UAE | Government
Citizenship drive offers new hope to stateless
Thousands of people lacking documents to prove their identity have registered for UAE citizenship in the various emirates during the first two days after registration booths were opened by the Interior Ministry.
- By Rayeesa Absal and Wafa Issa, Staff Reporters
- Published: 23:49 September 8, 2008
Abu Dhabi/Dubai: Thousands of people lacking documents to prove their identity have registered for UAE citizenship in the various emirates during the first two days after registration booths were opened by the Interior Ministry.
At the booths, which became operational on Sunday, applicants must fill out detailed forms explaining why they should be granted UAE nationality.
The authorities make a final decision after extensive scrutiny of the application.
On Sunday, more than 7,000 application forms were distributed.
Having been in troubled waters for years, people lacking documents to prove their identity can now hope for a better life.
These people belong to two groups - Arabs (from neighbouring countries) and non-Arabs (mainly from Iran and the Indian subcontinent).
It was in 2006 that President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued instructions to resolve the issue of people without documents to prove their identity.
Subsequently, a committee was formed comprising officials from the Interior Ministry and Ministry of Presidential Affairs. The committee helped naturalise about 1,300 people.
However, only a small percentage benefited from the process since unofficial estimates said there could be between 75,000 and 100,000 such people here.
To ensure better effectiveness of the process, the government has set up booths that will remain open for two months.
Speaking to Gulf News in Sharjah, Abu Mohammad, a 43-year-old who has been living in the UAE for more than 38 years and is married to a UAE national, said all these years he and his eight children had to live with no legal rights. But all that was about to change, he hoped.
"To register for identification cards is the first step towards legalising our status in this country and getting UAE citizenship," he said.
Ali Bahran is a 37-year-old bank employee whose family came to the UAE after World War II and have since been categorised as people without documents to prove their nationality.
"I have not had any other home country apart from the UAE and to receive the nationality is only natural," Bahran said.
However, Bahran will have to wait for an indefinite period before he learns whether he will be granted citizenship.
Another person without documents to prove his identity said he had lost his job following the introduction of a new rule that stipulated that only UAE nationals would be allowed to work in certain departments.
"This opportunity to legalise our status has given us hope for a better and more secure future.
"I do not think that as a UAE national anybody can just dismiss me from my job.
"We are the children of this country and today the journey to prove that is about to start," he said.
To most applicants, being granted nationality will mean much more than just securing a passport.
Speaking to Gulf News at the Al Raha Mall in Abu Dhabi after submitting her papers on the first day, Fatima (name changed) said: "My father sustains our family by helping his brother at work. The rest of us are all unemployed. We are suffering, not being able to do anything."
Update: Booths are open
Booths have been set up at Uptown Mall in Dubai, Noor Al Kawthar Mall in Ajman and Al Ta'awun Mall in Sharjah.
Registration is open for two months and the booths function from Saturday to Thursday, from 9am to 3pm.
More from UAE Government
More from UAE
Latest news
- Youngsters dance and raise cash for charity
- Dubai departments upgrade services
- Get yourself a free test for diabetes
- Ensuring a safety net for intellectual property
- Reader's issue addressed
- 5,552 illegals held in Dubai this year
- Man cleared because he took drugs in France
- Man charged with trafficking women
- Auditors to probe Mizin graft case
- Transfusion centre launches new toll free number
- Mirror, mirror show me the way
- Last minute ID rush is on
- Breaking down cultural barriers with photographs
- Car seats for children: Unsafe at any speed
- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince visits Islamic centre
Community Reports
-
Mirror, mirror show me the way
Driver on Salam Street had so many boxes and fruits piled into car, he would not be able to view rear or right side mirrors
-
Parents should be more vigilant
Reader's picture highlights risk of negligence by caretakers
-
Warming up to ‘Mobilise the Earth' theme
Dubai school dedicates a whole week to celebrating Earth Day with can-collection drives, sapling plantation and painting competition among others
-
Drivers using mobiles put others' lives at risk
Speeding is dangerous for the driver and other motorists
