The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has very stringent citizenship laws, with foreigners traditionally not being given citizenship.

However, on rare occasions, Saudi officials grant citizenship to persons who must either possess great expertise or convert to Islam in order to qualify for naturalisation.

Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia don’t provide citizenship easily because of the reasons listed below.

Status of Refugees covenant

None of the Gulf nations have signed the Status of Refugees Covenant, which mandates that nations offer immigrants and refugees citizenship. As a result, these nations are not under any legal obligation to confer citizenship.

No Democracy

There are people who come from nations where there is a lot of political and social upheaval, which is the official explanation given.

There are numerous socioeconomic problems in GCC nations because there are already a lot of foreign residents there. Political asylum would simply worsen the case.

Religious reasons

Saudi Arabia has to be over-protective due to their religious importance, as it is also considered the homeland of Islam.

The Saudi national anthem also declares the kingdom as the glory of “all Muslims”.

According to Saudi law, the applicant who wants to get citizenship must convert to Islam primarily and obtain a conversion certificate documentation from a Muslim religious authority. Additionally, the applicant must have held permanent residence in Saudi Arabia for at least five years.

Population Mix

In the majority of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, expats outweigh locals. If foreigners were granted citizenship, the national population would no longer constitute a majority, and the nation would gradually lose its history and culture.

It is crucial to refrain from granting citizenship to foreigners in order to preserve the culture and heritage of such nations.