diff --git a/interpreter/syntax/types.ml b/interpreter/syntax/types.ml
index d37ddbead5..23d139c5a6 100644
--- a/interpreter/syntax/types.ml
+++ b/interpreter/syntax/types.ml
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ and string_of_num_type = function
 and string_of_heap_type = function
   | FuncHeapType -> "func"
   | ExternHeapType -> "extern"
-  | DefHeapType x -> "(type " ^ string_of_var x ^ ")"
+  | DefHeapType x -> string_of_var x
   | BotHeapType -> "unreachable"
 
 and string_of_ref_type = function
diff --git a/interpreter/text/parser.mly b/interpreter/text/parser.mly
index 91b824b257..51db494319 100644
--- a/interpreter/text/parser.mly
+++ b/interpreter/text/parser.mly
@@ -250,12 +250,10 @@ null_opt :
 heap_type :
   | FUNC { fun c -> FuncHeapType }
   | EXTERN { fun c -> ExternHeapType }
-  | LPAR TYPE var RPAR { fun c -> DefHeapType (SynVar ($3 c type_).it) }
+  | var { fun c -> DefHeapType (SynVar ($1 c type_).it) }
 
 ref_type :
   | LPAR REF null_opt heap_type RPAR { fun c -> ($3, $4 c) }
-  | LPAR REF null_opt var RPAR  /* Sugar */
-    { fun c -> ($3, DefHeapType (SynVar ($4 c type_).it)) }
   | FUNCREF { fun c -> (Nullable, FuncHeapType) }  /* Sugar */
   | EXTERNREF { fun c -> (Nullable, ExternHeapType) }  /* Sugar */
 
diff --git a/proposals/function-references/Overview.md b/proposals/function-references/Overview.md
index 534cfefb8e..7264309436 100644
--- a/proposals/function-references/Overview.md
+++ b/proposals/function-references/Overview.md
@@ -124,8 +124,8 @@ Based on [reference types proposal](https://github.com/WebAssembly/reference-typ
 
 A *heap type* denotes a user-defined or pre-defined data type that is not a primitive scalar:
 
-* `heaptype ::= (type <typeidx>) | func | extern`
-  - `(type $t) ok` iff `$t` is defined in the context
+* `heaptype ::= <typeidx> | func | extern`
+  - `$t ok` iff `$t` is defined in the context
   - `func ok` and `extern ok`, always
 
 * In the binary encoding,
@@ -144,7 +144,6 @@ A *reference type* denotes the type of a reference to some data. It may either i
 * Reference types now *all* take the form `ref null? <heaptype>`
   - `funcref` and `externref` are reinterpreted as abbreviations (in both binary and text format) for `(ref null func)` and `(ref null extern)`, respectively
   - Note: this refactoring allows using `func` and `extern` as heap types, which is relevant for future extensions such as [type imports](https://github.com/WebAssembly/proposal-type-imports/proposals/type-imports/Overview.md)
-  - `(ref null? (type $t))` can be abbreviated to `(ref null? $t)` in the text format
 
 * In the binary encoding,
   - null and non-null variant are distinguished by two new (negative) type opcodes
@@ -172,7 +171,7 @@ The following rules, now defined in terms of heap types, replace and extend the
 ##### Constructed Types
 
 * Any function type is a subtype of `func`
-  - `(type $t) <: func`
+  - `$t <: func`
      - iff `$t = <functype>`
 
 * Note: Function types themselves are invariant for now. This may be relaxed in future extensions.
@@ -286,7 +285,7 @@ The opcode for heap types is encoded as an `s33`.
 
 | Opcode | Type            | Parameters |
 | ------ | --------------- | ---------- |
-| i >= 0 | `(type i)`      |            |
+| i >= 0 | i               |            |
 | -0x10  | `func`          |            |
 | -0x11  | `extern`        |            |
 
@@ -368,17 +367,17 @@ The latter are sometimes called _exact_ types.
 Exact types might come in handy in a few other circumstances,
 so we could distinguish the two forms in a generic manner by enriching heap types with a flag as follows:
 
-* `heaptype ::= (type exact? <typeidx>) | func | extern`
+* `heaptype ::= exact? <typeidx> | func | extern`
 
 Exact types are themselves subtypes of corresponding non-exact types,
 but the crucial difference is that they do not have further subtypes themselves.
 That is, the following subtype rules would be defined on heap types:
 
-* `(type exact? $t) <: (type $t')`
+* `exact? $t <: $t'`
   - iff `$t = <functype>` and `$t' = <functype'>`
   - and `<functype> <: <functype'>`
 
-* `(type exact $t) <: (type exact $t')`
+* `exact $t <: exact $t'`
   - iff `$t = <functype>` and `$t' = <functype'>`
   - and `<functype> == <functype'>`
 
@@ -483,7 +482,7 @@ It's a slightly different question what to do for the text format, however.
 To maintain full backwards compatibility, the flag would likewise need to be inverted:
 instead of an optional `exact` flag we'd have an optional `sub` flag with the opposite meaning:
 
-* `heaptype ::= (type sub? <typeidx>) | func | extern`
+* `heaptype ::= sub? <typeidx> | func | extern`
 
