KUALA LUMPUR: The government has approved 1,980 citizenship applications for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers married to foreign nationals from 2024 to date. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed that all applications were processed under Article 15(2) of the Federal Constitution while awaiting the enforcement of constitutional amendments for automatic citizenship.
Saifuddin Nasution stated, “This means that for applications from 2024 to 2025, as of the time I am giving this answer, there are no applications that we have rejected. Except that, the average number of new applications coming in now is about 100 per month.” He added that the 1,980 approved cases were processed under the existing legal framework.
The minister provided these details during a Dewan Rakyat session in response to a question from Chiew Choon Man (PH–Miri) regarding updated citizenship guidelines for children born abroad after the constitutional amendment.
The amendment, approved earlier this year, still requires further steps before implementation, including revisions to the Citizenship Regulations 1964, which contain 57 provisions. Saifuddin Nasution explained, “We need to carry out several procurement processes and amend the forms, as future applications can be made online, and the systems currently used by Malaysian missions abroad are still based on the old forms and formats.”
The government expects the updated Citizenship Regulations 1964 to be finalised by September or October 2025. “Once we finalise the forms and procurement as well, we anticipate that the enforcement cannot go beyond the middle or end of next year, subject to the consent of the King,“ he added. - Bernama
