings: the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, and the Unfederated Malay States. The Straits Settlements were directly administered by the British government while the Malay states were areas ruled by local monarchs given limited autonomy in exchange for accepting British suzerainty. Residents of the Straits Settlements were British subjects,[2] but subjects of the Malay state rulers were considered British protected persons instead.[3]
Although Britain had jurisdiction in all three types of holdings, domestic law treated the Malay states as foreign territory. British protected persons were treated as aliens in the United Kingdom, but both Malay British subjects and protected persons could be issued British passports. Protected persons could not travel to the UK without first requesting permission, but were afforded the same consular protection as British subjects when travelling outside of the Empire. A person with connections both to directly governed portions of British Malaya and one of the Malay states could be a British subject and British protected person simultaneously.[4]
Until 1867, the Straits Settlements were governed as part of
Following the Second World War, colonial authorities merged the Malay states with Penang and Malacca to form the Malayan Union in 1946. A federal Malayan citizenship was created at its inception, although the union lasted only two years before reforming into the Federation of Malaya. Malayan citizenship existed simultaneously with the subject statuses of the individual Malay states and British nationality in the Straits Settlements. Federal, state, and British regulations for obtaining these statuses differed and this multilayered approach to citizenship continued until Malayan independence in 1957.[10]
Penang and Malacca
Several early independence acts did not contain any provision for the loss of citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies by citizens of the newly independent states. A notable case is that of the former Settlements (colonies) of
On 16 September 1963, the colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore were joined with Malaya to form Malaysia (Singapore subsequently left Malaysia in 1965). CUKC was withdrawn from those acquiring Malaysian citizenship in 1963, but this did not affect existing citizens of the Federation.
Hence, persons connected with Penang and Malacca prior to 31 August 1957, together with those born before 1983 in legitimate descent to fathers so connected, form the largest group of British Overseas citizens (estimated at over 1 million). Most also hold Malaysian citizenship.
Acquisition and loss of citizenship
Entitlement by birth or descent
All persons born in Malaysia between 31 August 1957 and 1 October 1962 automatically received citizenship by birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Individuals born in the country since that date receive Malaysian citizenship at birth if at least one parent is a citizen and both parents are legally married to each other at the time of birth.[12]
Children born in wedlock overseas are eligible to become Malaysian citizens by descent if either parent is a citizen. The birth of eligible persons must be registered at a Malaysian diplomatic mission within one year after birth for citizenship to be granted. Individuals born before 1 June 2010 to married parents could only obtain citizenship by descent if the father was a Malaysian citizen.[12]
Persons born to unmarried parents by default inherit their mother's citizenship. A child of a Malaysian father and non-citizen mother who are not married or whose marriage is not recognised in Malaysian law cannot acquire citizenship by descent. However, they may apply for citizenship by registration subject to the government's discretionary approval.[13]
Voluntary acquisition
Foreign women who marry Malaysian men may also register as citizens after living in the country for at least two years with the intention of permanently settling in Malaysia. All other foreigners (including non-citizen husbands of Malaysian women) may become Malaysian citizens by naturalisation after residing in the country for at least 10 years, 12 months of which must be continuous residence immediately preceding their applications. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in the Malay language and intend to reside in the country permanently. Anyone acquiring Malaysian citizenship through naturalisation or registration must renounce any previous nationalities.[14]
Approvals for naturalisation and registration are given at the government's discretion. Applications are frequently rejected with no stated reasons and no process exists to appeal these decisions. Out of 4,029 citizenship applications between 2000 and 2009, only 1,806 were successful.[14]
Malaysia is one of 25 countries that does not give mothers and fathers equal rights under the country’s citizenship law.
Relinquishment and deprivation
Malaysian citizenship can be relinquished by making a declaration of renunciation. It is automatically revoked from Malaysians who voluntarily acquire a foreign nationality or reside overseas for more than five years and have not annually registered at a Malaysian diplomatic mission to retain citizenship (other than those employed in the civil service). Naturalised citizens may also be stripped of citizenship for: committing an act of disloyalty against the state, aiding an enemy nation with which Malaysia is at war, being sentenced to incarceration for longer than 12 months in any jurisdiction, serving in any capacity for a foreign government, or being fined RM5,000 for any offence within five years of acquiring citizenship.[20]
While holding multiple nationalities by birth is not technically prohibited by Malaysian law, a person who exercises any rights derived from those alternative statuses would be stripped of their Malaysian citizenship. This includes voting in elections or applying for passports in any jurisdiction outside Malaysia. Children who were registered as Malaysian citizens may also be deprived of their citizenship if a parent voluntarily renounces or is stripped of their citizenship.[20]
Sabah and Sarawak
Permanent residency in the states of
References
Citations
- ^ Purcell 1945, p. 33.
- ^ Low 2017, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Jones 1945, pp. 124–125.
- ^ Jones 1945, pp. 127–128.
- ^ Han 2008, p. 3.
- ^ Zakaria 1987, p. 112.
- ^ Indian Naturalisation Act 1852.
- ^ Parliamentary Papers of the Legislative Council of New South Wales, 1881, p. 278.
- ^ Karatani 2003, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Low 2017, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Hansard, HC Deb 13 November 1972. vol. 846, cc. 24-5W
- ^ a b Low 2017, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Low 2017, p. 17.
- ^ a b Low 2017, pp. 17–18.
- ^ "Challenges faced by Malaysian women with children born overseas during the Covid-19 crisis". Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Malaysian mothers win High Court fight against 'sexist' citizenship law". South China Morning Post. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022.
- ^ Lim, Ida (18 February 2023). "Anwar Cabinet agrees to enable automatic citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mums". Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Citizenship greenlight for overseas-born children of Malaysian mothers via constitutional amendment". New Straits Times. Media Prima. 18 February 2023. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Saieed, Zunaira (19 February 2023). "Malaysia to allow automatic citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mums". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ a b Low 2017, pp. 20–21.
- ^ NRD: 'H' indicates holder is a Sabahan, Daily Express, 5 June 2010 Archived 21 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
General sources
- Han, Lim Peng (2008). "Malay Schools and School Libraries in the Straits Settlements Under British Colonial Rule Before the Second World War". Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science. 13 (1). University of Malaya: 1–15. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- "Indian Naturalisation Act 1852", National Informatics Centre
- Jones, J. Mervyn (1945). "Who are British Protected Persons". The British Yearbook of International Law. 22. Oxford University Press: 122–145. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2022 – via HeinOnline.
- Journal of the Legislative Council of New South Wales: Session 1881 Commencing 5 July, and Ending 20 December, 1881. Vol. XXXII. Government of New South Wales. 1882. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- Karatani, Rieko (2003). Defining British Citizenship: Empire, Commonwealth and Modern Britain. Frank Cass Publishers. ISBN 0-7146-8298-5.
- Low, Choo Chin (February 2017). Report on Citizenship Law: Malaysia and Singapore (Report). hdl:1814/45371.
- Purcell, Victor (1945). "Malaya Under the British". World Affairs. 108 (1). JSTOR 20664108.
- Zakaria, Shaikha (1987). "Sources and Literature of Malaysian Law". Journal of Malaysian and Comparative Law. 14. .