Only quarter of citizenship bids for kids born overseas to Malaysian mothers, foreign fathers approved

Only quarter of citizenship bids for kids born overseas to Malaysian mothers, foreign fathers approved

Home ministry tells Dewan Rakyat that, in contrast, 63% of fathers who had applied for citizenship for their foreign-born children from 2010 had been successful.

Family Frontiers and the six mothers outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court say that mothers should have the same rights as fathers to pass on their citizenship to their children.
PETALING JAYA:
Just 26.3% of citizenship applications for children born overseas to local mothers with foreign spouses since 2010 have been successful, the home ministry said.

In contrast, 63.3% of cases where the father is Malaysian and the mother is a foreigner have been approved.

In a parliamentary written reply to Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh, the ministry said 7,515 mothers had applied for their children to become citizens, with 6,611 fathers doing the same.

Under the Federal Constitution, only Malaysian fathers can automatically confer citizenship on their children born overseas to a foreign mother. Women can apply for their children to be citizens under Article 15 (2), but the right to citizenship is not necessarily recognised.

On Sept 9, the High Court ruled that Malaysian mothers should have the same rights as local fathers in these situations.

However, days later, the Malaysian government and two other defendants filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal, as well as an application to stay the High Court ruling. The stay application was denied on Nov 15.

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