Stateless in Singapore: He’s 25, has no job, no education, no country

SINGAPORE – His days are spent at the void decks and parks in Clementi where he lives, but when his friends leave for work, Mr Ricqo Rafiezuwan often finds himself alone.

It was the same growing up. He would wait for his friends to return home from school to play football with them.

The 25-year-old has never attended school. He does not know what it is like to be in a noisy classroom, sing the National Anthem during morning assembly, or take an exam.

He taught himself to speak simple English and Malay, but struggles with reading and writing.

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Though he was born in Singapore and has never left the country, Mr Rafiezuwan is among 853 stateless people living in Singapore as at Dec 31, 2023. This means he is not recognized as a citizen of any country and has no nationality.

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As a stateless adult in Singapore who is not a permanent resident (PR), he is not entitled to subsidized education, healthcare and housing.

He told The Straits Times he was born to an unwed stateless mother who left him in the care of a childless Singaporean couple whom she was friends with.

The couple, now in their 50s, raised him as their son since he was a baby and the family live in a two-room flat in Clementi. Mr Rafiezuwan regards them as his parents and calls them mum and dad.

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His “dad”, who works as a cleaner, and his “mum”, a housewife, did not know of his statelessness or how to enrol him in school, as they did not have his identity documents at the time.

They tried to get his birth certificate from his relatives while his birth mother was incarcerated, but were not successful.

Mr Rafiezuwan speaks occasionally with his birth mother, who lives in Singapore and is now a PR. She has never applied for PR status for him.

Mr Rafiezuwan’s birth extract, which he showed ST, states that he was born in the Singapore General Hospital, with a line that reads: “This child is not a citizen of Singapore at the time of birth.”

A birth extract replaces a lost or damaged birth certificate.

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Mr Rafiezuwan found out he was stateless only in 2019, when police officers checked on him and his group of friends on one occasion in Clementi.

“I told them I didn’t have an identity card,” he said, adding that they were suspicious of him.

But after the officers spoke to his caregivers, they advised the couple to consult their MP.

They did so, and the matter was referred to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). The agency issued Mr Rafiezuwan a Special Pass and, upon application, a birth extract.

A friend later advised Mr Rafiezuwan to approach the Foundation of Rotary Clubs Singapore Family Service Centre in Clementi for help.

His social worker from the family service centre, Mr Muhammad Khalifah Nazir Mohd Ali, helped him understand the procedure involved in applying to the authorities for permission to work in Singapore while on a Special Pass.

Mr Rafiezuwan was authorised to work here in July.

However, finding employment has been difficult. After a short stint as a warehouse worker, he applied to work as a cleaner at three different companies.

The first was unsure about hiring a stateless person; the second firm told him it “did not have the quota to hire stateless people”. He is waiting to hear back from the third company.

Mr Rafiezuwan said: “My parents are getting old and have health problems. I want to work and earn money so I can help them. But it’s so hard to (convince) people to hire me.”

Banks tell him he cannot open an account. Checks by ST showed that some banks require non-Singaporeans to show their passport and proof of tax residency, among other things, to open an account.

Mr Rafiezuwan, who does not have a passport, said: “I was born in Singapore and have lived here all my life. Am I considered a foreigner? It’s very confusing.”

With no qualifications, he lacks confidence and often refers to himself as stupid.

Mr Rafiezuwan said: “To be very honest, I feel very stupid. All my friends are very smart. They have an education.

“I have never stepped inside a school. When they talked about PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) or anything similar, I don’t know what they are talking about.”

Fewer stateless people

Statistics from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) showed the number of stateless people living here has fallen over the years, from 1,411 stateless people as at Jan 31, 2016, to 1,109 as at Nov 30, 2020.

Of the 853 stateless people living here as at Dec 31, 2023, MHA said 76 per cent of them hold PR status and can tap subsidies in areas like healthcare, housing and education.

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Mr Rafiezuwan is among the 24 per cent of stateless people who are not PRs. They are issued a Special Pass by the ICA that allows them to live in Singapore legally.

MHA said the validity of the Special Passes issued to stateless people varies on a case-by-case basis. Mr Rafiezuwan has to renew his pass every year.

The ministry said there are several reasons why an individual may be stateless.

Some may have chosen to give up their foreign citizenship, while others may have lost or been stripped of citizenship by their country of birth for reasons such as running afoul of the law.

“Others may have been born here but were not eligible for Singapore citizenship at birth, as their parents were not Singapore citizens and did not obtain citizenship for their children from their home country,” the ministry added.

Seventy-three-year-old Mr Phua, who declined to reveal his full name, is in a similar situation.

His parents never obtained Singapore citizenship for him, even though many of his immediate family members became Singaporeans after moving here from Indonesia.

He has lived in Singapore for 65 years but remains stateless without permanent residency.

Mr Phua said that when he was an eight-year-old boy in 1959, he fled to Singapore from Indonesia in a sampan with his mother and three brothers to escape racial violence.

