Saudi Arabia has made a change to the Saudi Arabian Nationality System.
The Kingdom’s higher authorities have approved an amendment to Article 8 of the Saudi Arabian Nationality System, granting the prime minister the authority to grant citizenship.
The amendment replaced the phrase of “by decision of the Minister of Interior” in Article 8 with “by an order of the Prime Minister based on Minister of Interior proposal”.
Article 8 of the Saudi Arabian Nationality System states that a person born in the Kingdom to a foreign father and a Saudi mother may be granted Saudi citizenship if certain conditions are met.
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The person eligible for citizenship should be able to meet the following requirements:
- Their age must be more than 18 years.
- They need to be fluent in the Arabic language.
- They must have good conduct and sound character.
- They should not have been imprisoned for a period of more than six months.
Saudi Arabia recognizes citizenship by birth, descent, marriage, or naturalization.
A child born to a non-Saudi father and a Saudi mother acquires citizenship by birth. A person born to a Saudi father, on the other hand, is granted citizenship by descent.
If a non-Saudi woman marries a Saudi man, she can obtain citizenship through marriage.
Naturalization can also lead to citizenship if a person meets certain requirements, such as:
- Legally a resident of the country for 10 years.
- Read, write and speak Arabic.
- Have a legal source of income. etc.
However, in the case of naturalization, the application sent to the King may or may not be approved. In the event of rejection, no reason will be given.
