It is important to note that the differences in the applicable legal framework between citizenship obtained “by law” (‫ )مكح نوناقلا‬and citizenship obtained “by naturalisation” (‫)ساوجتلاب‬, can be very blurry. In our interviews, we have gathered that upon the country’s establishment in 1971, families residing in its territory were automatically granted a citizenship “by law”. These individuals fall under the regime set by article 15. Families who arrived in the UAE from neighbouring countries a few months or very few years later swiftly obtained citizenship as well, albeit being labelled as “naturalised”, despite lacking any other nationality for the most part. Children who were only a few years old were also deemed “naturalised” despite having spent only a few years abroad. However, individuals who arrived in the UAE a few years after the country’s establishment could obtain citizenship “by law” if they could prove that some of their family members resided in the UAE before 1971.24 “Naturalised” individuals fall under the regime set by article 16, which provides for additional situations that would entail revocation of citizenship. Hence, today naturalised individuals face a greater risk of citizenship revocation compared to non-naturalised counterparts even if these individuals have lived the overwhelming majority of their lives in the country and never had any other nationality. The heightened risks faced by “naturalised” individuals are particularly concerning, especially given that dual citizenship was only permitted in the UAE since 2021, and even then, under extremely strict conditions. This means that the overwhelming majority of people, whether naturalised or not, only hold Emirati nationality. The 2021 amendment of the Law on Nationality specifies that seven categories of foreigners can be considered for UAE citizenship while retaining their original nationality: investors, doctors, specialists, inventors, scientists, intellectuals, and individuals with creative talents.25 If a foreign person does correspond to these very strict criteria, they still need to be nominated by rulers, crown princes’ courts, executive councils or the Cabinet based on federal entities nominations.26 Hence, dual-nationality in the UAE is exceedingly rare. Therefore, if Emiratis have their citizenship revoked, they are most likely to be left without a nationality, effectively rendering them stateless. According to article 21 of the Law on Nationality, it is the Minister of Interior that has competency with taking decisions on applications connected with nationality, denaturalisation, and withdrawal of nationality. In order to strip a person’s citizenship, the Ministry of Interior is first required to set out the intention and reasoning in a letter This distinction on whether people had a citizenship “by law” or “by naturalisation” was written in the family registration document (‫)ةصالخ ديقلا‬. Nevertheless, more than 30 years ago, the government decided to no longer display this distinction in the family registration documents, even though the distinction still existed legally. 25 Official website of the UAE, Emirati nationality, https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/passportsand-traveling/emirati-nationality (accessed on 1 May 2024). Even those belonging to those categories need to correspond to a specific section of this category; for instance intellectuals and other individuals with creative talents should “be pioneers in the field of art and culture and must have won at least one international award” and a “recommendation letter from related government entities is required as well”. 26 Emirates News Agency – WAM, UAE grants citizenship and passport to investors, professionals, special talents, 30 January 2021, https://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302905586 (accessed on 1 May 2024). 24 9 Citizenship stripping in the UAE