Kuwait’s Supreme Committee for Kuwaiti Nationality, chaired by Sheikh Fahd Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah, revoked citizenship in several cases of dual citizenship violations and fraud on January 8, 2026 and referred the decisions to the Council of Ministers for approval, Arab Times reported. The move continues a sweeping review of nationality cases that, according to New Lines Magazine, had affected more than 71,000 individuals by mid-April 2026.
Arab Times reported that the Supreme Committee for Kuwaiti Nationality examined multiple files during its regular session and determined that some individuals had lost their Kuwaiti nationality by acquiring a second citizenship in breach of applicable legal provisions. The committee also ordered the withdrawal of nationality certificates in instances where verification processes uncovered fraud, false statements or forgery. Al-Sabah, who serves as first deputy prime minister and interior minister, presided over the meeting that produced these recommendations for cabinet endorsement.
A New Lines Magazine report published April 17, 2026 placed the cumulative total of revoked cases at over 71,059 as of April 15 that year, equivalent to roughly 4.6 percent of Kuwait’s citizen population of 1.545 million. The publication drew on data compiled by the Newsroom Initiative, an independent Gulf media tracker that monitors official gazette decrees. Earlier figures from France 24 showed nearly 42,000 revocations had already occurred by March 2025, illustrating the accelerated pace of the review that began in 2024.
Kuwaiti nationality law, which dates to 1959 and was amended by decree in December 2024 to incorporate DNA testing among verification tools, prohibits dual nationality for naturalised citizens. A European University Institute analysis released in February 2026 noted that the legislation requires those granted citizenship to renounce any previous nationality within a defined period. The Supreme Committee applies these standards when re-examining files, according to multiple accounts of its mandate.
The campaign has focused on several categories, including naturalised individuals, those who obtained citizenship through marriage under Article 8 of the law and descendants of affected persons. Central Statistical Bureau data cited in various reports places Kuwait’s total citizen population near 1.5 million, providing the baseline against which the scale of revocations is measured. Government announcements have typically published batches of decisions in the official gazette Kuwait Al-Youm following cabinet approval.
Further meetings of the Supreme Committee for Kuwaiti Nationality continued into 2026, with one session in February resulting in additional revocations for dual citizenship, forgery and actions deemed contrary to state interests, a government portal statement indicated. By June 2026 the cumulative impact, including family members who lose derivative citizenship, had prompted estimates from academics cited by New Lines Magazine that the final affected number could reach several times the publicly announced figures. The committee’s process involves systematic file reviews that continue to identify discrepancies in original applications.
