There was one more added item to the article, that allowed granting
nationality to children of a Kuwaiti national from a foreign husband,
if the husband died or was held as a hostage, or if he divorced the
mother. Another item was added that allows for naturalisation of illegal
residents if they were residents in Kuwait before 1965, along with their
dependents.
There was also an added article to mandate an annual limit to the number
of eligible persons that can be naturalised, instead of a percentage,
which started with 50 persons a year and went up to 4,000 a year. The
amendments created a contradiction, as the naturalisation of dependents
of Kuwaiti fathers has also been stated in Article 2 of the Law, which
duplicates that article.
However, naturalised Kuwaitis are unable to participate in voting or
serve as candidates for 30 years based on Article 7 of the Law. The
amendment is in violation of the Kuwaiti constitution which mandates
granting rights for all persons born as Kuwaitis.
This continuous revision of the Nationality Law, according to the Kuwaiti
researcher in development and citizenship, Alia Al-Khaled, is caused by
reasons other than improving the Law and access to justice. For instance,
Article 6 that prohibited voting for naturalised Kuwaitis or their Kuwaiti
children, was a political response to the random naturalisation of
foreigners to gain more voters by candidates for political positions at
the time. (4)
The most recent modification of the Kuwaiti Nationality Law of 2024,
carried out by the Kuwaiti Minister of Interior, Fahad Al-Youssef, who
is tasked by the Kuwaiti Emir to implement the massive stripping of
nationality from thousands of citizens, is also ambiguous and do not
fare well in improving the Law or justice. (5) The Emir of Kuwait, in a
televised statement, stated that social security is paramount and should
be addressed by revoking nationality from those who obtained it by
fraud or those with dual nationality. (6)
(4) https://x.com/afalkhaled/status/1874870309318447413?s=46
(5) https://www.aljarida.com/article/85266
(6) http://x.com/ASA_ALJBRE/status/1877141005243453660
11
Kuwait: Amendments to Kuwaiti Nationality Law
pose serious threats to human rights