A Comoros Island passport. Jeff Topping / The National
A Comoros Island passport. Jeff Topping / The National
A Comoros Island passport. Jeff Topping / The National
A Comoros Island passport. Jeff Topping / The National

Special report: Ten years on, the UAE's stateless people reflect on how life has improved and on the challenges ahead


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  • Arabic

In Ras Al Khaimah, there was once a neighbourhood known as ‘the Baluchi Village’ at the base of the mountains. In this village of plywood huts and old concrete houses strung with UAE flags that multiplied with each passing National Day celebration, lived the bidoon.

The word means ‘without’ for they were the stateless and without passports. Their families, by chance and circumstance, were not granted citizenship when the UAE formalised its borders on its formation in 1971.

The families who live here hold Comoros passports and speak Arabic.

Today marks ten years since the Government began one of its largest directives to solve the bidoon question.

On September 6, 2008, the Ministry of Interior announced the formation of a committee that would assess the status of all bidoon in the UAE, with a view to naturalising those who are eligible.

Two days later, thousands travelled to registration centres across the country for the first day of registration, anxious and hopeful.

More than 7,000 application forms, one for each family, were given out by the end of the first day. In the following months, one by one, people presented their cases to officials in face to face interviews. Official statistics place the number of bidoon at about 10,000, though other estimates have been much higher.

That year, the UAE made a deal with the Comoros Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago and one of the world's poorest countries, that it would grant passports to the stateless in the UAE, although it would not extend citizenship or the right to residency in Comoros.

A decade on, much has changed. The bidoon now hold passports of a country that many had never heard of 10 years ago. Minority communities in the Northern Emirates have integrated more closely with Emirati families.

“There are some things that are better,” said Waheed Shaheri, 30, a Comoros passport holder and government employee.

“Things changed a lot. Before we could not go out of the country and a passport made a lot of things easier. But some things are hard."

The situation the bidoon find themselves in is seen across the Middle East and farther afield.

UNHCR figures from 2014 estimate there were about 120,000 stateless people in Iraq, many are Faili Kurds, at the time. In Kuwait, the report estimated there were about 90,000 to 140,000 bidoon, most of whom were not given citizenship when the country became independent in 1961. But the UAE and Kuwait are the first to come up with a scheme to grant them passports.

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Read More on citizenship:

Citizenship hope for UAE's stateless

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The RAK Baluchi village Mr Al Shaheri still calls home has almost emptied. Residents have moved downtown to a 17-storey highrise in the city’s Al Nakheel district, known as Burj Al Baluch, the tower of the Baluchis. At night, neighbours meet beside the parking lot to play the Baluchi game of Hashti, throwing wooden sticks onto a patch of stamped earth.

The building is lit by glowing multi-storey portraits of Ras al Khaimah’s Ruler and Crown Prince that shine on the lot below. Rent and utilities are provided free of charge by the RAK Government, say residents.

Comoros passport holders who approach the Ras Al Khaimah Royal Court have their cases fast tracked to to charity organisations who help with medical and financial assistance.

“We went to the Emiri court for help and the sheikhs didn’t cut corners,” said one of Hashti players, a resident who helped organised the neighbourhood move to the skyscraper.

“The sheikhs arranged everything, for here we are living and here we were born.” The RAK Royal Court and Ministry of Interior did not respond to requests for comment for this article.

In Abu Dhabi, many bidoon are the descendants of families that migrated between what is now Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. In the Northern Emirates, the bidoon predominantly originate from the Makran coast, a semi-arid strip in modern Iran and Pakistan. In a time before borders, travel across the Gulf was common.

Until the mid-2000s, the stateless were granted state benefits like education and healthcare. They could drive, work, marry Emiratis and buy property.

Their status changed in 2004 when the Emirates Identity Authority was formed and the national ID card project began.

Prior to 2004, those seeking citizenship had to go through their emirate of residence and then the Ministry of Interior in Abu Dhabi. From this point, applicants had to go directly to the Ministry of Interior with a locally-issued family book, a document that traces genealogical descent and is only owned by Emirati men and unmarried women over the age of 34.

The authorities in RAK provide free accommodation for bidoon at Burj Al Baluch, known as the tower of the Baluchis. Antonie Robertson / The National
The authorities in RAK provide free accommodation for bidoon at Burj Al Baluch, known as the tower of the Baluchis. Antonie Robertson / The National

This federalised the citizenship process and created a new class of bidoon: those who had held passports but did not have family books lost their claim to citizenship. The family book also became a prerequisite for citizens to acquire an ID card.

Without UAE ID, bidoon were no longer eligible for state healthcare and education. Birth certificates, driving licences, vehicle registration and marriage certificates were only possible for documented citizens and residents with visas.

Mr Shaheri’s brother Ahmed came of age during this limbo.

“I couldn’t get work without a passport,” said Ahmed, 26, who was able to obtain a government job after obtaining a Comoros passport.

“I couldn’t get a licence without a passport. Those who had work could continue but those without it could not get work. I graduated and I had no work.”

At this point they were advised to apply for Comoros citizenship as a stepping stone to Emirati citizenship. Most in the Baluchi village received Comoros passports by 2012.

“I have this passport but I still don’t understand what this passport is for,” said Mohammed Mahmoud, 27, a government employee whose grandparents were born in the emirates.

“We’re from the UAE and everything we have is here and we were born here but they cannot give an Emirates passport. So they give us a Comoros passport.”

