Saudi Arabian nationality law

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Saudi Arabian Citizenship Act
Emblem of Saudi Arabia.svg
Parliament of Saudi Arabia
  • An Act relating to Saudi Arabian citizenship
Enacted by Government of Saudi Arabia
Status: Current legislation

Saudi nationality law, officially called the Saudi Arabian Citizenship System, is the law that determines who is a Saudi citizen.

Contents

By descent

Children born to a Saudi father or an unknown or stateless father and Saudi mother could be a Saudi citizen if the conditions are satisfied.

By marriage

A foreign woman who marries a Saudi man has right to citizenship provided that she gives up her foreign citizenship. Saudi women who give up citizenship upon marriage to a foreign husband (the marriage should complete 10 years and should have three children) has the right to take up Saudi citizenship if she divorces or returns to Saudi Arabia. One can only apply for citizenship if he is mature. Additional conditions are in place before the government will recognize a marriage by a Saudi woman to a non-Saudi man and allow a citizenship application. Also, if said non-Saudi man is willing to show the effort, it is more likely that the citizenship process will proceed more smoothly


Saudis working in various sensitive occupations, as well as members of the royal family, are not allowed to marry foreigners at all. [1]

By naturalization

How to apply for citizenship

[2] The applicant or his legal representative can apply to the Civil Affairs department or the Kingdom’s representative abroad. The Interior Ministry Agency of Civil Affairs is responsible for receiving and registering applications to be reviewed. A committee is formed, consisting of three members, whose ranks are not below the eighth rank, one of whom is legally qualified to verify the following:

Once the information is provided by the applicant, the committee will evaluate the application based on three components, representing a total of 33 points to be distributed as follows:

If the applicant obtains 23 points as a minimum score, the committee recommends that he continues reviewing his application. In the event that he doesn’t not achieve the required limit, it is recommended that the application be kept. The applications are reviewed, and the rest of the procedures are completed and submitted to the Naturalization Committee, in order to issue the final recommendation and present it to the Minister of Interior.

The following actions are taken in relation to applications for citizenships:

Conditions for obtaining citizenship

The following is required for an applicant for the Saudi citizenship:

Upon submitting the application, the applicant must:

Loss of citizenship

Loss of Saudi citizenship may occur due to one of the following reasons:[ citation needed ]

Saudi citizens cannot give up their citizenship without permission; however, the government can revoke someone's nationality if the person is a terrorist or dissident, as in the case of Osama bin Laden. [3]

Dual nationality

Saudis are not permitted to acquire any foreign citizenship without the permission of the Prime minister. A Saudi citizen who acquires a foreign citizenship without this permission will be considered Saudi unless the Saudi Government revokes their citizenship according to the terms of Article 13: takes up foreign Citizenship without permission of the Prime Minister; works for another country's military; works for the benefit of a foreign Government during wartime with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; works for a foreign Government or International Organization despite the Saudi Government's order for them to quit. [4]

Travel freedom

Visa requirements for Saudi citizens Visa requirements for Saudi citizens.png
Visa requirements for Saudi citizens

In 2018, Saudi citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 74 countries and territories, ranking the Saudi passport 60th in the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index.

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References

  1. "What happens when a Saudi wants to marry a foreigner". 15 January 2020.
  2. https://www.my.gov.sa/wps/portal/snp/content/saudicitezenship/?lang=en [ bare URL ]
  3. Ackman, Dan (14 September 2001). "The Cost Of Being Osama Bin Laden". Forbes . Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  4. "Saudi Nationality System" (PDF).