‘Government keen on implementing regulations serving children of Jordanian women married to foreigners’

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad on Monday affirmed that the regulations issued by the Cabinet concerning providing services to children of Jordanian women married to foreigners will be “applied to the letter”.

At a meeting with members of the Lower House’s Mubadara bloc, Hammad described the regulations as a “right” for Jordanian women and their children, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister added that an ombudsman office at the Interior Ministry has been set up to receive complaints and notes on the regulations to be then followed up on and implemented immediately in cooperation with the concerned agencies, according to Petra.

Responding to MPs’ complaints about the delay and bureaucracy in implementing the regulations, Hammad stressed that his ministry will send official memos to all concerned departments to remove all obstacles hindering the implementation of the regulations.

Presenting a briefing on the progress achieved in this direction, Civil Status and Passports Department Director Marwan Qteishat said 48,535 identification cards for children of Jordanian women married to foreigners have been issued since the beginning of the year.

He also put the number of children of Jordanian women married to foreigners as 49,420 who hold various nationalities, according to Petra.

The IDs help their holders obtain driving licences and benefit from other government services such as free healthcare and education, as well as being able to obtain work permits, own property and invest in Jordan.

The privileges are granted to the sons and daughters of Jordanian women provided that their mothers have been residing in Jordan for a minimum of five years, including 180 days every year, Qteishat said in previous remarks to The Jordan Times.

Under the law, Jordanian women cannot pass on their nationality to their spouses or children.