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Me (Polish & British citizen) and my wife (Singaporean citizen with ILR) live in the UK, where our daughter was born nearly a year ago. It's clear that she is eligible for all 3 nationalities. We haven't applied for any passports yet as we haven't had a chance to think over the situation, given the fact that Singapore prohibits dual citizenship, which really makes the passport situation difficult for our child.

She needs a Polish passport to enter Poland, British passport to enter the UK (where we live) and Singaporean to enter Singapore. However, applying for the first two passports will mean relinquishment of the 3rd. I want her to be able to visit all the three countries with as little problems as possible. What's the best strategy to achieve that?

It is my understanding that, as Singapore is part of the Commonwealth, I can obtain a document confirming "right of abode" that will be placed as a similarly to a residence permit in the Singaporean passport. It will act as proof of British citizenship without relinquishing Singaporean citizenship. The problem remains with entering Poland as in that case, we won't be able to obtain a passport. Right now the only way I can see that functioning is using the "Schengen loophole", which means every time we want to enter Poland with her, we must fly through a 3rd country (like Germany, Austria or Belgium) within the Schengen area and then fly to Poland and that way, the passports won't get checked by Polish authorities. I've used this method for years with a British passport and I don't think that the limited stay permitted is a problem but it seems foolish to rely on an international agreement and a loophole to stay in place for a prolonged amount of time.

I'm not sure what to do and I can't delay travel any longer. Ideally I'd like to close as few doors as possible to let her make her own decisions in the future while at the same time remaining within the boundaries of the law in all countries.

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    "However, applying for the first two passports will mean relinquishment of the 3rd." Do you have a source for that? The only thing I think you might be referring to is Article 135(1)(b) of the Singaporean constitution, but that only applies to a passport applied for after the child is 18.
    – user102008
    Commented May 27, 2018 at 20:37
  • "I don't think that the limited stay permitted is a problem": what limited stay? Citizens of the UK can stay in Poland indefinitely as long as the UK remains in the EU. Also, under UK law, she is a British citizen. I don't know about the other two countries, but most jus sanguinis laws I'm familiar with also provide for the automatic acquisition of nationality. So it's not a question of what she's eligible for so much as a question of how she can avoid losing the nationalities she already has.
    – phoog
    Commented May 27, 2018 at 21:26
  • The UK does not require its citizens to use its passports. See for example Do I have to enter the UK on my UK passport? at Travel.
    – phoog
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 6:18
  • Your daughter is "British Citizen not by descent" because she is born in the UK (which means her children are still British citizens if born outside the UK, slightly better than "British Citizen by descent). I'd read up what her status is under Polish and Singapore law. And passport doesn't make you a citizen, it's just the evidence that you are a citizen.
    – gnasher729
    Commented Jun 1, 2018 at 23:50

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Your best strategy is to apply for British and Polish passports, and not register Singapore citizenship.

For clarity, since it's not entirely clear from your question, the passports are irrelevant here, what matters is whether the birth has been registered as a citizen in each country. (Of course, you'll be unable to get a passport without this registration.)

Singapore prohibits dual citizenship, which really makes the passport situation difficult for our child.

Actually, Singapore prohibits dual citizenship for adults, but not for children. Your child can thus legally remain a triple citizen until the age of 22.

The big catch here is that at 22, they must choose, and if they renounce Singaporean nationality, they will find it very hard to get back. In addition, if your child is male, they will be unable to renounce until their Singapore National Service obligations (conscription) are fulfilled -- which also means they can't enter the country without being whisked straight off to boot camp.

She needs a Polish passport to enter Poland, British passport to enter the UK (where we live) and Singaporean to enter Singapore.

This is actually not true: she can enter any of those countries with a passport from any of the others just fine, and is likely eligible for long-term residence visas as well. For example, as the child of a Singaporean citizen, your child is likely eligible for Singaporean permanent residence if you choose to move there.

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    My understanding is that Poland does require Polish citizens to use Polish passports. The UK does not have a similar requirement for British citizens, and I don't know about Singapore. See, for example, Polish-Born Canadian entering Poland at Travel.
    – phoog
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 6:19
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    I think this is the best strategy, given the absurd constraints of Singaporean nationality law. Assuming the mother is a Singapore citizen by birth, the daughter would be able to choose to register for citizenship as an adult (renouncing their other citizenship when she does so, assuming no change in law).
    – MJeffryes
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 9:43

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