Kuwait – Kuwaiti authorities issued a series of decrees and decisions on Sunday to withdraw Kuwaiti citizenship from 65 people, in addition to those who acquired it through dependency, as part of the ongoing campaign to audit and review national identity files.
Details of the four decrees
The official gazette “Kuwait Today” published the details of the decisions, which were distributed as follows:
The first decree: stipulated the withdrawal of citizenship from 54 people.
The second and third decrees included the withdrawal of citizenship from two people in each decree (a total of 4 people).
The fourth decree included the withdrawal of citizenship from one person.
Cabinet decision: Stipulated the withdrawal of the “citizenship certificate” from 6 people.
Reasons for the decision and the legal basis
This move is based on the laws regulating Kuwaiti citizenship and is part of the procedures undertaken by the relevant authorities to ensure the integrity of naturalization files. These reviews aim to identify cases that do not meet the legal requirements or those tainted by forgery or fraud.
Context of the ongoing campaign
For several months, Kuwait has been undergoing a widespread review of citizenship files, resulting in the revocation of citizenship from tens of thousands of individuals found to have acquired it illegally, or from those previously granted it under the “distinguished service” clause whose cases were subsequently reviewed. In this regard, the Ministry of Interior had previously established clear guidelines for dealing with those whose citizenship was revoked (under the “distinguished service” clause), outlining the instructions, benefits granted to them, and the conditions under which these benefits could be suspended, to ensure the regularization of their legal status after the revocation.