After Singapore gained independence, his mother went to the authorities with his three younger brothers to register their identities.

Mr Phua, who has a birth certificate written in Dutch and Bahasa Indonesia, did not go with them, as his family wanted to “keep” an Indonesian in the family to facilitate their return to Indonesia if the need arose.

While his mother and brothers eventually became naturalised Singapore citizens, Mr Phua remained an unregistered immigrant.

He was classified as stateless and given a Special Pass in the early 2000s after he was stopped by police at a road block and detained over suspicions of being an illegal immigrant.

Mr Phua, who lives with his brother in a rental flat, now works as a petrol pump attendant earning $1,750 a month. He is permitted to work in Singapore.

His salary is deposited into his brother’s bank account, as he cannot open his own bank account.

He said in Mandarin: “When there are issues, I have to ask my brother for help. I wish I could do these things on my own instead of relying on others.”

But he said he is grateful to be able to work in Singapore, adding that he had also received financial support when he was jobless during the Covid-19 pandemic.

When he lost his job as a porter at the airport in 2021, he received ComCare financial aid for about a year. A letter from a social service office (SSO) showed he received $430 a month for an initial six-month period.

Mr Phua’s ardent wish is to travel to his home town in Tanjung Uban in Bintan, Indonesia. He has not left Singapore since arriving in 1959.

He said: “It’s hard for me to travel, as I don’t have a passport. I’m afraid that if I leave, I cannot come back.”

ST understands stateless people require a travel document issued by the relevant authorities before they can travel.

Mr Phua, who does not have a criminal record, sought help from his MPs and a lawyer, Mr Richard Siaw from law firm R.S. Solomon, who is helping him pro bono.

He has applied for PR status three times but has not been successful to date.

MHA said that when a stateless person applies for permanent residency or citizenship, ICA evaluates every application on a range of criteria.

These include the applicant’s length of stay in Singapore, family profile, economic contributions, education qualifications, age and family ties to Singaporeans.

ICA also considers the applicant’s circumstances, such as the reasons behind the person’s statelessness, added the ministry.

Receiving help

The challenges stateless people face have been flagged by MPs.

In 2021, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher de Souza asked the Ministry of Social and Family Development about the types of social and financial assistance the stateless can receive.

In a written parliamentary reply, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said the Government recognises that stateless people who are not PRs may require financial support in certain healthcare settings.

He added that lower-income stateless individuals staying in government-funded nursing homes or disability homes can receive subsidies for their care.

MediSave can also be used for immediate family members who are not Singapore citizens or PRs, including the stateless, he said.

“This would allow citizens or PRs who are the spouses, parents or children of stateless persons to help lessen the out-of-pocket payment required for the medical bills of their stateless family member,” he said, adding that government subsidies and financial assistance at public healthcare institutions are generally targeted at Singapore citizens and PRs.

As for financial aid, the minister said the SSO can exercise flexibility to provide ComCare on a case-by-case basis, particularly if the stateless person is elderly, has been living and working in Singapore for a long time, and is now unable to work and has no family support.

“If the non-PR stateless person has healthcare needs, such as medical bills or arrears, or educational needs, such as school or examination fees, the SSO would refer them to community partners for assistance,” added Mr Masagos.

As for education, the Ministry of Education (MOE) told ST that in government and government-aided schools and tertiary institutions, stateless students who are PRs are charged PR fees.

Stateless students who are not PRs are charged international student fees.

Only Singaporean students are eligible for its financial assistance schemes.

“PR, international students and stateless students can approach their schools, community and social service agencies for advice on the financial assistance that is available to them,” said MOE.

Financial aid

Ms Norazikin Omar, 39, who is stateless but has PR status, has been able to enrol her three children in schools here.

Her husband and their children, aged six, eight and 10, are foreign nationals.

She said her mother is a Malaysian PR who recently got Singapore citizenship, while her father was a Singaporean who was in prison when she was born.

Ms Norazikin is unclear how she ended up stateless but believes it is because her parents were not married and her mother was a foreign national at the time.

Ms Norazikin, who is a housewife, said her husband is in Singapore on a short-term visit pass.

He is trying to get a long-term visit pass so he can live and work in Singapore. The family lives in a two-room rental flat in Yishun.

She said money is tight but the family is able to get by with financial aid from the Government.

They receive about $1,200 monthly from an SSO. Her children’s school fees are subsidised by MOE.

As for Mr Rafiezuwan, he is hoping he can be enlisted for national service so he can improve his chances of securing PR status or citizenship.

He also hopes to secure a job and stay employed to show that he can be a productive member of society.

Mr Rafiezuwan has a Singaporean girlfriend whom he hopes to marry one day and start a family with. But he does not want his children to grow up stateless and miss out on receiving an education.

The Registry of Marriages’ website states that if any party to an intended marriage is a foreigner, at least one party must have stayed in Singapore for at least 31 continuous days before submitting a marriage application.

Said Mr Rafiezuwan: “I want to get married. I really want that. I want my child to be a better person and smart. Not stupid like me.”

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