By Gamal Essam El-Din<\/p>\n
Kamal Amer, head of the Egyptian parliament’s defence and national security committee, told reporters that the committee has finished debating the amendment of two laws aimed at regulating Egyptian nationality (law 26\/1975), and the residence of foreigners in Egypt (89\/1960).<\/p>\n
“Article 17 of the first law will be amended to state that foreigners who will be allowed to have residence in Egypt are the ones who have a special stay permit, a normal stay permit, and a temporary stay permit,” said Amer, “but the amended Article 17 will make it no longer possible for foreigners who stay under a banking account to have a permit.”<\/p>\n
Amer, in a statement to reporters on Monday night, also indicated that the amendment of the nationality laws stipulates that Egyptian nationality be granted under certain conditions.<\/p>\n
“It can be granted for the first time against payment of a certain amount of money,” said Amer, adding that the “prime minister will be the one authorised with deciding whether a foreigner who bought state-owned or private property or set up an investment project in line with the rules of the investment law, or deposited a certain amount of money in foreign currency in a local bank, can be granted Egyptian nationality.”<\/p>\n