Saudi Arabia announces major change in citizenship law
In a major change, Saudi Arabia has introduced a new amendment to the Saudi Arabian Nationality System.
Authorities in the kingdom approved an amendment to Article 8 of the Saudi Arabian Nationality System, granting the prime minister the authority to grant citizenship to individuals, provided they meet certain criterion.
The amendment replaced the phrase of “by decision of the Minister of Interior” in the Article 8 with “by an order of the Prime Minister based on Minister of Interior proposal”.
Moreover, Article 8 of the Saudi Arabian Nationality System stipulates that Saudi citizenship may be granted to a person who is born in the kingdom of a mixed household where the father may be of foreign origin but the mother is a Saudi national, if conditions are met.
Other conditions include that the individual enjoys the status of permanent residence in the kingdom when he comes of legal age, he is of good conduct and sound character and has not been convicted of a crime or with imprisonment for a period exceeding six months for an indecent act.
Lastly, they must be fluent in the Arabic language.
