http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=62681&d=24&m=4&y=2005
Sunday, 24, April, 2005 (15, Rabi` al-Awwal, 1426)
Expatriates Can Apply for Citizenship From May 23
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
JEDDAH, 24 April 2005 - The much-awaited executive bylaw of the new
Naturalization Law is out and qualified expatriates can apply for Saudi
citizenship from May 23. Application forms will be available at the Civil
Affairs Department from next Saturday.
"The new bylaw came into effect on Friday, when it was published in the
official gazette," Nasser Al-Hanaya, undersecretary at the Interior Ministry
for civil affairs said.
He said some articles of the existing naturalization law were amended to
meet job work requirements and realize the interests of the Kingdom and its
citizens, adding that professionals like doctors and engineers would be given
preference.
Many of the Kingdom's six million expatriate workers have been waiting
for the 35-article bylaw since the Cabinet approved the newly amended
Naturalization Law, hoping that it would realize their dream to become Saudi.
But Dr. Ahmed Al-Salim, undersecretary at the Interior Ministry, dashed
their hopes. "Many have misunderstood the amended law as they thought it has
made the road to Saudi citizenship easy," Okaz Arabic daily quoted him as
saying. "There's no major change in conditions and regulations," he pointed
out.
He was echoing a previous statement by Hanaya who said the amended law
does not imply any large-scale handout of Saudi citizenship to non-Saudis. "All
applicants who have fulfilled the necessary conditions may not get citizenship
as the decision to award citizenship depends on the state's discretion," Hanaya
said. Spelling out the major amendments, Hanaya said the new law allows
authorities to give citizenship to the widow of a Saudi. But it has stopped
automatic citizenship of a foreign woman married to a Saudi and given the
interior minister the discretion either to give her citizenship or not.
Shubaily Al-Qarni, chairman of the security committee, which supervised
amendments to the law, said Saudi citizenship would be open to all foreign
nationals working in the Kingdom. "The law does not aim at a particular
nationality. It covers all expatriates in the country," he said.
A foreign woman, who got citizenship after marrying a Saudi, may lose it
if their marital relations ended for any reasons or she retrieved her original
citizenship or won any other citizenship, Hanaya pointed out. Under the new
law, a Saudi woman will not lose her citizenship if her husband adopts another
citizenship unless she opts for the new citizenship of her husband.
To qualify for citizenship, the applicant should have stayed in the
Kingdom continuously for not less than 10 years and should be a professional
required by the country. Article 20 of the bylaw says those who stay outside
the Kingdom for not more than the period of their re-entry visas will not be
disqualified, even if they are absent for not more than a year.
The new law allows the government to withdraw citizenship from a
naturalized Saudi within 10 years if he is convicted of any crime related to
honor or undermining security or declared unwanted in the country. The new law
has also increased the fine for making false statement to get citizenship to
SR30,000.
Salim said the department would also accept applications of unmarried
non-Saudi women. "If married she would follow the citizenship of her husband,"
he added. He said the department would accept only complete applications from
those who have fulfilled all conditions. Finalists will be presented to higher
authorities for approval.
"The amended law has increased the applicants' period of stay in the
Kingdom from five to 10 years in order to help them acclimatize with the
country's culture and traditions and interact positively with members of
society," he said.
The applications will be studied thoroughly by a three-member panel and
will give 33 points: 10 points for 10-year continuous stay, 13 points for
specializations required by the country (13 points for those who have
doctorates in medicine or engineering, 10 points for those holding doctorates
in other sciences and eight points for master's degree) and 10 points for
family relations.
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