Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Applying the Malaysian Citizenship for child born abroad at Putrajaya

Update on 04 Aug 2017: My brother in laws went to pick up the certificate in July 2017. We finally got to see it during our last trip to Malaysia. This is how it looks like! And we managed to get a MyKid for her too.

Her Malaysia Citizenship Certificate

We applied for MyKid while we were in Malaysia in July 2017, normally it only takes two hours, but for some reason they needed to call Putrajaya to verify something so we only got it the day after.

Update on 15 Feb 2016 : Went to Putrajaya then JPN Selangor, we finally got the letter stating that the application was approved! The letter was issued on May 2014 but for some reason my family had not received it. We submitted the required documents, JPN will issue us a certificate of nationality between 3 to 6 months. Yeah, she got it!

Ever since I knew that child born abroad to Malaysian mothers could apply for Malaysian citizenship, I have been preparing the documents to apply Malaysian citizenship for Aelig the next time I go back to Malaysia. Finally, mission accomplished and now fingers crossed for the application result.

We arrived at Putrajaya around 2pm. We wasted some times looking for the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) as I forgot that Putrajaya was divided into many Precincts. JPN is located in Precinct 3, not far from the pink Putra Mosque.


The main entrance to JPN at Putrajaya.


The citizenship department is located in level 1.
Once arrived, I went towards the receptionist stating my purpose of visit. She checked some of the documents:
1. Malaysian marriage certificate (I'm so glad I took the hassle to apply for this cert even though my civil wedding was carried out in France)
2. Aelig's birth certificate (They accepted the French-issued multi-lingual birth certificate without problem)
3. Aelig's passport
I sensed that the whole purpose was to make sure that we got married before having Aelig. This was one of the conditions that we have to meet before handling in our application.
She then proceeded by giving me the application form (Borang B).



And she asked me a question that costed me RM70.
"Did you wear long pants?"
"No". I showed her my blue short pants.
"Well, you will not be allowed to go through the process with this pants. Please come back tomorrow."
I was a bit surprised. I do not remember this attire request when I came to JPN last time for the "Certificat de célibataire".
Well, I decided to respect the requirement and asked for direction towards the closest shopping mall and bought myself a pair of jeans. Problem solved.

I took some times to carefully filled out the application form. Here are the required documents (original + 1 photocopy):
1. Child's birth certificate
2. Child's passport
3. Child's photos (3 pieces)
4. Child's first time entering Malaysia (photocopy of the page in the passport)
5. Applicant's birth certificate (I'm the applicant in this case)
6. Applicant's IC
7. Applicant's passport
8. Father's birth certificate (translated in English or Malay)
9. Father's passport
10. Parents' marriage certificate

At that time we were the only applicant at the Citizen department. We were handed a number and moved to another counter. The officer checked through the application form and I had to modify two information:
1. Aelig's race.
In the application form there was Malay, Chinese, Indian and Others. I checked "Others" and put a side note that she was a mixed between Malaysian and French.
Well, the officer insisted that I had to choose between Chinese or French. I hesitated. For me she is Malaysian French. Eventually I chose Chinese, now I regretted. She would probably have more chance if she is grouped in "Others".

2. Aelig's religion
I entered no religion for Aelig. It was apparently not an acceptable answer. Again, we needed to choose. We explained that she has no religion but the officer did not seem to understand. To move on I kindly asked him to check "Christian".

I would say that the whole process was very pleasant and the officers were polite and professional. They verified the photocopies from the original one and chatted with us from time to time. At one point Aelig heard us saying "Terima Kasih" (Thank you in Malay) so she repeated it. The officer was interested in knowing if she knows other Malay words, but she didn't want to corporate. She did sing part of "Chan Mali Chan" in front of them though. I hope this would win their heart and eventually grant her the citizenship. Fingers crossed!

Side note: Hubby was very impressed by the courtesy shown by the government servants he dealed with in Putrajaya. He felt that they are way better than the French civil servants in terms of attitude and service.



36 comments:

  1. Dear Bee Ean,
    Thank you for this very informative post. I am sure there are many mothers like us out there.
    I only have a question: would the child lost his/her French nationality once he/she obtain a Malaysian citizenship?

    regards,
    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Sylvia,

    According to the JPN reply, the child would not lost his or her French nationality will holding the Malaysian citizenship. However, he or she has to choose between being French or Malaysian when he or she turns 21 years old.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Bee Ean,

    Your post is very informative, thank you. Did you baby travel back to Malaysia with French passport? Did you apply Malaysia passport for your baby in Malaysia?
    When your baby get Malaysia citizenship, is it issuance of Borang W or a Sijil Taraf Kewarganegaraan?

    Kind regards,
    Alice

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi,

    Yes she traveled back to Malaysia with a French passport.
    No, we haven't heard from JPN so we couldn't apply for the Malaysian passport yet. I don't know what document she will get if her application gets approved.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Bee Ean,

    It's been a while since I stopped by, and always a pleasure to read about your daily goings-on in France.

    Have you heard about the citizenship? My update is that once we got the letter of approval, we went to JPN to pick up the cert of citizenship, and with that I also got a Mykid.

    Sze

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Sze,

    Thanks for the update.
    No I still haven't heard from JPN regarding my application.
    I'm curious, what race did you fill for your kid? Chinese? French?

    Thanks
    Bee Ean

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Bee Ean, have you hear from JPN... i too have put in my son's application 2 months back... havent heard anything yet.

    Diane

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have you receive the decision on your kid Msian citizenship?

      Delete
    2. Hi June, yes her application was approved in May 2014 but for some reason we didn't get the letter. She finally got her Malaysian citizenship certificate in Jun 2016 (4 months after we went to JPN to submit the necessary documents).

