Manama: Stateless people living in Saudi Arabia have been issued special cards to help them through official administrative work.
The cards, issued by the General Directorate of Passports, are similar to the residency permits given in Saudi Arabia to expatriates, but have features that allow their holders to be treated like Saudis nationals, a report in the Saudi-owned London-based paper Al Hayat said.
“The cards ease all procedures and give their holders special benefits as if they were Saudi nationals,” Salman Al Yahya, the director general, said at the launch of new services by the directorate.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been pushing for solutions to the presence of hundreds of thousands of stateless residents on their territories.
Most of the stateless, known as “bidoon” (without nationality) — say that their status made it difficult for them to study, work and travel and that the restrictions should be lifted to allow them to live in dignity.
Officials, especially in Kuwait, insist that the stateless were in fact citizens of other countries and as such they could not be granted Kuwaiti nationality.
Special programmes have been launched to help address the issue, including extending special residency privileges to those who disclose their original nationality.
According to Kuwaiti reports, around 110,000 stateless people live in Kuwait.
Figures about Saudi Arabia are not available.
