http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=63016&d=1&m=5&y=2005
Sunday, 1, May, 2005 (22, Rabi` al-Awwal, 1426)
Massive Rush for Saudi Nationality Applications
Hassan Adawi, Arab News
A huge crowd, seeking Saudi citizenship, clamors for application
forms outside the Civil Affairs Department in Makkah. (AN photo)
JEDDAH, 1 May 2005 - The Civil Affairs Department experienced an
overwhelming rush of aspirants for Saudi nationality yesterday, the first day
application forms were available to the public. By 9 a.m. the department had
run out of forms, causing a lively black market to develop with original forms
selling for SR30 and photocopies for SR3 each.
Black market application forms were openly on sale in baqalas (local
grocery stores) near the Civil Affairs Department's office here.
The rush of people around the Civil Affairs Department's office hampered
traffic, resulting in several heated exchanges between applicants and
motorists. Police tried to control the traffic but the sheer numbers of people
made their job difficult.
The rush was expected because the department had previously announced
that forms would be available yesterday but the huge crowd that turned up was
not anticipated. Many of the would-be applicants were disappointed, failing to
get hold of an application form.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Makkah too where aspirants for Saudi
nationality thronged the Civil Affairs Department office.
The forms for the Saudi nationality were distributed among those who met
the required conditions - deemed as impossible by some of the applicants - set
out by the Council of Ministers.
The first large batch of applicants gathered yesterday morning, a mix of
ages and nationalities - some born in the Kingdom or with special
qualifications or rare specialties. Only those who met the stringent conditions
were given an application form.
The crucial dividing line in the application process is between category
8 and 9. Category 8 includes those either born in the Kingdom or whose mothers
are Saudis. All others fall into category 9.
To qualify for category 9, an applicant must have lived in the Kingdom
for 10 continuous years and acquired or obtained educational qualifications
such as doctorate, postgraduate or graduate degrees in very specialized fields,
for example medicine or engineering.
A category 9 applicant must accumulate a minimum of 23 points out of a
possible 33. Points are awarded on the length of residence in the Kingdom - 10
points for 10 years - and educational qualifications. A Ph.D in sciences scores
10 points, while a doctorate in medicine, engineering or architecture receives
13 points.
The Ministry of Interior has issued one form for nationality requests
that includes information about residency, educational and professional status
and details of Saudi relatives.
The Civil Affairs Department will process applications relating to
category 8 while category 9 applications will be submitted to the department's
headquarters in Riyadh.
In Jeddah, most of those applying at the Civil Affairs Department were
Yemeni nationals with ages ranging from 20 to 50 years.
"The conditions concerning Article 9 are impossible to meet," said Fouad
Mohammad who has lived in the Kingdom for 17 years continuously and is a
jeweler. "I ask the authorities to reconsider the conditions."
"If I had a Ph.D, Master's or B.A. degree in medicine or engineering I
would return to my own country," said Ramadan Hamed who has lived in the
Kingdom for 28 years and works in the watch repair business.
"I completed all my schooling here in Jeddah," said Mohammad Ahmad, who
is among those born in the Kingdom. "When I reached the university stage I
wasn't accepted, because I was not Saudi. Yet among the conditions for getting
the Saudi nationality is to have at least a B.A., which is a contradiction."
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