SAHNI ARTICLE 3.3.21 (WORD) (DO NOT DELETE)
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conditional renewal.229 Palestinian individuals were permitted to enter and
reside in Kuwait if they held Jordanian passports or mere travel documents
from Egypt or other States.230 Many fled Kuwait during and after the Gulf
War.231 Kuwait chose not to renew the residence permits of individual
Palestinians and nationals of other countries who had left or remained on
Kuwaiti territory.232
Prior to the Gulf War, Kuwait ensured a degree of financial and political
stability even though it has never guaranteed nationality rights to expatriates.
It does not extend citizenship on a jus soli basis to foreigners.
Article 2 of the Nationality Law of Kuwait, 1959233
Any person born in, or outside, Kuwait whose father is a Kuwaiti national
shall be a Kuwaiti national himself.
Thus, Article 2 explicitly makes clear that foreign nationals are not
entitled to Kuwaiti citizenship. All locally and non-locally born expatriates
have a guest residence status throughout their stay in the State. For these
“Article 9: Every foreigner wishing to reside in Kuwait must obtain a residence permit from the
Head of the Police & Public Security Department.
Article 11: Every foreigner wishing to reside in Kuwait must obtain a residence permit from the
Head of the Police & Public Security Department.
Article 12: A foreign national may obtain a regular residence permit for a period that does not
exceed 5 years as long as his passport is valid for the length of that period. Once the permit
expires, s/he must leave the country, unless a request to renew the permit was submitted one
month before its expiry. If the request is denied then s/he must leave within one week of being
notified of the denial if the permit has already expired.”
Article 16: The Head of the Police & Public Security Departments may issue a written
deportation order for any expatriate even if s/he holds a valid residence permit in any of the
following situations
1. If a judgment was issued from court for the deportation of the expatriate.
2. If the expatriate has no means of living.
3. Deportation can be issued in cases of violation of public order, public security or public
morality.
Article 19: An expatriate who has been deported may not return to Kuwait unless special
permission is obtained from the office of the Minister of Interior in Kuwait.”
229.
Id.
230.
Nowhere To Go: The Tragedy Of The Remaining Palestinian Families In Kuwait,
MIDDLE EAST WATCH, October 23, 1991, at 1, 3-6.; Jamil Hilal, Assessing the Impact of
Migration on Palestinian Society in the West Bank and Gaza, 2007/02, EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE RSCAS, EUROPEAN INSTITUTE, FLORENCE: ROBERT SCHUMAN CENTRE FOR
ADVANCED STUDIES, 16 n.36 (2007).
231.
Sarah Adamczyk, Undocumented and Stateless: The Palestinian Population Registry
and Access to Residency and Identity Documents in the Gaza Strip, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE
COUNCIL 10, 56 (Jan. 2012)
232.
Id. at 38-39, 56; PEACE TO PROSPERITY: A VISION TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF THE
PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI PEOPLE (Jan. 2020), https://www.un.org/unispal/document/peaceto-prosperity-a-vision-to-improve-the-lives-of-the-palestinian-and-israeli-people-usgovernment-peace-plan/
233.
Ministerial Decree No. 15 of 1959 (Nationality Law), Last amended by: Law No. 33
of 2004 (effective June 27, 2004) (Kuwait).