By Vanessa Jalleh
THE registration of 'double-barrelled' race options for
Singaporean children born to parents of different races will be
implemented by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority with
effect from Jan 1.
The new ruling gives parents of different races further
flexibility and choice in deciding how their child's race should be
recorded.
Couples of inter-ethnic marriages now have the additional option
of reflecting both their races for their child as a
'double-barrelled' race.
Example: If one parent is Chinese and the other Indian, the
child's race may be recorded as 'Chinese', 'Indian',
'Chinese-Indian', or 'Indian-Chinese'. Registration limited to only
one hyphenation.
For government policies, such as the initial assignment to a
mother-tongue language class in schools and the HDB's Ethnic
Integration Policy, the first component of a double-barrelled race
will be used.
There will not be any advantage in terms of policy
considerations for those who register either a double-barrelled or
a singular race.
This change was first announced in Parliament on Jan 12 at the
beginning of this year.
*Singaporeans born before Jan 1 2011 to parents of different
races may request for a change from a singular to double-barrelled
race if they fulfil the eligibility criteria.
*This is on top of the existing options of choosing only one of
the two different races - either that of the father or the mother -
for their child.
*Details on the policy and registration procedures can be found
on ICA's website at www.ica.gov.sg.