Introduction
It was but a month or two ago that the possibility of non-Muslims being able to obtain citizenship in Kuwait was being considered in the country. The country does have a citizenship law which was initially published in 1959, though it has received numerous edits and alterations through the years.
In more recent years, the idea has been that to obtain citizenship, an individual either must have a mother who is Kuwaiti, along with smaller requirements such as the knowledge of the Arabic language and a legal line of work to name a few of the conditions. Other than this, individuals who spend long periods working within the country, or make significant economic contributions within the nations may have the ability to obtain citizenship. However, one key element that was required was that one would have to be a Muslim to get the citizenship.
Parliaments Decision
The question recently was of whether a change would be made to the Muslim requirement, and thus considerably widen the pool of potential people who can become citizens.
The Kuwaiti Interior and Defence Committee recently decided against making this change. There was much progress made towards making the transition a reality, though conservative and Islamic lawmakers stood firmly against it which held sway in the end. As such, for the time, Non-Muslims will be unable to become Citizens of Kuwait through any means.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
