UAE clarifies citizenship rules for children of naturalized Emiratis

The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday clarified that naturalized Emirati women married to foreigners may avail of citizenship for their children only if they were born after the mother’s naturalization, the Gulf News said on Monday.   According to the report, UAE’s Ministry of Interior for Naturalization and Residency made the specification a month after President Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued the decree which allows children of naturalized Emirati women to become UAE citizens once they are of legal age.   The decree came out in time for UAE’s 40th National Day last December, Gulf News said. According to Gulf News, the number of Emirati women marrying foreigners went up by 15 percent—from 643 cases in 2009 to 737 in 2010. Statistics from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) show that there are more than 200,000 Filipinos in UAE as of 2010.   “Emirati mothers can, for now, pass on their citizenship to their children born after they were granted citizenship,” the report quoted Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, the Ministry’s acting assistant undersecretary as saying.   However, Al Menhali noted that the matter on applications for children who were born before their mothers became UAE citizens “will be submitted to authorities for consideration.” - with Rose-An Jessica Dioquino, VVP, GMA News