JEDDAH, 5 May 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday instructed officials to grant Saudi citizenship to a number of applicants who are competent and specialized in scientific subjects, in accordance with the Kingdom’s law.
Interior Minister Prince Naif confirmed the king’s directive and said it would be implemented immediately. However, he said citizenship aspirants should work for protecting the Kingdom’s security and stability and contributing to its development.
King Abdullah, who will begin a landmark tour of the north today, also declared amnesty to common law prisoners but not convicts who pose a danger to state security or who committed serious crimes, the interior minister said.
Prince Naif said the pardon covered “convicts in all the Kingdom’s prisons who do not pose a danger to security and are not involved in major crimes.”
King Abdullah also instructed payment of debts and blood money for prisoners who have insufficient funds of their own, to allow their reintegration into society, the minister said.
The Interior Ministry’s Agency for Civil Affairs in Riyadh started accepting citizenship applications on May 23, 2005 and priority was given to applicants holding doctorates in medicine, engineering and other sciences. Applicants must accumulate a minimum of 23 points to qualify in the first stage of the process.
Many of the Kingdom’s seven million expatriate workers had applied for citizenship after the Cabinet approved the newly amended Naturalization Law. The new law allows the government to withdraw citizenship from a naturalized Saudi within 10 years if he is convicted of any crime related to honor or undermining security or declared unwanted in the country. The new law has also increased the fine to SR30,000 for making a false statement to get citizenship.
The applications will be studied thoroughly by a three-member panel and will give 33 points: 10 points for 10-year continuous stay, 13 points for specializations required by the country (13 points for those who have doctorates in medicine or engineering, 10 points for those holding doctorates in other sciences and eight points for master’s degrees) and 10 points for family relations.
Last week, the Cabinet changed Article 16 of the Citizenship Law, allowing the interior minister to grant Saudi citizenship to a foreign woman married to a Saudi or the foreign widow of a Saudi, if she applies for it and relinquishes her original citizenship.
The interior minister can also cancel her Saudi citizenship if she ends her marital relationship with the Saudi for any reason and retains her original citizenship or any other foreign citizenship.
The king will begin his visit to the north today in order to launch a number of economic, educational, health and infrastructure projects and meet with citizens. Abdullah, who is visiting the region for the first time since becoming king in 2005, will visit the Northern Border Region first before traveling to Al-Jouf and Tabuk regions, an official statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said yesterday.
Prince Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Musaed, the governor of the Northern Border Region, welcomed the forthcoming visit of King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan to the region. He underscored the king’s efforts to enhance the welfare and prosperity of citizens all over the country.
The governor said the king would open a number of educational, health and infrastructure projects in the region. They include a science college in Arar and a community college in Rafha (both to cost SR410 million), two colleges of technology and two institutes of vocational training in the same cities (SR270 million). The projects already built include 18 new schools worth SR104.55 million for boys and girls. In addition 45 new school projects are planned at an estimated cost of SR202 million. He will open the Rafha-Arar Road, constructed at a cost of SR410.54 million and lay the stone for Arar-Turaif Road (SR314 million) and for another road project worth SR67.33 million, SPA said.
The region’s health services will also get a shot in the arm during the king’s visit as he will open the 100-bed Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Musaed Hospital, established at a cost of SR157.18 million, and the 100-bed Rafha Central Hospital, built at a cost of SR167.53 million. He will also lay the foundation for a 200-bed maternity and children’s hospital (SR75 million), a 100-bed mental hospital (SR65 million), a medical tower at Arar Central Hospital (SR75 million), another medical tower in Rafha (SR45 million), a 50-bed hospital at Jadeeda Arar (SR28 million), 34 new health centers (SR118 million) and a 100-bed Turaif Hospital (SR135.4 million).
In Tabuk, Abdullah will lay the foundation for a new university. The first phase of the university project comprising 16 colleges will cost about SR1 billion.
Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said the king would launch 31 technical colleges and vocational training institutes in Tabuk, Al-Jouf and the Northern Border Region during the visit, adding that the projects would cost SR1.6 billion.
The king will also launch two housing projects for the poor in Rafha and Gurayat, according to Yousuf Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of King Abdullah Charitable Housing Foundation. The two projects including 200 housing units, schools, training and health centers and mosques will cost SR50 million.
According to informed sources, the next Cabinet meeting will be held in Arar. The Northern Border Region has completed all preparations for the visit, the sources said, adding main roads and parks have been decorated with pictures of the king and crown prince and welcome banners.
