RIYADH, May 1: A large number of expatriates, several Pakistanis among them, rushed to the Saudi Civil Affairs Department in Jeddah and elsewhere on Saturday, the first day Saudi nationality application forms were made available to the public, to pick up the forms. And within two hours, the department in Jeddah and elsewhere, ran out of forms. Forms were, however, on sale in nearby grocery stores.

The rush of people around the department’s offices hampered traffic. Police tried to keep the traffic flowing but the sheer number of people made it difficult. The crucial dividing line in the application process is between categories 8 and 9. Category 8 includes those either born in the kingdom or whose mothers are Saudis. All others fall into category 9.

To qualify for category 9, an applicant must have lived in the kingdom for 10 years and acquired or obtained educational qualifications such as doctorate, pos-tgraduate or graduate degrees in specialized fields, for example medicine or engineering.

A category 9 applicant must accumulate a minimum of 23 points out of a possible 33. Points are awarded on the length of residence in the kingdom — 10 points for 10 years — and educational qualifications. A Ph.D in sciences scores 10 points, while a doctorate in medicine, engineering or architecture receives 13 points.

In Jeddah, a large number of those applying for citizenship at the Civil Affairs Department were Yemeni nationals with ages ranging from 20 to 50 years.