http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=63016&d=1&m=5&y=2005
Sunday, 1, May, 2005 (22, Rabi` al-Awwal, 1426) Massive Rush for Saudi Nationality Applications Hassan Adawi, Arab News A huge crowd, seeking Saudi citizenship, clamors for application forms outside the Civil Affairs Department in Makkah. (AN photo) JEDDAH, 1 May 2005 - The Civil Affairs Department experienced an overwhelming rush of aspirants for Saudi nationality yesterday, the first day application forms were available to the public. By 9 a.m. the department had run out of forms, causing a lively black market to develop with original forms selling for SR30 and photocopies for SR3 each. Black market application forms were openly on sale in baqalas (local grocery stores) near the Civil Affairs Department's office here. The rush of people around the Civil Affairs Department's office hampered traffic, resulting in several heated exchanges between applicants and motorists. Police tried to control the traffic but the sheer numbers of people made their job difficult. The rush was expected because the department had previously announced that forms would be available yesterday but the huge crowd that turned up was not anticipated. Many of the would-be applicants were disappointed, failing to get hold of an application form. Similar scenes were witnessed in Makkah too where aspirants for Saudi nationality thronged the Civil Affairs Department office. The forms for the Saudi nationality were distributed among those who met the required conditions - deemed as impossible by some of the applicants - set out by the Council of Ministers. The first large batch of applicants gathered yesterday morning, a mix of ages and nationalities - some born in the Kingdom or with special qualifications or rare specialties. Only those who met the stringent conditions were given an application form. The crucial dividing line in the application process is between category 8 and 9. Category 8 includes those either born in the Kingdom or whose mothers are Saudis. All others fall into category 9. To qualify for category 9, an applicant must have lived in the Kingdom for 10 continuous years and acquired or obtained educational qualifications such as doctorate, postgraduate or graduate degrees in very specialized fields, for example medicine or engineering. A category 9 applicant must accumulate a minimum of 23 points out of a possible 33. Points are awarded on the length of residence in the Kingdom - 10 points for 10 years - and educational qualifications. A Ph.D in sciences scores 10 points, while a doctorate in medicine, engineering or architecture receives 13 points. The Ministry of Interior has issued one form for nationality requests that includes information about residency, educational and professional status and details of Saudi relatives. The Civil Affairs Department will process applications relating to category 8 while category 9 applications will be submitted to the department's headquarters in Riyadh. In Jeddah, most of those applying at the Civil Affairs Department were Yemeni nationals with ages ranging from 20 to 50 years. "The conditions concerning Article 9 are impossible to meet," said Fouad Mohammad who has lived in the Kingdom for 17 years continuously and is a jeweler. "I ask the authorities to reconsider the conditions." "If I had a Ph.D, Master's or B.A. degree in medicine or engineering I would return to my own country," said Ramadan Hamed who has lived in the Kingdom for 28 years and works in the watch repair business. "I completed all my schooling here in Jeddah," said Mohammad Ahmad, who is among those born in the Kingdom. "When I reached the university stage I wasn't accepted, because I was not Saudi. Yet among the conditions for getting the Saudi nationality is to have at least a B.A., which is a contradiction." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! 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