Kuwait Approves Sweeping Citizenship Law Amendments Stripping Naturalised Citizens of Political Rights

Kuwait’s cabinet has officially approved a draft law amending the country’s citizenship regulations to strip naturalised citizens of the right to vote, run for office, or be appointed to any elected body, according to the state-run news agency reports released on Tuesday.

Under the newly proposed amendments, citizenship may be revoked if a person deliberately adds someone who is not their child or descendant to their citizenship file, or to that of another person, provided this is established by the Supreme Committee for Kuwaiti Citizenship Investigation or through a final court ruling. In such cases, the citizenship of the individual's children or descendants may also be revoked if investigations prove they had prior knowledge of the addition.

The cabinet approved this draft decree-law amending provisions of the 1959 Kuwaiti Citizenship Law during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al Sabah. These latest measures form a core part of Kuwait's ongoing review of citizenship files, a stringent campaign that has already resulted in the revocation of thousands of nationalities over the past two years. Notably, in June, Kuwait revoked the citizenship of 2,192 people.

Furthermore, the draft law introduces an official electronic Kuwaiti citizenship certificate. This digital document, to be issued by the Interior Minister, will possess the exact same legal validity and effect as traditional paper citizenship. Following the meeting, the cabinet officially referred the draft decree-law to Emir Sheikh Meshal.

As part of a sweeping review of nationality files where officials assert that “no one exempt,” Kuwait revoked the citizenship of almost 50,000 people. These regulatory actions unfold within a demographic context where Kuwaitis remain a minority in their own country, accounting for about 1.5 million citizens within a total population of approximately 4.5 million residents, making citizenship a highly prized status.