 In the binary format it doesn't really matter which way both alternatives are encoded.
 But for the text format, this inversion will be rather annoying:
diff --git a/test/core/br_on_null.wast b/test/core/br_on_null.wast
index 7750ae24a5..3bae85000f 100644
--- a/test/core/br_on_null.wast
+++ b/test/core/br_on_null.wast
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
   (elem func $f)
   (func $f (result i32) (i32.const 7))
 
-  (func (export "nullable-null") (result i32) (call $n (ref.null (type $t))))
+  (func (export "nullable-null") (result i32) (call $n (ref.null $t)))
   (func (export "nonnullable-f") (result i32) (call $nn (ref.func $f)))
   (func (export "nullable-f") (result i32) (call $n (ref.func $f)))
 
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
   (module
     (type $t (func (result i32)))
     (func $g (param $r (ref $t)) (drop (br_on_null 0 (local.get $r))))
-    (func (call $g (ref.null (type $t))))
+    (func (call $g (ref.null $t)))
   )
   "type mismatch"
 )
@@ -57,14 +57,14 @@
   (elem func $f)
   (func $f (param i32) (result i32) (i32.mul (local.get 0) (local.get 0)))
 
-  (func $a (param $n i32) (param $r (ref null (type $t))) (result i32)
+  (func $a (param $n i32) (param $r (ref null $t)) (result i32)
     (block $l (result i32)
       (return (call_ref (br_on_null $l (local.get $n) (local.get $r))))
     )
   )
 
   (func (export "args-null") (param $n i32) (result i32)
-    (call $a (local.get $n) (ref.null (type $t)))
+    (call $a (local.get $n) (ref.null $t))
   )
   (func (export "args-f") (param $n i32) (result i32)
     (call $a (local.get $n) (ref.func $f))
diff --git a/test/core/br_table.wast b/test/core/br_table.wast
index d67165637e..66cdf41d9d 100644
--- a/test/core/br_table.wast
+++ b/test/core/br_table.wast
@@ -1286,7 +1286,7 @@
   (func (export "meet-nullref") (param i32) (result (ref null func))
     (block $l1 (result (ref null func))
       (block $l2 (result (ref null $t))
-        (br_table $l1 $l2 $l1 (ref.null (type $t)) (local.get 0))
+        (br_table $l1 $l2 $l1 (ref.null $t) (local.get 0))
       )
     )
   )
diff --git a/test/core/call_ref.wast b/test/core/call_ref.wast
index ad778b56ea..89322ca0f1 100644
--- a/test/core/call_ref.wast
+++ b/test/core/call_ref.wast
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
   )
 
   (func (export "null") (result i32)
-    (call_ref (i32.const 1) (ref.null (type $ii)))
+    (call_ref (i32.const 1) (ref.null $ii))
   )
 
   ;; Recursion
diff --git a/test/core/func_bind.wast b/test/core/func_bind.wast
index 713e5c7575..c496705d38 100644
--- a/test/core/func_bind.wast
+++ b/test/core/func_bind.wast
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     (func.bind (type $unop) (local.get $i) (ref.func $add))
   )
 
-  (global $f (mut (ref null $unop)) (ref.null (type $unop)))
+  (global $f (mut (ref null $unop)) (ref.null $unop))
 
   (func (export "make") (param $i i32)
     (global.set $f (call $mk-adder (local.get $i)))
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
   )
 
   (func (export "null") (result i32)
-    (func.bind (type $unop) (i32.const 1) (ref.null (type $unop)))
+    (func.bind (type $unop) (i32.const 1) (ref.null $unop))
     (drop)
   )
 )
@@ -350,10 +350,10 @@
 
