ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Updated:

Thousands of people lost their Kuwaiti citizenship last week following amendments to the country’s 1959 citizenship law that impose new restrictions on naturalization, according to local media reports.

The amendments, under Amiri Decree No. (15), published in the Al-Kuwait Al-Youm gazette, requires newly naturalized citizens to renounce any other citizenship within three months. Reports indicate that 2,182 people have already lost their Kuwaiti nationality under the updated regulations.

Authorities have also broadened the criteria for revoking citizenship. Nationality can now be withdrawn in cases where false or forged information was submitted during the application process, following certain criminal convictions, particularly those related to national security, or where an individual’s actions are deemed harmful to public order or national interests.

Family members of those stripped of citizenship may also lose their Kuwaiti passports, though a limited window for appeals remains. Children of naturalized citizens are now considered naturalized citizens, rather than by origin, so they may choose in adulthood.

A voter holds his proof of Kuwaiti citizenship upon arriving at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Kuwait City on June 6, 2023.
A voter holds his proof of Kuwaiti citizenship upon arriving at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Kuwait City on June 6, 2023. (credit: Yasser al-Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images)

The latest move is part of a broader overhaul that began in 2024, since which at least 70,000 people have reportedly been stripped of their citizenship, according to the American publication New Lines Magazine.

Kuwaiti citizens are entitled to numerous state benefits

Kuwaiti citizens are entitled to extensive state benefits, including free healthcare, unemployment allowances, and guaranteed employment. They also receive subsidized housing and exemptions from various fees, according to The Media Line. In addition, member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council grant GCC citizens comparable rights and benefits, meaning the loss of citizenship can have significant consequences beyond Kuwait itself.

Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef, also raised concerns that there were reports of public officials, including members of the judiciary, involved in citizenship forgery or violations, according to Times Kuwait.