Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Conversion from Indonesian to Singaporean

In February 2014, i have decided to convert my citizenship from Indonesian to Singaporean. 
Reason: i have been staying in Singapore for half of my life (15 years) and i have considered Singapore as my home. I love the transport system in Singapore as i could move around easily and do not have to to be caught in the traffic jam as bad as in Jakarta. 
Do i still love Indonesia? Yes, i love the food and my family and relatives are residing in Indonesia, hence i still go back often.

I heard from people that it would not be easy for me to get the citizenship as i was married and i applied alone and not as family. From feeling anxious in waiting for the result to give up my hope as i there was no news on my application for more than a year.
The procedures are as follow:-
1) Submission of documents to ICA
    Please refer to ICA website for the eligibility, documents required, procedures and fees payable.
    Once the documents are submitted, you will receive a receipt with your application number (it is useful to check the status of your application online).

2) Approval-in-principle Letter
Normally it takes about 3-6 months to receive Approval in-principle letter by post, but i received 15 months after i have submitted my documents. In a letter, you will be asked to complete a Singapore Citizenship Journey within two months from the date of issuance of the letter and the Journey consists of the following:-(a) E-Journey
     You could do this at home as it is online and it shows some videos about Singapore from its history to its current policies (ie. CPF and etc). At the end of every section, there will be online tests to test us how well do we know Singapore.
(b) Singapore Experiential Tour
     It is a half day guided tour within Singapore to understand more about Singapore history. There are a lot of places to select from (i.e. Singapore museum, fort canning park and etc) and there are a lot of sessions to choose from. Just book the desired place and time via online and you will receive a confirmation email. It is an interesting activity to explore more areas in Singapore.
(c) Community Sharing Session
      It is few hours activity in allocated community centre. It is a time where the members and volunteers of community centres introduced themselves and showed us the activities in our neighbourhood. It is also a time for new applicants to get to know each other. For this session, you may also wish to book the desired date and time to attend.

3) Citizenship Approval Letter

Once you have completed the Singapore Citizenship Journey, you would be receiving a Citizenship Application letter by post. In this letter, you would be asked to formally renounce your Indonesian Citizenship at Indonesian Embassy located in Chatsworth road before the date of registration indicated in the letter (it is 1 month after the issuance of letter). You can always change the appointment date from online (i.e. up to 3 times).

Requirements which must be fulfilled to apply for Renunciation of Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesian are:-

(a) The applicant must make a declaration to renounce the Indonesian citizenship before the Notary Public at Singapore and to attach the following documents:-
      (i) Approval letter from the Singapore Immigration (ICA);
      (ii) Indonesian Passport;
      (iii) Indonesian Citizenship Certificate (SBKRI);
      (iv) Indonesian Birth Certificate (Akta Kelahiran);
      (v) Family Household Card (Kartu Keluarga);
      (vi) Indonesian NRIC (KTP); and
      (vii) Re-entry Permit (Form 7).

The cost of the Notarial fee is $150 from :
Tan, Lee & Choo Advocates & Solicitors 
1 Park Road #04-04 People's Park Complex, Singapore 059108
                            Tel: 65356077

(b) The Declaration drawn up by Notary Public must be legalised by:
 Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) 
1 Supreme Court Lane
 Singapore 178879
I have asked the Notary Public to assist me on this.
The cost of the Authentication Fee is $26.75 (Notary Public will give us a receipt from SAL).

(c) Collect an envelope at Notary Public after 3 working days.
(d) Bring the Legalised Statutory Declaration to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for endorsement.

