Undersecretary for Civil Affairs Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Al-Fida, recently made the statement that the Ministry of Interior has been striving to solve the issue of people without citizenship documents.
The NSHR demanded that the ministry’s efforts should cover all aspects of issues related to such people. The absence of national identity documents deny them their basic rights as a citizen, such as education, medical care, travel, marriage and even burial of their dead.
There are different categories of people living in the Kingdom without citizenship documents, most notably the Bidoon, traditional nomadic Bedouin people whose territories overlap national boundaries, such as the border between Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. In contrast with settled and documented Bedouin, the Bidoon stick to their traditional nomadic ways and many remain undocumented.
Other categories of stateless people in Saudi Arabia include the children of people who live under the sponsorship of the Saudi government because they are Muslim dissidents who fled state persecution in their home countries. Many members of the Burmese population fit this category. While their Saudi Arabia-born children are legal, they are not considered citizens.
The children of undocumented immigrants who entered the Kingdom illegally, as well as the children of visa overstayers, also lack citizenship documents.
Another important category of people without citizenship documents are children of Saudi women married to non-Saudis. While they are eligible for nationality shared by their fathers, acquiring Saudi citizenship for them has been difficult.
On the other hand, the NSHR has said that some people, such as illegal immigrants, try to acquire citizenship even though they do not deserve it to take advantage of the social welfare benefits, such as free education and health care.
