Over 4,000 Syrians, Chinese and French ask for Algerian nationality

Number of demanders of Algerian nationality increased last year to 4,000 applications that were filed by foreign national who seek stability in Algeria, as the Chinese, Syrians, Libyans and Egyptians are top of the list, while jurists unanimously agree that the exploitation of Article IV of the Nationality Law, which contributed significantly to the increase of the number of naturalization applications, which reached record levels.

A source at the services of naturalization at the Justice Ministry told Echorouk, that the rate of demanders of Algerian nationality increased, in the last three years, compared with the past years, as the number of naturalization applications reached nearly 8000.

“According to available data that is available to the services of naturalization at the level of the Justice Ministry, the nationals that chose Algeria as their country, the Chinese come at the first degree, and then Africans joined them recently, especially after the deterioration of the situation in this country, and Egyptians, Tunisians, Palestinians and Iraqis, who mostly reside in Algeria since more than 4 years.”

National Center for Research in Applied Development Economics, which has contributed in several reports that was prepared by the International Bureau to work on immigration in the Mediterranean, revealed that the number of foreigners who live in Algeria is increasing because of the opportunities that are offered by the Algerian market, and the stability.

“According to the French official data, the number of French who live in Algeria have dual Algerian nationality, which was the equivalent of 8,000 people in 2000, which doubled four times in 2008 by reaching around 47,000 naturalized person, bringing the number in 2012 to 50,000 naturalized French of Algerian nationality, before reaching in 2014 to 70,000 naturalized with Algerian nationality.”

As for the naturalization procedures, the accredited lawyer Boudjemaa Ghachir told Echorouk, that the Nationality Law in Algeria requires for applicants of citizenship two principle conditions, namely the actual residence in Algeria, for more than three years, and that the nationality applicants should have a constant income.

“Article IV in the Citizenship Act 2005, was exploited by many foreigners, including even those who escape from the criminal prosecutions against them, from their countries of origin, especially the countries that did not sign agreements with in the judicial field, in order to obtain the Algerian citizenship, through marrying an Algerian woman, and the same thing for foreign women, especially Africans, who exploited Algerians through marrying with them.