Guidelines for those with revoked ‘valuable services' citizenships
A supreme commission for nationality has revoked the citizenship of at least 37,000 naturalized Kuwaitis in a drive that began some 15 months ago. The ministry has not given a specific number for 'valuable services' recipients who were stripped of their citizenship, but are believed to be in the thousands.
The ministry said in a detailed statement that denaturalized 'valuable services' people can use the Kuwaiti passport for four months starting July 20 or from the date of revocation of their citizenship. It added that members of this group must start procedures to reclaim nationality and passports from their previous country and the process must be completed within one year from the date of losing citizenship. Ultimately, they must produce a passport to be able to have a residency permit in Kuwait as a foreigner.
The ministry insisted that members of the group must prove they have started the process within three months of losing Kuwaiti citizenship, otherwise the ministry will cancel all benefits enjoyed by them. The ministry said that members of this group will continue to retain their jobs in the government and state-owned companies on the basis of contracts to be issued by the Civil Service Commission, provided they will not be entitled to occupy senior or supervisory jobs. They will continue to enjoy the right to free education in schools and universities, including post-graduate studies that they had started while Kuwaitis.
They will also retain external and domestic scholarships granted to them when they were citizens, the ministry statement said. Members of the group will retain ownership to at least one house in the country while those who have more than one house because of marrying more than one wife will continue to own those houses. All houses must be used for private residency only.
The ministry statement said that members of the group will continue to benefit from government houses granted to them when they were citizens, but they must return all money received from the government to build those houses within one to two years from the date of losing citizenship. Members of the group can also continue to sponsor domestic helpers and own vehicles in accordance with laws.
But the ministry stressed that 'valuable services' people who had their citizenship revoked will not be able to own government-leased properties like chalets and stables, in addition to industrial and agricultural land plots, and will have five years to transfer them to a first-degree relative within five years, provided the relative is Kuwaiti. Members of the group however have five years to sell or grant their commercial, investment and industrial real estate owned when they were citizens.
Such benefits will be abolished immediately if members of the group are convicted in court in cases of honor, dishonesty, state security crimes or abusing the Almighty, prophets or HH the Amir. They will also lose the benefits if they fail to reclaim their original passport, the interior ministry warned.
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