Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Directorate of Passports has begun the process of improving the status of children of Saudi women married to non-Saudis, a local newspaper reported. The process has already begun in Riyadh, Jeddah and Madinah with Makkah to follow suit. The minister of interior has instructed five ministries and emirs of provinces to help improve the status of Saudi women who chose to marry non-Saudis. The process involves granting the children of such couples the sponsorship of their mother. If they live outside the Kingdom, she will have the right to bring them into the country to live with her under her sponsorship. The government will bear the cost of their iqama fees and they will be allowed to work in the private sector without the need to transfer their sponsorship to their employer. They will be treated as Saudis when receiving education and healthcare and will be counted toward the Saudization percentage in the private sector. The passports offices were flooded with beneficiaries of this landmark decision. They were calling for a directive to facilitate the procedure of granting citizenship to children of Saudi women regardless of who they were married to. New conditions that were approved last year require proof of the mother's and grandfather's identity to consider an application for citizenship. A Saudi woman can also bring her non-Saudi husband from abroad to live with her under her sponsorship. His iqama will show that he is the husband of a Saudi citizen. The marriage should have been approved and authenticated by the government.
