Home Ministry to announce effective date for citizenship amendments once ready

KULIM, Sept 12 — The Malaysian Home Ministry will disclose the effective date for citizenship amendments concerning children born overseas to Malaysian women, pending completion of all requisite preparations. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail disclosed that these preparations comprise relevant documentation, citizenship regulations, and an online application system, which would also engage Malaysian representative offices globally.

The Home Minister informed reporters at a meet-and-greet event at his service centre that the effective date has been determined by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and the Ministry would announce it once several administrative matters have been finalized. "At the ministry level (KDN), all preparations have been completed, including the relevant documents and citizenship regulations.

We have also obtained confirmation from the Attorney General’s Chambers," Saifuddin added. He explained that the implementation of these amendments is expected to provide substantial relief to Malaysian women or mothers awaiting the citizenship process for their children born overseas. Out of around 50,000 citizenship applications previously pending, approximately 7,000 were linked to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers.

Of the 7,000, only a few hundred remain undecided as the Ministry continues processing the old applications while awaiting the amendments' implementation. Saifuddin stated that once the amendments are enacted, new applications in this category will be processed according to the new provisions. The Home Minister emphasized that KDN is persisting in resolving the remaining 4,121 citizenship applications from the original 50,000 outstanding applications, with a goal of deciding on all cases this year.

The four primary categories with the highest number of applications are under Article 15A, Article 15(2), Article 19(1), and Article 30(1) of the Federal Constitution.