Zahra Albarazi Despite the disparities, there are many requirements that recur in most naturalisation procedures. All states expect the applicant to have some knowledge of the national language. However, the level of required fluency in the language differs from country to country. For example, Jordan and Egypt require the applicant to be fluent in Arabic, whilst others such as Mauritania and Syria only state that a sufficient knowledge of Arabic is needed, and in Israel the applicant needs to have ‘some’ knowledge of Hebrew. Some laws stipulate specific standards for the social behaviour of the applicant. This is often expressed in the need to not have a criminal record or to be of ‘good character’ or – as in the case of Saudi Arabia – to have a note from local leaders that would certify an individual’s good character. Having a sufficient income or employment to sustain oneself is also a frequent requirement, where in Bahrain this is even expressed as a requirement to own real estate. In Syria, a person can only naturalise if they have experience or qualifications that benefit the country51 and in Kuwait the applicant must also render a service or hold a qualification which is needed in the country.52 MENA nationality laws discriminate not only against women. Another frequent criterion found in naturalisation requirements across the region is that an individual should be mentally, and sometimes also physically, fit. Some legislation discriminates thus against the mentally and/or physically disabled. In Syria for example it states that anyone who has “any diseases or disabilities’ is excluded from naturalisation 53, but the majority of these situations can be found in North African states. In Tunisia no-one in a “physical state making them a burden or danger to the community”,54 can naturalise. A similar criterion is found in Mauritania, but there this restriction goes even further. If a person who has successfully naturalised is subsequently found within a year “to be physically or mentally disabled”, her or his nationality can be withdrawn, even if this renders the individual stateless.55 In Kuwait, naturalisation requirements can be based on religious grounds as applicants must be Muslim in order to naturalise and non-Muslims will not be able to apply.56 The same exclusion exists in Yemen, where the criteria requires that an applicant for naturalisation must be either Arab or Muslim.57 Age discrimination is found in Libya, where the applicant has to be under 50 years according to section 9 of the law. Facilitated naturalisation for certain ethnic or religious groups is a common feature of MENA nationality laws. As discussed above, many countries offer facilitated naturalisation – in most cases through shorter residency requirements – for individuals who are Arab or who are from Arab countries. In several countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, facilitated access is provided to individuals who were born in their country. There are also several nationality laws in the region that have more ‘exceptional’ criteria for obtaining a nationality. In many of the gulf countries, such as Qatar58, individuals may be granted nationality by the Emir’s decision even if they do not fulfil any of the criteria. This 51 Legislative Decree 276, 1969, Article 4(e). Kuwait Nationality Law 1959, Article 4(4). Kuwait’s requirement is that a person can only naturalise if they hold experience or qualifications that benefit the country,52 suggesting a more utilitarian view of naturalisation policy. 53 Legislative Decree 276, 1969, Article 4(c). 54 Code de la nationalite Tunisienne, 2011, Article 23(4). 55 Loi portant code de la nationalité mauritanienne, 1961, Articles 19(1) and 14. 56 Kuwait Nationality Law 1959,Article 4(3) and 4(5). 57 Law No. 6 of 1990 on Yemeni Nationality, Article (5). 58 Article 11 52 14 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-Comp. 2017/3- © 2017 Author(s)