51 new UAE citizens under initiative to help stateless

Abu Dhabi: The UAE is to soon get 51 new citizens by way of a Presidential decree, according to a statement released on Sunday by the Interior Ministry.

Those being granted nationality are amongst the stateless people, who registered at the booths set up by the ministry and successfully completed security checks and essential procedures.

"The committee overseeing the naturalisation process has completed the procedures to grant citizenship to 51 people," read the statement.

Speaking to Gulf News, an Interior Ministry official said: "The aim of the government and of the ministry is to solve the problem of stateless people in an efficient and humane manner by guaranteeing civility and rights."

"The idea is to present a final solution for this problem. In fact, this is not an issue limited to the UAE alone but is seen in many countries in the region and in the world," he noted.

Hundreds of families applied for citizenship, he said, without revealing the exact number of applicants.

However, unofficial estimates put the number of stateless in the UAE is close to 100,000.

"Many people who did not deserve citizenship tried to make use of the government initiative to obtain nationality. However, the authorities are very clear. If any family did not meet the criteria set, then they were denied," added the official.

Resolving the situation

It was in early September that the UAE government announced its decision to resolve the situation of thousands of stateless people residing in the country. Subsequently, booths were set up by the ministry in various emirates across the country to help people register for UAE citizenship.

The booths became operational on September 7 and hopefuls thronged the place to fill out applications detailing why they deserve the nationality. Those who do not hold any citizenship and were present in the country before the creation of the federation in 1971 are eligible to apply. Carefully scrutinising each application, authorities study and investigate them on a case-by-case basis before making the final decision.

Two months time, which ends in November, has been given to the stateless to register.