I was born overseas and became a Singapore citizen at the age of
2 by registration (in those days there was no NS so it seemed a
logical choice for my parents) -- it seems you also registered
your sons as Singaporeans -- which is why they became citizens
and liable for NS. Once you did this you locked them into the
requirement to serve NS, period. In my case there was no way
out of citizenship until I reached the age of 21, at
which point you have to swear an oath of allegiance to
Singapore. If they refuse this oath, as I did, then they
automatically lose their citizenship. However if they have served
NS by then, they will be granted PR such that they continue to
have rights of abode in Singapore (along with the liability for
reservists). If they have not served NS then they automatically go
on the NS defaulters list -- as your first son now has. I served
2.5 years NS and became a PR. I left Singapore immediately after
that and did not return for many years -- and gave up my PR along
the way as well. A few years ago my company asked me to post back
to Singapore. The authorities here took a lot of extra time to
process my employment pass application as they verified
whether I had actually served NS or not. It was made clear to me
that if I had not served I would not be able to return and
live/work here. However, since I did serve they
also re-instated my PR some months after my return.
The choice of not to return and serve is a difficult one. It is
completely at the discretion of the Immigration Authorities whether
or not to prosecute the deflaulter upon their entry into
immigration checkpoints -- and they will know who these people are
no matter what passports they travel under. Unless your sons become
persons of high renown or public figures in the future it is highly
likely that they will face prosecution and penalties (perhaps
severe) if they do not serve and ever attempt to re-enter
Singapore. In my case I never thought I would return but I did
-- the world turns and things change unexpectedly. I know
of defaulters of age 40 who returned and were made to serve at
that point in their lives. The $64k question is if this is worth
it. I'm not sure these days if it is possible for a
minor to renounce Singapore citizenship prior to having to
serve NS, however even if possible this puts the chap on the black
list for entry and abode in Singapore in future just as if they
retained citizenship and did not serve, and the window
to renounce as an 18-year old adult is very short
between turning 18 and receiving your call-up notice.
If the government here did not enforce these measures there
would be untold numbers of defaulters/evaders and a highly
inequitable situation for those who do serve. It is important to
recognise that you are making the decision for your sons to serve
when you register them as citizens. There are perks for
citizenship, there is also a cost for it.
Good luck in the decision making process.
I believe there are many rumours swirling around the matter,
which is deliberately obfucated by the Government to prevent hordes
of Singapore citizens renouncing their citizenship.
Let me make a few points to set the record straight.
You are free to renounce your citizenship at any time
before you enlist. This applies at any age. Anyone can
renounce their citizenship at any Singapore embassy overseas. It is
as simple as walking in and filling up a form. It takes mere
minutes. It is a right to do so, you cannot be punished for it.
The main
obstacle is not renouncing Singapore citizenship, but
obtaining foreign PR or foreign citizenship. You should
obtain this before renouncing Singapore citizenship as you do not
want to be stateless.
Recognising this, the Government extends passport validity for
pre-enlistees by 6 months at a time, to preent them sinking roots
and obtaining PR overseas. If you are able to legally reside in
another country, and better still obtain PR, citizenship, work
visa, dependent visa or what have you, this does not bother
you.
As a consequence of this policy, the majority of Singaporeans
who renounce citizenship before NS are students who have obtained
PR while studying.
The point to remember is the Singapore government does not
recognise dual citizenship and imposes NS on all Singapore
citizens. In other words, you cannot hold on to Singapore
citizenship while avoiding NS. However, it does not and cannot stop
you from holding dual citizenship up to the point you renounce
Singapore citizenship.
The government does not discriminate in empployment
matters against ex-citizens who did not do NS. As a legal
matter, it can do so but it chooses to open its legs to foreigners
instead. A person in my workplace renounced his citizenship and did
not do NS. He is not highly skilled, has two years of total working
experience, and faces no adverse consequences in obtaining an
employment pass here.
Face it, don't be confused by government statements out there.
You will note that the government is firstly deliberately vague and
secondly very utilitarian. Take the statements by Teo Chee Hean on
that defaulter who obtained British citizenship at the age of 22,
returned in his 40s and was only fined $3000. The then-Minister
said:
Obviously the defaulter's sentence does not fit in with the
above. There is speculation online that the defaulter, a prominent
pianist, is of some value to Singapore and it would be
counter-productive to cut him off completely.
My advice to the defaulter would have been to observe legal
procedure (by simply renouncing Singapore citizenship at the
appropriate time) and save the $3,000.