Official: Residents verifying nationality increasing

The Central Apparatus for Illegal Resident Affairs on Saturday declared that up to 5,637 illegal residents had verified their original nationality since the apparatus was founded till December 2013.Colonel Mohammad Al-Wuhaib, the director of the nationality authentication department, said in a statement to KUNA that the residents who corroborated their original nationality status included 4,373 Saudis, 608 Syrians, 446 Iraqis, 46 Jordanians, 41 Iranians and 223 "whose status was altered with other nationalities." Col. Al-Wuhaib said the mounting number of illegal residents applying to reveal their original nationality was due to a package of measures undertaken by the apparatus, continuing coordination with the immigration inspection department of the Ministry of Interior and the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI).Nationality verification process is based on examining the passport of the applicant after authenticating the other filed papers.He urged others who wish to alter their status and disclose their nationality to file their papers at the immigration department in Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate or the apparatus office in Al-Ardiah.Among the offered privileges for those who seek to legalize their status is an immediate, renewable free-of-charge residency for all family members, valid for five years, in addition to free educational and health services.