   The legalisation will be done on the spot and cost $10 pay either by NETS/Cashcard only.
Indonesia Citizenship Renunciation
 (e) The applicant must submit the above documents (with its originals) to the Consular Section (counter at the second floor on the right side after stair, no queue number needed) at the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore and to add the following documents:-
      (i) Marriage Certificate (Photocopy);
      (ii) Spouse's Singapore NRIC (Photocopy); and
      (ii) Applicant's Singapore NRIC (Photocopy).
You would be asked to sign one of the renunciation form after the stamp at the cost of $2 which will be paid on the spot. The Embassy would complete the documents within 5 working days. The cost of legalisation is $32 which will be paid on the first floor cashier. Submission time : Monday - Friday (09.00-12.00)

Singapore Citizenship Registration

(a) Once the above is done, bring the necessary documents (as stated in Citizenship Approval Letter) to ICA on the appointed date at 6th floor.
You would be a given a temporary IC slip with your photo attached to serve as your IC while waiting for the original IC to be issued.
(b) In about 1 week, you will receive a Passport Collection Notification Card. You may either collect your passport at a Singpost outlet at a nominal fee of $10 or collect personally at ICA by appointment.
(c) In few months time, you will receive a Letter to invite you to attend for Citizenship Ceremony in designated place. Here you will be receiving your original IC.


Hope the above helps and Good Luck!!!

22 comments:

  1. Hi if i dont hv KK, dont have KTP, and dont have SBKRI. Will i face any issue at indonesia embassy?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, for KK i guess u need to have it. KTP, u might still be able to prove if it has expired or something but to ensure ur application is approved, it might be better to have complete documents. For SBKRI, noted that it was applicable only for those older generations. I do not have it either. Hope it helps

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, Is kartu keluarga important? I think I may not have it in singapore. sigh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, it is one of the document requested by the Notary. Maybe you DHL it to SG? I heard from my friend who has his own KK (as he is married and he is the head of the family in his KK), indonesian embassy took the original.

      Delete
  4. May I know is your new singapore IC number is the same as your previous singapore Blue IC number?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am about to complete my ejourney (only left a) tour and b) Community sharing.
    May I know will the New singapore pink IC number still the same as old Blue IC number?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, congratz and welcome to the club. Yes, the IC number will still be the same so no need to memorise new number 😀

      Delete
  6. So proud to granted as singaporean, I will have to transfer property and company name to my siblings, else will cause too much problem after that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah singapore passport has been recently voted as one of the most powerful passport in the world. Yeah, you should do that to avoid unncessary problems in future.

      Delete
  7. My KTP is not ready yet. I applied our new version of KTP 2 years ago and no news about it. How about a photocopy of my old expired KTP ?

    I only have a photocopy KK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you have to inform the notary that you do not have valid KTP. I think it can be exempted.

      Delete
  8. I too waited for very long time. It took 16 months! Glad that my application is successful cos' I have also heard that if you're married and do not apply as a family then your application might be rejected.

    By the way, we need to obtain a Q no. at Indo embassy and they only issue 10 no. per day. So do get there early.

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  9. HI, I understand that you need to submit KK. But, the KK I have is shared with my family. If I submit it to the Indonesian embassy, then my parents will not have KK anymore. Can I show the original of KK and only submit the photocopy? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They only need original for verification and will be returned back to you.

      Delete
  10. Hi, Glad finding this blog. Good info sharing.

    I just received my In-Principal Approval last week.

    After completing eJourney, etc (Step 2) to Step 3, how long does it take for the Final Approval letter to arrive?

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi glad my blog can help.
    I do not remember it takes long to wait, remember that singapore is quite efficient haha but with current situation, i am not sure if there is delay in the processing time.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi, thanks for the quick reply.

    So I guess it should be < 1 month?
    Just that I waited very long for my in principal approval (about 20months) haha. That's why, I am wondering how long would the next letter arrive …

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello, I have gotten my AIP pretty fast in 5 months, I think because I have been here for 20 years? and ya so after we have completed stage 2, myica updated me with my registration date the very next working day to inform me that by when I should go down to ICA building to do the registration (you can change the appointment date online as well). ICA is damn fast!
    As I understand that renounciation is to be done online starting 1st January 2020, are we still need to go to public notary to get certified our documentation?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think certified by public notary is still required as it is required documents. But u can always give them a call and confirm.

      Delete
  14. I guess u hv received urs? Congratz

    ReplyDelete