Saudi Arabia makes major amendment to citizenship law

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has introduced a major amendment to the citizenship law. It made children of local women eligible to apply for citizenship after attaining the age of 18 years.

After the amendment to Article 8 of the Saudi Arabian Nationality System, a person born to a Saudi mother and a foreign father can apply for citizenship upon satisfying the following conditions

1. Their age must be more than 18 years.
2. They need to be fluent in the Arabic language.
3. They must have good conduct and sound character.
4. They should not have been imprisoned for a period of more than six months.

Citizenship law in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia recognizes citizenship

1. By birth
2. By descent
3. By marriage
4. By naturalization

A person who is born to a non-Saudi father and a Saudi mother gets citizenship by birth. However, a person born to a Saudi father gets citizenship by descent.

A non-Saudi woman can get citizenship by marriage if she marries a Saudi man.

Citizenship by naturalization is also possible if a person satisfies certain conditions such as

1. Legally a resident of the country for 10 years.
2. Read, write and speak Arabic.
3. Have a legal source of income. etc.

However, in the case of citizenship by naturalization, the application that is sent to the King may or may not get approval. In case of rejection, no reason will be mentioned.