Emirati mother seeks citizenship for son left stateless in legal anomaly
▶ Greece’s refusal to recognise Islamic marriage in London an obstacle to obtaining passport
A bureaucratic anomaly has left a boy born to an Emirati mother and a Greek father without citizenship, putting his life in the UAE on hold until he can receive legal documents.
After years of trying to resolve the problem, the mother of Abdullah, 4, is appealing for help.
Esmat Rabi and her husband met while studying at a university in London and married at the London Central Mosque. They moved to the UAE in 2014, where they settled.
Their Islamic marriage was quickly recognised by the UAE government under Sharia, but when their son was born they ran into a problem.
Abdullah cannot take Emirati citizenship without first presenting citizenship from his father’s country and Greece has not granted the child a passport.
Greek law requires the child to be registered as born to married parents or born outside of wedlock before issuing citizenship.
The Greek government does not recognise religious wedding ceremonies such as the couple had.
In response, Greek authorities have asked that the UAE government provide paperwork declaring the child was born outside of marriage. But the UAE cannot do this because under local law, Abdullah’s parents were legally married.
“We’ve been pushing the past four years for a Greek passport but we’re just finding it’s a dead end,” Ms Rabi said. “It’s actually against European law for a European child to be without a passport. This is the child of a European citizen.”
Children born to Emirati mothers with foreign husbands are eligible for passports after the age of six, but without a passport from his father’s country, Abdullah cannot apply for a UAE passport.
Ms Rabi fears her son will miss out on an education if she does not pursue his documents now. She has an Emirati family book, a document that traces genealogical descent and is required to obtain Emirati citizenship.
Her marriage is registered in the UAE courts and attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in London.
A spokesman for the Director of Citizenship in Greece said that Ms Rabi’s husband “has been fully informed about the provisions of the Greek Law regarding citizenship and what kind of documents he needs to submit for his child to be lawfully registered as a Greek citizen”.
“So far he has not responded, that is why the problem remains unsolved,” the spokesman said. “We are always at his disposal in case he needs further clarification.”
Abdullah’s birth certificate from Latifah Hospital, stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, was among the documents submitted but they cannot obtain the required document that says they are unmarried.
UAE government authorities could not be reached for comment.
Without a passport, Ms Rabi’s son cannot enrol in school, receive health insurance in the UAE or travel.
At first he was eligible under her company’s healthcare policy based on his birth certificate, but government ID is now required for all insurance.
When Abdullah becomes ill, his parents must take him to costly private hospitals because public hospitals require non-insured patients to present ID. This summer, a stomach ache landed the family with a Dh1,000 bill.
“It just feels like my son’s life is on hold,” Ms Rabi said. “He’s a really bright kid. He’s getting older and he’s starting to realise that’s he’s missing out.
“He knows there’s a country with snow that he doesn’t see. He knows his grandparents are in Greece and the only way he sees them is when they come here twice a year. He’s missing out on life.”
In the meantime, all of the family’s plans are on hold.
“We don’t know what to do,” Ms Rabi said. “I would really love for my country to reach out and say, ‘OK, there is a child who is stateless and whose mother is Emirati and he’s born here’ – for them to see that there’s someone who’s here.”
She and her husband have travelled to Greece many times to try to resolve the issue but to no avail. They hope there is a way for the UAE authorities to help.
“The best scenario right now would be for him to get an Emirati passport,” Ms Rabi said. “I mean, he lives here, he’s born here. We’re not going to be moving to Greece. He says, ‘Dubai is my city’. That’s what he knows, you know?
“That is my hope and, as an Emirati myself, I would want my son to have an Emirati passport.”
We’ve been pushing for four years for a Greek passport but we’re finding it’s a dead end ESMAT RABI Emirati wife of Greek husband