The Civil Status Department will soon open 16 offices in shopping malls for men and women. The move will make it easier for people to complete their transactions speedily, Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz Al-Fadda, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Civil Status, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The offices and branches will be in Tabuk, Jeddah and Riyadh, and two offices will be opened soon in Aaliyah Mall in Madina and Al-Shatea Mall in Dammam, said Al-Fadda, who pointed out that there are 18 Civil Status offices for women in the Kingodm. They are run exclusively by women. Al-Fadda, who addressed a wide range of issues while Okaz/Saudi Gazette accompanied him during his tour of the Tabuk area, pointed out that it is not obligatory for Saudi women to get national identity cards. There is no intention to cancel the family name before the tribe in the national identity card, which is highly secure and cannot be forged, he added. Granting Saudi citizenship to children of Saudi women married to foreign men is under study, Al-Fadda said. The official was asked about measures taken related to granting Saudi citizenship to foreign wives of Saudi men, what conditions have been adopted, whether granting citizenship to children of those marriages will take a long time, on par with granting citizenship to children of Saudis with foreign wives. He said the children of Saudi women married to foreign men are dealt with according to Article 8 of the Saudi Arabian Citizenship Regulation. Reacting to a report in Arabic press that the Civil Status Department was not expediting transactions for granting citizenship, the official said the story lacked details. The subject is still under study and receiving attention from the Ministry of Interior and the Civil Status Department, Al-Fadda said. Children with Saudi fathers and foreign mothers are considered to be Saudi nationals and will be dealt with at par with other children of Saudi nationals, according to the Civil Status regulation, Al-Fadda said, noting that there are special procedures for those situations. Asked about procedures to grant citizenship to children of Saudi men married to foreign women and children of Saudi women married to foreign men, Al-Fadda said the subject was under study and will be decided soon. Al-Fadda was asked about measures taken regarding children of Saudi men born to foreign mothers abroad, those who have not been recognized by their fathers and are not in contact with them, and whether the Ministry of Interior is in contact with the Awassir Society, which provides care to Saudi children overseas. __
