Comments on: Saudi Arabia: The Magic Kingdom

By: robert

robert — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:36:36 +0000

Saudi Citizenship? NO. A fact of life for expats or any non-Saudi is that anyone born in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) who is not Saudi is almost always a sponsor’s dependent with rights to reside in the Kingdom only insofar as the expat parent has the right to reside there, which is almost always because he has a job with the appropriate job visa. This is true for the rest of the dependent’s life, unto death. In rare circumstances a non Saudi with enough influence (wasta) will be accorded citizenship. At a certain age of maturity, the dependent will even have to transfer his “sponsorship” that is, work privilege, from the father to another sponsor for work. As an expat who has never lived in a Western compound, I can tell you that our perspective of the Saudis is well, a bit different, owing to the amount of, ahem, culture, to which we are exposed to directly, with rarely a chance to escape the air of local landscape.

By: Louai

Louai — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:40:53 +0000

hey i liked ur article very much espeacially since jeddah is my hometown…i am now in the states for my undergraduate studies….I like how you described ur struggle with the lifestyle,,,i know it can be very hard for both men and women….but i believe the worse of all is the part where they require ur husbands permession even for medical stuff….I truley wish you had a better experience over there, maybe u wouldve if u knew the right people….

and to the guy askin if the baby got the citizenship..the answer is no…almost the majority of countries in the world dont offer citizenships to people who r born there.

By: tevo

tevo — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:42:46 +0000

Does anybody know if the baby got the Saudi citizenship, or a choice for it. That would be interesting to know.

By: sal

sal — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:58:36 +0000

I think you’re right Linda, but it can also be a hugely rewarding and interesting experience too…one that can change many people for the better. It obviously depends on the person but the Middle East is hardly the picture of oppression many make it out to be – embrace the culture and you’ll be better off for it.

By: Linda

Linda — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:38:13 +0000

You must be very brave wife for migrating to that place. Staying at a place which is very much opposite from your culture is very difficult because there is a certain level of adjustment to be able to fit in. Interesting blog. Thanks.

By: Andy Lax

Andy Lax — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:33:20 +0000

I admire your sense of adventure as you appear open to new experiences. The fact that you attempted to adapt to a culture and lifestyle that seems so different is testament to your open-mindedness and “malleability.”

It must have been so frightening to be surrounded by such anti-Western sentiment, particularly as you were planning to give birth — in essence, in such a vulnerable position.

I’m so glad that a happy ending seemed to materialize for you and your family.