The Kuwaiti government has been revoking citizenship from its people, and it’s causing a lot of concern and debate. Since May 2024, when Kuwait’s new Emir suspended parliament and parts of the constitution by decree, a large-scale campaign of nationality deprivation has followed — one unlike anything the country has seen in its modern history. By April 2026, the official number of people stripped of citizenship had reached more than 71,000. That figure does not even include the wives and descendants of those individuals who could also lose citizenship through these actions, with some estimates suggesting the total number of people affected could reach as high as 20% of all citizens. This is not just a legal story — it is a human one, with real families watching their lives unravel in real time.
For Kuwaiti citizens, the government offers a wide range of benefits, including free healthcare, education, housing assistance, pensions, and access to public sector jobs, making it one of the most valuable citizenships in the Gulf region. The revocations are being carried out under Kuwait’s Nationality Law, particularly amendments approved in recent years that expanded the government’s authority to withdraw citizenship in a wider range of situations. The government says the campaign is intended to remove citizenship that was obtained fraudulently, strengthen national identity, and address internal security concerns.
But according to the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, the revocations have mainly affected women who obtained citizenship through marriage, people holding prohibited dual citizenship, and a number of well-known public figures, artists, and diplomats. The organization also says the process has been carried out with limited transparency and without meaningful opportunities for those affected to challenge the decisions in court. Those stripped of Kuwaiti citizenship can lose identification documents, legal access to employment, pensions, and state healthcare. Some have also reported having their driver’s licenses invalidated and bank accounts restricted. The consequences do not stop with the individual. Under broad administrative authority, revocations have also extended to family members, meaning children and dependents may lose citizenship when a parent is stripped of it.
Human rights organizations, including Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), argue that Kuwait’s expanding use of citizenship revocation, combined with restrictions on free expression, is discouraging dissent and weakening civil society. DAWN contends that some nationality revocations and related prosecutions have targeted individuals because of their political views or public criticism of the government rather than solely because of nationality fraud. The Kuwaiti government disputes such criticism and maintains that the campaign is aimed at protecting the integrity of the country’s nationality system and addressing fraud and security concerns.
