57,300 M'sians renounced citizenship for S'pore over past 5 years

Singapore was the top immigration destination for the 61,116 Malaysians who renounced their citizenship over the last five-year period ending on Dec. 17, 2025.

This was revealed by Malaysia's National Registration Department director-general Badrul Hisham Alias, reported The New Straits Times (NST).

According to Badrul, around 10,000 Malaysians relinquish their citizenship every year.

An overwhelming 93.78 per cent of them left for Singapore, amounting to 57,314 individuals.

In contrast, the second most popular destination, Australia, accounted for only 2.15 per cent of the cases.

Under the Malaysian constitution, the Malaysian government does not recognise dual nationality.

Singapore does not recognise dual nationality beyond the age of 21.

Mostly young people & women

Badrul also revealed that most of the Malaysians who renounced their citizenship over the last five years were women, totalling 35,356, reported NST.

In terms of age, those aged between 31 and 40 constituted the largest group to renounce their citizenship, with 19,287 individuals doing so.

The second largest age group was those aged between 21 and 30, with 18,827 individuals leaving Malaysia for other countries.

Economic & family reasons

Badrul said that most of the Malaysians who renounced their citizenship over the last five years did so for family and economic reasons, reported Harian Metro.

For those who took up Singapore citizenship, Badrul contended that economic considerations played a key role in their decisions.

As many of them were already working in Singapore, Badrul claimed it was easier for them to obtain Singapore citizenship due to their "employment prospects and income levels".

Top image via lazydull/Xiaohongshu