Malaysian nationality law

Malaysian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Malaysia. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force on 27 August 1957. All persons born in Malaysia between 31 August 1957 and 1 October 1962 automatically received citizenship by birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Individuals born in the country since that date receive Malaysian citizenship at birth if at least one of their parents is a citizen. Foreign nationals may become Malaysian citizens by naturalisation after residing in the country for at least 10 years, renouncing any previous nationalities, and showing proficiency in the Malay language. Malaysia is composed of several former British colonies and protectorates acquired in the 18th and 19th centuries whose residents were British subjects and British protected persons. After federation of its western states in 1948, the country became independent in 1957. While Malaysian citizens no longer hold British nationality, they continue to hold favoured status when residing in the United Kingdom; as Commonwealth citizens, Malaysians are eligible to vote in UK elections and serve in public office there. However, restrictions in Malaysian law on exercising citizenship rights in a foreign country would result in the loss of Malaysian citizenship, effectively negating these entitlements. Britain first established a foothold on the Malay Peninsula with the settlement of Penang in 1786. Over the course of the 18th century, the British presence expanded throughout the region. British Malaya was broadly divided into three political groupings: the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, and the Unfederated Malay States. The Straits Settlements were directly administered by the British government while the Malay states were areas ruled by local monarchs given limited autonomy in exchange for accepting British suzerainty. Residents of the Straits Settlements were British subjects, but subjects of the Malay state rulers were considered British protected persons instead.