Saudi Arabia: Whether Palestinians are permitted to become naturalized citizens; whether Palestinians need Saudi sponsors and can be issued with Saudi travel documents
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 2 May 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SAU34199.E |
| Reference | 7 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Saudi Arabia: Whether Palestinians are permitted to become naturalized citizens; whether Palestinians need Saudi sponsors and can be issued with Saudi travel documents, 2 May 2000, SAU34199.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad7868.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A 2 June 1999 article states that in 1994, according to the Saudi interior ministry, 4,296 people were naturalized as Saudi citizens (Mideast Mirror). Most of those were women, including 165 Palestinians (ibid.). Most of the foreign women who became naturalized Saudis were married to native-born Saudi men or men who were naturalized Saudi citizens (ibid.). The article provides the following information about the rules relating to the naturalization of foreign women married to Saudi men:
A foreigner married to a Saudi citizen can gain Saudi citizenship
(I) if the marriage was sanctioned by the interior ministry,
(II) if the marriage has lasted more than five years,
(III) if the woman has forfeited her original nationality, and
(IV) if she applied personally for Saudi citizenship.
Even so, the interior ministry may reject applications that fulfil these four conditions, and is under no obligation to reveal the reasons for rejection. (ibid.)
Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints.
No information on whether Palestinians in Saudi Arabia need Saudi sponsors and nor whether Palestinians can be issued Saudi travel documents could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Mideast Mirror. 2 June 1999. "Naturalization in the Gulf: Ladies Come Out On Top." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
World News Connection (WNC)
Letter to the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Ottawa.
