Until very recently, we were one of those unique societies characterized by the presence of a diverse and multinational Muslim community. People moved to the Kingdom from all over the world to live close to the birthplace of Islam. Those early immigrants left behind the homeland and everything that linked them to the places they came from. They settled here without any obstacles, helped by the fact that at that time, there were no naturalization laws governing the presence of foreigners in the country. This made it easier for them to settle down, marry and raise families. Their children grew up speaking our language and embracing the country’s cultural heritage. You could hardly distinguish them from the indigenous population.
When the first naturalization law was passed several decades ago and the door was opened to those immigrants to acquire Saudi nationality, some responded and became Saudi citizens. Others, however, for one reason or another, did not and now, their children are paying the price. The result is that now in a single family, you may find Saudis and non-Saudis. The children are treated as foreigners in official documents but in their hearts and minds, they belong completely to this country. With the introduction of a new law, a glimmer of hope appeared for these individuals who saw in the law an opportunity to get what they had missed in the past when the circumstances were more in their favor.
Unfortunately, the conditions required by the new law do not apply to many of them and the law itself takes no notice of them in any way if they fail to fulfill the requirements for nationality. There is in addition the problem of the children of Saudi women married to non-Saudis; the children are considered non-Saudi and are not eligible to take their mother’s nationality. This is in marked contrast to the children born to Saudi men married to non-Saudi women; their children are given Saudi citizenship at birth.
The other problem involves non-Saudi men married to Saudi women; the new law gives the men only one or two points out of the required number. In other words, a man who has been married to a Saudi woman for 30 years is equal to a man who has been married to a Saudi woman for a month. Surely the length of the marriage should be considered rather than being ignored. Some women married to non-Saudis have suggested that the wife’s education be considered. This is a proposal worth considering since it reflects people’s concerns and how they view the matter of citizenship.
