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.
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 British India.[5] Legislation enacted in India prior to that year was applicable locally, including regulations on naturalisation.[6] The Indian Naturalisation Act 1852 allowed foreigners residing in territory governed by the East India Company to naturalise as British subjects by application to the government. There was no minimum residence requirement and candidates simply needed approval from a relevant official. The oath of allegiance administered to successful applicants required them to swear loyal service to the company, as well as allegiance to the British monarch.[7] After separation from India, the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements passed the Naturalization Act, 1867 that contained virtually the same naturalisation requirements.[8] Any person born in the Straits Settlements, the United Kingdom, or anywhere else within Crown dominions was a natural-born British subject.[9]
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 Penang and Malacca in what is now Malaysia. These were combined in 1948 with the nine Malay states (which were protected states rather than colonies) to form the Federation of Malaya. On independence on 31 August 1957, British protected persons (BPP) from the Malay states lost their BPP status. However, as a result of representations made by the Straits Chinese, known as the "Queen's Chinese", it was agreed by the Governments of the United Kingdom and Malaya that no provision should be made for the withdrawal of Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) status from the inhabitants of Penang and Malacca, who would consequently be allowed to remain CUKCs as well as citizens of Malaya.[11]
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.[15] A landmark ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in September 2021 ruled that Malaysian mothers to pass their citizenship to their children born overseas – a privilege previously only granted to fathers. The change helps ease access to residency, education and healthcare for families. It was hailed by activists as a giant step toward gender equality.[16] On 17 February 2023, the Anwar Ibrahim Cabinet confirmed that it would amend the Malaysian Constitution to enable children born overseas to Malaysian mothers, who are married to foreigners, to obtain Malaysian citizenship automatically. Legislation amending the constitution is expected to be introduced in 2023.[17][18][19]
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
Because Sabah and Sarawak have autonomy over immigration affairs, visitors to these states receive separate entry stamps
Permanent residency in the states of Sabah and Sarawak are distinct from the other 11 Malaysian states. While Sabah and Sarawak each has autonomy in immigration affairs (which includes imposing immigration restrictions on Peninsular Malaysia residents), permanent residents of Sabah and Sarawak are exempted from the immigration controls of their own states. A Malaysian citizen born to a Sabah or Sarawak permanent resident would have Sabah or Sarawak permanent residency, regardless of where the person was born. Birth in Sabah or Sarawak alone does not make a person a permanent resident unless one of their parents is a permanent resident. A person may become a Sabah or Sarawak permanent resident by obtaining Permanent Residence (PR) status issued by the respective state immigration departments. The permanent residency status of a person is indicated by a letter on their MyKad below the photo, with H for Sabahans, K for Sarawakians, and none for Peninsular Malaysians.[21] A similar scheme is also used in Malaysian passports, differentiated by the letter prefix of the passport number:H for Sabahans, K for Sarawakians, and A for Peninsular Malaysians.
