Foreigners may become Jordanian nationals by naturalization after meeting a minimum residence requirement (usually four years) and demonstrating knowledge in the Arabic language.

Jordan gained independence in 1946 but the dissolution of the mandate for Palestine in 1948 and ensuing conflict led to the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank.

[5] The area nominally remained an Ottoman territory following the conclusion of the war until 1922, when the United Kingdom obtained a League of Nations mandate for Palestine, which included Transjordan.

[6] The terms of the mandate allowed Britain to exclude its application on certain parts of the region; this exclusion was exercised on the territory east of the Jordan River,[7] where the Emirate of Transjordan was established.

Any person who acquired Transjordanian nationality by birth could also voluntarily relinquish that status within one year of reaching the age of majority.

[13] Standard regulations in the British Empire at the time strictly complied with the doctrine of coverture, where a woman's consent to marry a foreigner was also assumed to be intent to denaturalize.

There were two exceptions to this: wives who had acquired or lost Transjordanian nationality through their marriage could elect to relinquish or reacquire that status within two years of their husbands' deaths or if they had ceased to be married.

King Abdullah I's objective in quickly incorporating the Palestinian population into Jordanian institutions was to secure a vote in parliament calling for the unification of the East and West Banks.

[21] Palestinian dissatisfaction at the outcome and a perception that the King collaborated with Israel to fulfill his territorial ambitions led to his assassination in 1951.

[24] This provision explicitly excluded any Jewish person who might have otherwise qualified to become Jordanian under the 1949 grant of nationality to Palestinians and served as a rejection of Revisionist Zionist claims to both sides of the Jordan River.

After receiving approval from the Minister of Interior, they were required to renounce their previous nationality and swear an oath of allegiance to the Jordanian monarch.

[10] However, Jordanians who intended to naturalize in another Arab country became able to do so without Cabinet approval while those who wished to in a non-Arab state were still required to obtain permission.

[25] A further definition for an "expatriate" was also detailed in this legislation to mean any Arab born in Jordan or the "usurped part of Palestine" who left the country, as well as their descendants.

No elaboration is provided on the meaning of the "usurped part of Palestine" but left open the possibility of making residents of the Gaza Strip Jordanian nationals.

[31] Despite government victory and King Hussein's attempts to mend ties between Transjordanians and Palestinians, the conflict led to an eventual permanent fracture between the two groups and failure of a pan-Jordanian identity.

[34] After the start of the First Intifada in December 1987, widespread popular support for the PLO led King Hussein to announce a full disengagement from the West Bank and the removal of all administrative and legal ties to the region,[36][37] describing his decision as supportive of the Palestinian people's desire to secede from Jordan and to form a separate state.

Because regulations concerning nationality loss resulting from the West Bank withdrawal have never been enacted in legislation, the method of determining whether an individual is Palestinian is legally ambiguous.

[43] Government officials have portrayed the disengagement as a way of halting Israeli settlement of the West Bank by preventing further displacement of Palestinians from the territory.

Despite Jordan's accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1980, it has opted out of treaty provisions that guarantee equal citizenship rights.

Candidates could invest in industrial sectors of the economy (other than real estate and stocks) through a US$500,000 deposit with the Central Bank of Jordan that created or maintained at least 10 jobs for local Jordanians.

Investors could make a five-year deposit at the Central Bank of at least US$1.5 million, purchase Jordanian bonds of an equivalent amount, or hold domestic securities of the same value.

In this version of the program, investors can make a three-year deposit at the Central Bank of at least US$1 million and must also purchase Jordanian bonds of an equivalent amount to be held for six years.

Another option is to hold domestic securities valued at least US$1 million and also invest US$750,000 in small and medium Jordanian businesses for at least three years.

Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in the Arabic language, fulfill a good character requirement, show intent to permanently reside in Jordan, and hold positions in occupations that do not compete with Jordanians.

The Cabinet of Jordan has absolute discretion in approving or denying a grant of naturalization, and may additionally waive the residence requirement for Arab applicants or under exceptional circumstances that benefit the state.

Jordanian nationality may be involuntarily removed from persons who: enlist in a foreign military without obtaining prior government permission, take employment in a foreign civil service, enter government service of an enemy state, frauduently acquired naturalization, or willfully perform overt acts against national security.