Minister of Interior Mansour al-Essawy has approved granting Egyptian citizenship to Palestinians with Egyptian mothers, a category previously denied citizenship under the Citizenship Law of 2004. Palestinians were excluded “to protect their identity and prevent their fragmentation", the ministry said back in 2004. Mohamed Wahba Ibrahim, assistant minister for visas, immigration and nationality affairs, said applications for Egyptian citizenship will be received from Tuesday onwards. Applications are to be presented to the offices of the Visas, Immigration and Nationality Authority in Alexandria, Damietta, North Sinai, Port Said, Ismailia and Sharqia. The procedure will be initially implemented in these six governorates, before being rolled out to the rest of the country. Applicants are required to bring the birth certificates of their mother and her father, their mother's marriage certificate, their own birth certificates and visas, and four photos. Applicants above 16 are also required to bring their criminal record. Egyptian mothers married to Palestinians have staged several protests in the past demanding Egyptian citizenship for their children after the ministry excluded Palestinians from a law issued in 2004 which granted nationality to children born to foreign fathers and Egyptian mothers. At the time, the ministry said the Arab League had recommended against granting Egyptian citizenship to Palestinians in Arab countries to protect their identity. Translated from the Arabic Edition
