Abu Dhabi: Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Interior Minister, has issued instructions to recommend the granting of UAE citizenship to Hassan Abdul Rahman, a government employee.

Instructions were issued on Monday to the consultative committee of the Interior Ministry to prepare a memo recommending his naturalisation, Shaikh Saif said.

The positive attitude of Abdul Rahman, who has no citizenship status, and his attempt to solve his problem could only be met with praise, he said.

"The positive move by Hassan to amend his legal status and reside legally in the country shows his respect for society and the law, as well as his good intentions and honest wish to abide by the law," Shaikh Saif said in a statement.

He said the ministry encourages any solutions or efforts that leads to amending the legal status of residents and curbing illegal residency.

Shaikh Saif stressed the leadership's keen follow-up of human developments on local, regional and international levels, which supports the growth and development march and helps achieve social security and stability.

Abdul Rahman, earlier told an Arabic daily about his efforts to acquire legal residency in the UAE after obtaining a Comoros Islands passport.

Brigadier Maktoum Al Sharifi, head of the committee tasked with following up the affairs of people without documents to prove their identity, said the committee confirmed that Hassan did not have a criminal record, had lived continuously in the country and had a citizenship that may be exchanged for UAE citizenship.

He highlighted the importance of cooperation by people with a similar status to amend their legal status in the best interests of society.