More Singaporean parents living abroad are registering their children as citizens.
There were 1,600 children, born overseas to at least one Singaporean parent, who were registered as citizens last year.
They made up 8 per cent of the 20,815 total citizenships registered last year.
This is up from the 1,200 such children registered each year from 2006 to 2010, and the 1,400 registered each year from 2011 to 2015.
The increase is a result of more Singaporeans living, working or studying overseas for extended periods, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Josephine Teo said yesterday.
There are 210,000 such citizens now, a 30 per cent increase compared with 160,000 a decade ago.
“This shows how Singaporeans are increasingly mobile and welcomed by employers and educational institutions internationally,” she said during the debate on spending plans of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mrs Teo, who oversees population matters, said the Government has kept a “calibrated pace of immigration” to prevent the citizen population from shrinking.
Apart from the new citizenships granted last year, there were 29,955 others given permanent residency.
Mrs Teo said that more should be done to help new citizens deepen their sense of belonging here.
She suggested they get involved in all aspects of local life, including learning to speak local languages and taking an interest in issues that concern fellow Singaporeans.
“Most important of all, they must understand our roots as a multi-racial and multi-cultural society,” she said.
rachelay@sph.com.sg
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