The Ministry of Interior has rejected a request by the Shoura Council for easing rules governing Saudis who marry non-Saudi women. While refusing the request, the ministry exempted elderly and disabled people from the rules in appreciation of their circumstances. Dr. Talal Bakri, Head of the Social Committee at the Shoura Council, said the Council based its request on the fact that some Saudis who do not get permission from the ministry circumvent the law by traveling abroad to marry foreign women. He pointed out that studies have shown that these marriages do not last long and end in divorce, adding that “In all cases the victims are the children who by birth are Saudis. Most of these children end up becoming street boys.” Owing to this, he said the Council had requested the ministry to reconsider these rules. Meanwhile, a source at the ministry was quoted as saying, “Despite these strict regulations, the ministry issues about 25 permits daily for Saudis to marry foreign women.” Citing an example, he said that the ministry has helped many of the tribes living on the Saudi-Yemeni border to regularize their status by granting them Saudi nationality, as well as by giving permits to those seeking to marry Yemeni girls.
