March 10, 2007	Saturday	Safar 20, 1428

ABU DHABI: The interior ministry has granted citizenship to 30 families of stateless residents in the United Arab Emirates, the first group to benefit from a promise made last October, local media reported on Friday.

The official WAM news agency said “the ministry started on Thursday to hand over registration certificates to an initial group giving rise automatically to obtaining Emirati nationality.” It gave no figures for those receiving the certificates but the daily Gulf News said “more than 30 people” were involved, while Arabic daily Emarat Alyoum said the files of 30 families have been processed.

Gulf News said the naturalised group represented the first batch out of 1,294 people eligible for citizenship.

According to a ministry source, around 10,000 stateless people -- mainly originating from Iran, Asia or Zanzibar -- have been registered for naturalisation.

Last October, Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed al-Nahayan promised naturalisation to those who it had been proven “were living in the country before the proclamation of the (Emirates) Federation” on Dec 2, 1971.—AFP