The Saudi Arabian government passed a new Citizenship Law earlier this week, which will help many foreigners living in the country to become citizens, reports the Saudi daily Al-Watan.
According to the new law, which is supposed to come into effect in four months, expatriates who live in the kingdom for ten years are entitled to apply for citizenship. This law has much importance in a country where 5.5 million out of approximately 26 million inhabitants are non-nationals.
“All foreign nationals working in the country would now be eligible to obtain Saudi citizenship,” said chairman of the security committee which supervised the amendment of the law, Shubeili Ibn Majdou Al-Qarni. The new law also stated that those who hold degrees in scientific fields will be given priority.
One exception is however apparent in this law. All Palestinians who reside in Saudi Arabia will not get the opportunity to apply for citizenship. No less than 500,000 Palestinians live in the kingdom according to Al-Watan. But, according to IMRA, they will not enjoy the law because of the Arab League’s standing instructions barring Arab states from granting Palestinians citizenship in order “to avoid dissolution of their identity and protect their right to return to their homeland.”