Ali and Cochrane Comparative Migration Studies (2024) 12:16 some challenges, despite having a large and regionally strong economy, of which youth unemployment is primarily (Al Naimi, 2022; Bakry et al., 2019). This relates to questions of citizenship and residency, as the former gain significant benefits (e.g., in education, healthcare, and housing) while relaxed immigration pathways might attract negative feedback from a large population of unemployed or underemployed youth. Citizenship and residency The concept of citizenship and residency in Saudi Arabia has a complex historical background that can be traced back to the time when society was organized around families. Before the establishment of the modern state, the Arabian Peninsula was divided into several small family-based organizational units, and citizenship was based on the kinship system. The initial phase of citizenship acquisition in 1954 was primarily determined by residency in the territory before the end of Ottoman rule, which continued until 1926. During this period, individuals who had lived within the boundaries of what later became Saudi Arabia between 1914 and 1926, and who did not possess foreign citizenship, could request Saudi citizenship until 1955. Minors had slightly more time, until they reached the age of 19. This differs significantly from the current citizenship policies based on other provisions of the Saudi Arabian Citizenship System (SACS), where the main path to citizenship acquisition is through patrilineal descent (Alsabeehg, 2022; Alsabeehg & Kuzmova, 2022). For much of Saudi history, citizenship in Saudi Arabia was granted only to those who were members of the royal family or who had kinship affiliations. It was not until the 1950s that the country began to introduce formal laws and regulations governing nationality and naturalization. The Saudi Arabian Citizenship System (SACS), the official title of the citizenship law, has been amended five times since its enactment. The amendments are made by the Council of Ministers, also known as the Cabinet, which includes senior government ministers, the King, and the Crown Prince (Alsabeehg, 2022). Until recently, Saudi Arabia had very strict citizenship and residency policies. Citizenship was only granted to those born to Saudi fathers, and there was no pathway to citizenship for non-Saudi residents (Alsabeehg, 2022; Saikali, 2023). Saudi Arabia’s citizenship policy has significant implications for women. Since the country’s citizenship is primarily passed down from the father, it can lead to situations in which children of Saudi women and non-Saudi men are not granted citizenship. In 2018, approximately 700,000 female citizens were married to non-citizens, constituting around 10% of married female citizens (Saikali, 2023). This choice of marriage partner has shifted in the most recent decade, as in 2013 less than two thousand marriages occurred between female citizens and male non-citizens, as per those registered in Saudi courts (Saikali, 2023). With these legal shifts, it is expected that this change to marriage patterns will continue, as societal attitudes towards mixed-culture marriages are more accepted, as well as the high cost of marriage rites expected within the Saudi community deter some from marrying citizens (Saikali, 2023). Not providing citizenship to children of such households leaves children in a stateless situation or the citizenship of the father, either of which impact their access to basic services such as healthcare, education, and employment opportunities and could result in a situation where the children of Saudi women were denied access to their own country Page 5 of 17