Comoros passports removed bureaucratic barriers to integration, by enabling bidoon to school children alongside Emiratis and inter-marry once again.

Mr Shaheri married an Emirati, which would not have been possible a few years earlier. They have continued to live with his family in the Baluchi village in Ras Al Khaimah.

Education opportunities have improved. Children are once again allowed to enrol their children in classes with Emiratis for an annual tuition of Dh6,000, said a Ministry of Education spokesman.

Parents like Mr Shaheri consider this a better quality education and essential to maintaining integration.

Parents of his generation teach children Emirati Arabic as a first language.

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Read More:

Arabic News Digest: Kuwait and other states must find ways to help the bidoon

Saloon: Emirati identity in the novel

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Mr Shaheri grew up speaking Baluchi. When he began school, he did not speak Arabic and spent months catching up with Emirati peers. He and his wife are raising their children with Arabic and Baluchi.

Mr Shaheri’s neighbour, Mustafa Juma’a, speaks Arabic, Baluchi and English to his one- and two-year old daughters. Mr Juma’a feels Arabic is for identity and English is for opportunity.

“English means work anywhere,” he said. “Arabic because we are an Arabic country. We cannot find any benefit for this Baluchi language.”

Their generation appreciate the value of formal education in a way their parents did not. In the past, it was easy to secure jobs without a diploma.

Mr Juma’a, was not pressured to complete secondary school. The former public relations officer, fluent in four languages, has been out of work since 2016 and struggles without a diploma. “That company I worked with before, they needed only language,” said Mr Juma’a, who is 32. “Now, people want certificates.”

Not everything has improved with the introduction of passports.

Many rely on local charities for assistance with utility bills, wedding costs and healthcare. These charities co-ordinate with the Emiri courts.

“We have a long list of names,” said Doa’a Alshaabi, a social worker with the Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Charity Foundation. “First of all, they need education to help their lives. A lot of them marry young and both the wife and the husband are not working.”

Abdul Haikle, a Comoros passport holder who retired from the military in 2007 after decades of service, has pain in his knees but says the operation he requires costs Dh40,000.

Mr Haikle came crossed the Gulf from Makran in the 1960s at age 13. Now 61, he cannot afford knee surgery.

“Before we had a [health]card and even if we didn’t, we had money,” said his friend, who asked not to be named.

“The difference is before we didn’t pay for residency, for hospitals or schools.”

The majority of charity cases at the Saif bin Ghobash government hospital in Ras Al Khaimah are patients with Comoros passports, said hospital social workers. They receive three or four cases a week.

Buying property presents another obstacle. Comoros passport holders are not entitled to buy land available to Emiratis, once an easy process.

Most are on comparatively low salaries, often earning less than Dh10,000 a month. This makes it difficult to secure loans. In some cases, Emirati friends have bought houses for Comoros passport holders in their names.

The last large-scale registration drive was in July 2012, when the Ministry of Presidential Affairs assigned the Emirati Mothers Committee to oversee a programme to determine eligibility for citizenship. There have been several such initiatives over the years.

The process is ongoing.

“We want so many things for the future that we cannot do,” said Mr Juma’a.

“Nothing’s impossible. Just we will see. Allah kareem, God is generous.”

RESULT

Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)

Non-oil%20trade
%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers Henderson, Pickford, Pope.

Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Dier, Gomez, Keane, Maguire, Maitland-Niles, Mings, Saka, Trippier, Walker.

Midfielders Henderson, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Ward-Prowse, Winks.

Forwards Abraham, Barnes, Calvert-Lewin, Grealish, Ings, Kane, Rashford, Sancho, Sterling.

Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

HEADLINE HERE
  • I would recommend writing out the text in the body 
  • And then copy into this box
  • It can be as long as you link
  • But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
  • Or try to keep the word count down
  • Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into 
  • That's about it
RESULTS
%3Cp%3E5pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(Turf)%202%2C200m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20RB%20Sarab%2C%20Allaia%20Tiar%20(jockey)%2C%20Khalifa%20Al%20Neyadi%20(trainer)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E5.30pm%3A%20Mamsha%20Alkhair%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Mutaqadim%2C%20Ray%20Dawson%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al%20Hadhrami%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E6pm%3A%20Emirates%20Fillies%20Classic%20%E2%80%93%20Prestige%20(PA)%20Dh100%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Almotajalliah%2C%20Ray%20Dawson%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al%20Hadhrami%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E6.30pm%3A%20Emirates%20Colts%20Classic%20%E2%80%93%20Prestige%20(PA)%20Dh100%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Fadwaan%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Ahmed%20Al%20Mehairbi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E7pm%3A%20The%20President%E2%80%99s%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20Dh2%2C500%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Mujeeb%2C%20Richard%20Mullen%2C%20Salem%20Al%20Ketbi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E7.30pm%3A%20The%20President%E2%80%99s%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Listed%20(TB)%20Dh380%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Western%20Writer%2C%20Richard%20Mullen%2C%20Bhupat%20Seemar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SERIES SCHEDULE

First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6

EXPATS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lulu%20Wang%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicole%20Kidman%2C%20Sarayu%20Blue%2C%20Ji-young%20Yoo%2C%20Brian%20Tee%2C%20Jack%20Huston%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

Sheer grandeur

The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.

A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

Citizenship-by-investment programmes

United Kingdom

The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).

All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.

The Caribbean

Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport. 

Portugal

The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.

“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.

Greece

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.

Spain

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.

Cyprus

Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.

Malta

The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.

The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.

Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.

Egypt 

A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.

Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties