‘No Saudi child in refugee camp’

Saudi embassy says child lives in Amman and Saudi father is in contact with consulate

Saudi Arabia has denied reports that a Saudi child was living with his Syrian mother in the Zaatari refugee camp, a sprawling mass of tents in northern Jordan for around 80,000 Syrians who had fled their war-torn country.

Media platforms have reported the presence of the child with his mother in the camp located near the JordanSyrian borders.

However, the Saudi embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman said the reports were not true.

“The child and his nonSaudi mother live in Amman, and his father is in regular contacts with the embassy,” the diplomatic mission said in a statement carried by Saudi daily Okaz on Sunday.

“The father married his Syrian wife without obtaining the required permission from the competent Saudi authorities. Under the Saudi system, the son cannot enter Saudi Arabia.”

Strict rules

The embassy added that the possibility for the child’s mother to enter Saudi Arabia was within the prerogatives of the Ministry of Interior.

Saudi Arabia has strict rules about mixed marriages and Saudi nationals need special permission to take non-Saudi spouses.

In October, a 17-point requirement list was issued to govern the marriages of Saudis with foreigners.

Under the rules, a Saudi man has to be between 40 and 65 years old to be able to marry a non-Saudi woman, and a Saudi woman has to be between 30 and 55 if she wants to take a non-Saudi husband.

A Saudi man has to make at least 3,000 Saudi riyals (Dh2,935) a month and to have an adequate house or apartment to have his mixed marriage approved.