      Delete
  8. Dear diane,

    I contacted the National Registration and Societies Division in Ministry of Home Affairs, they told me that since I submitted my application end of August 2012, I will hear from them before 31 Dec 2013. The application is still being processed.

    So no news yet for me.

    Good luck to you.

    Bee Ean

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Bee Ean

    We came accross your blog as i want to apply msian citizenship for my baby.
    Just wondering if the father needs to sign on any of the applications or just you?
    Can i just bring my husbands birth cert n passport there without my husband?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Gloria,

      Yes the father has to be there and sign some of the documents. One document, if I remember well, require the father to acknowledge that the child has to choose one citizenship when he / she turns 21.

      Delete
    2. Ahh.... Thks so much for the info.... Your post is really very helpful. We applied at the consulate here when my girl was 3 wks old. Now they tell us they did not receive any reply from Msia and we should go back and apply ourselves.

      So glad i found your post

      Delete
    3. Hi Bee Ean,

      I came across your blog and thanks for all the information. It really helpful. But, I have a question, if the baby stay in Malaysia with the visitor pass (which is i think 90 days), during that time, the baby travel out of Malaysia and reenter again to Malaysia, is the visit pass recalculate (90 days) again? Do you ever hear about this issue?

      Delete
    4. Hi SC,

      Yes that's what I heard, that's how people try to avoid overstay by going in and out of foreign country (like Singapore). But please confirm with the Immigration department.

      Delete
  10. Hi Bee Ean,

    Come across your blog,found that very informatic!
    Wanna know,till now, is the application successful?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tiffany,

      No unfortunately I haven't gotten any news about my application despite my emails. I have to call them one day to check.

      Delete
  11. Hi Bee Ean,

    Hmm..maybe the application will take long time to process.
    Betwwen, when you applied that time,how old was your child? Was your child already reached 1 year old?

    Regards, Tiffany.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes when I applied she has reached 1 year old.

      Delete
  12. Hi Bee Ean,
    Thanks for sharing ur exp.Its very useful.I am an Indian citizen and My wife is a Malaysian.We are currently in the US for my work and will be back to India or Malaysia after completing my contract period.If the baby is born in the US will he get Malaysian PR or Citizenship.what are all the steps i need to take.Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If the baby is born in the US, you will need to apply for the Malaysian citizenship with the Malaysia Embassy before he or she turns one year old. For the application process, please contact your local embassy.

      Delete
  13. Hi Bee Ean, so glad to read this! I am now working in Vientiane, Laos and expecting my first child, fyi I am not married and I live with my boyfriend, which is also a Malaysian. I am thinking that it is better for me to deliver my baby in Malaysia and get the birth certificate & passport for the baby done, and go back straight to Laos. Is it possible to manage? Please share your opinions!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, since you are not married, your might not be able to put your boyfriend as the child's dad. I'm not familiar with this, it would be better if you ask someone in JPN. Good luck!

      Delete
  14. Hi everyone, just to let you know that my daughter has her Malaysian citizenship certificate in July 2016.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Bee Ean,

    Congrats on receiving the citizenship for Aelig! With this certificate, are you able to apply for the Malaysian passport and mykid?

    ReplyDelete
  16. hi Bee Ean,

    I just came across your blog and found useful information to apply citizenship for my daughter. I have one question, besides applying citizenship, were you able to apply birth certificate too? I found that Malaysian mom can only apply citizenship but Malaysian dad can apply both birth certificate and citizenship? Correct me if I'm wrong. Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks . :)

    Regards,
    Pamela

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pamela,

      I think you are right, I have never thought of applying birth certificate for my daughter. I'm planning to use the Malaysian citizenship certificate to apply for MyKid card, that's it.

      Delete
  17. Went back to Malaysia in July 2017, got the Malaysia Citizenship Certificate from my family (they picked it up in July 2016). Got MyKid for her too!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good day Bee Ean,
    Thanks for sharing your case. Would like to know whether your daughther was born before marriage or after?

    Also, the malaysia marriage cert need to register in Malaysia or France?

    Regards,
    TS

    ReplyDelete
  19. Good Day Bee Ean,
    Thanks for sharing your case with us here, its very informative.

    Would like to know whether your daughther was born before marriage or after? If before, will the JPN accept?

    Also, the marriage cert should be made in Malaysia or France?

    Regards,
    TSY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,
      She was born after our wedding. We applied for the Malaysia marriage certificate in JPN. I don't know if you could apply for the citizenship if your child is born before your marriage, you could have to ask Putrajaya.

      Delete
  20. Hi Bee Ean,

    I have been following your case on this since I was pregnant with my son, four years ago. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, it has been very helpful. Congratulations in obtaining the citizenship for your daughter!

    My question is regarding traveling back to Msia now that you have the MyKid. Do you travel with the foreign passport and show the MyKid upon entry to Malaysia? Would that be sufficient? Or maybe to also apply a Msian passport? Would you have any info on this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi MC, you would need to apply the Malaysian passport if you want your kid to travel with it. I don't plan to do this for the moment, we will still use the French passport to travel, and use Mykid for activities inside Malaysia.

      Delete
  21. Hi Bee Ean,

    Congratulations that your daughter received the citizenship approval. I'm have also submitted an application for my daughter through the Malaysian Embassy in Australia. I would like to know how you track your application. Did you call the Malaysian JPN or you check at the JPN kaunter back in Malaysia?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For my eldest daughter I applied with JPN Putrajaya so I sent them email regarding my application status. It was quite painful as sometimes there was no reply. Then I went to Putrajaya and was told my application was transfered to JPN in Shah Alam. At first they couldn't find my file, but then another officer found it and I was told then it was approved. As for my second, she applied with the Embassy of Malaysia in Paris, I track through the Embassy.

      Delete