     (i32.add
       (call_ref (i32.const 2)
-        (call_indirect $t (type $fl) (i32.const 0) (ref.null (type $fl)) (i32.const 0))
+        (call_indirect $t (type $fl) (i32.const 0) (ref.null $fl) (i32.const 0))
       )
       (call_ref (i32.const 3)
-        (call_indirect $t (type $fl') (ref.null (type $fl')) (i32.const 1))
+        (call_indirect $t (type $fl') (ref.null $fl') (i32.const 1))
       )
     )
   )
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@
 (module
   (type $t (func))
   (func (export "null") (result (ref $t))
-    (ref.null (type $t))
+    (ref.null $t)
     (func.bind)
   )
 )
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@
 (module
   (type $t (func (param f32)))
   (func (export "null") (result (ref $t))
-    (ref.null (type $t))
+    (ref.null $t)
     (func.bind (type $t))
   )
 )
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@
   (type $t1 (func (param i64)))
   (func (export "null") (result (ref $t0))
     (i64.const 0)
-    (ref.null (type $t1))
+    (ref.null $t1)
     (func.bind)
   )
 )
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@
   (type $t1 (func (param i64)))
   (func (export "null") (result (ref $t0))
     (i64.const 0)
-    (ref.null (type $t1))
+    (ref.null $t1)
     (func.bind (type $t0))
   )
 )
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@
   (module
     (type $t (func (result f32)))
     (func (export "null") (result i32)
-      (ref.null (type $t))
+      (ref.null $t)
       (func.bind)
     )
   )
diff --git a/test/core/linking.wast b/test/core/linking.wast
index 267eeaa840..b0e56dc7f5 100644
--- a/test/core/linking.wast
+++ b/test/core/linking.wast
@@ -98,12 +98,12 @@
   (func $f) (elem declare func $f)
   (global (export "g-const-funcnull") (ref null func) (ref.null func))
   (global (export "g-const-func") (ref func) (ref.func $f))
-  (global (export "g-const-refnull") (ref null $t) (ref.null (type $t)))
+  (global (export "g-const-refnull") (ref null $t) (ref.null $t))
   (global (export "g-const-ref") (ref $t) (ref.func $f))
   (global (export "g-const-extern") externref (ref.null extern))
   (global (export "g-var-funcnull") (mut (ref null func)) (ref.null func))
   (global (export "g-var-func") (mut (ref func)) (ref.func $f))
-  (global (export "g-var-refnull") (mut (ref null $t)) (ref.null (type $t)))
+  (global (export "g-var-refnull") (mut (ref null $t)) (ref.null $t))
   (global (export "g-var-ref") (mut (ref $t)) (ref.func $f))
   (global (export "g-var-extern") (mut externref) (ref.null extern))
 )
diff --git a/test/core/ref.wast b/test/core/ref.wast
index 85b2975af3..aef1b392ca 100644
--- a/test/core/ref.wast
+++ b/test/core/ref.wast
@@ -9,14 +9,12 @@
       externref
       (ref func)
       (ref extern)
-      (ref (type 0))
-      (ref (type $t))
+      (ref 0)
+      (ref $t)
       (ref 0)
       (ref $t)
       (ref null func)
       (ref null extern)
-      (ref null (type 0))
-      (ref null (type $t))
       (ref null 0)
       (ref null $t)
     )
@@ -36,7 +34,7 @@
 )
 
 (assert_invalid
-  (module (global $global-invalid (ref null 1) (ref.null (type 1))))
+  (module (global $global-invalid (ref null 1) (ref.null 1)))
   "unknown type"
 )
 
diff --git a/test/core/ref_as_non_null.wast b/test/core/ref_as_non_null.wast
index c679db451d..ba5c454701 100644
--- a/test/core/ref_as_non_null.wast
+++ b/test/core/ref_as_non_null.wast
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
   (elem func $f)
   (func $f (result i32) (i32.const 7))
 
-  (func (export "nullable-null") (result i32) (call $n (ref.null (type $t))))
+  (func (export "nullable-null") (result i32) (call $n (ref.null $t)))
   (func (export "nonnullable-f") (result i32) (call $nn (ref.func $f)))
   (func (export "nullable-f") (result i32) (call $n (ref.func $f)))
 
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
   (module
     (type $t (func (result i32)))
     (func $g (param $r (ref $t)) (drop (ref.as_non_null (local.get $r))))
-    (func (call $g (ref.null (type $t))))
+    (func (call $g (ref.null $t)))
   )
   "type mismatch"
 )
diff --git a/test/core/ref_is_null.wast b/test/core/ref_is_null.wast
index 43c34d3af7..730170df45 100644
--- a/test/core/ref_is_null.wast
+++ b/test/core/ref_is_null.wast
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     (ref.is_null (local.get $x))
   )
   (func $f3' (export "ref-null") (result i32)
-    (call $f3 (ref.null (type $t)))
+    (call $f3 (ref.null $t))
   )
 
   (table $t1 2 funcref)
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
   (func (export "deinit")
     (table.set $t1 (i32.const 1) (ref.null func))
     (table.set $t2 (i32.const 1) (ref.null extern))
-    (table.set $t3 (i32.const 1) (ref.null (type $t)))
+    (table.set $t3 (i32.const 1) (ref.null $t))
   )
 
   (func (export "funcref-elem") (param $x i32) (result i32)
diff --git a/test/core/ref_null.wast b/test/core/ref_null.wast
index 35df994cf8..ab3a8b4ea0 100644
--- a/test/core/ref_null.wast
+++ b/test/core/ref_null.wast
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
   (type $t (func))
   (func (export "externref") (result externref) (ref.null extern))
   (func (export "funcref") (result funcref) (ref.null func))
-  (func (export "ref") (result (ref null $t)) (ref.null (type $t)))
+  (func (export "ref") (result (ref null $t)) (ref.null $t))
 
   (global externref (ref.null extern))
   (global funcref (ref.null func))
-  (global (ref null $t) (ref.null (type $t)))
+  (global (ref null $t) (ref.null $t))
 )
 
 (assert_return (invoke "externref") (ref.null extern))
diff --git a/test/core/return_call_ref.wast b/test/core/return_call_ref.wast
index 5896229570..1c0f7097d9 100644
--- a/test/core/return_call_ref.wast
+++ b/test/core/return_call_ref.wast
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@
   ;; Null
 
   (func (export "null")
-    (return_call_ref (ref.null (type $proc)))
+    (return_call_ref (ref.null $proc))
   )
 
   ;; Recursion