A DNA test has exposed a multi-generational nationality forgery dating to 1985, prompting Kuwaiti authorities to revoke citizenship from 42 individuals including children and grandchildren, according to Arab Times on January 9. The case surfaced during a systematic audit by the Nationality Investigations Department of old files marked by inconsistencies, beginning with a lineage claim from a Syrian woman in Beirut that eventually dismantled an entire fabricated family record. Investigators referred the matter to the Supreme Nationality Committee, which ruled to strip the fraudulent grants after DNA evidence confirmed no biological ties to the listed relatives.
Arab Times reported that the investigation originated in 2019 when a 21-year-old Syrian woman applied through the Kuwaiti Embassy in Lebanon claiming to be the daughter of a deceased Kuwaiti citizen born in 1950. DNA samples from the woman and her Syrian mother were compared with those from children already registered under the deceased man’s file, confirming his paternity beyond doubt. Yet incomplete documentation prevented her official registration at the time, a detail that later prompted deeper scrutiny of the full nationality file during the department’s review.
The deceased man had entered Kuwait and received citizenship in 1985, according to records cited by Arab Times, despite his birth year of 1950 raising questions about the legitimacy of his original application. Examination of his family details showed he had married three Syrian women, two residing in Kuwait and one in Syria, a pattern that further heightened suspicions among investigators. The newspaper noted that this unusual marital history formed part of the accumulating red flags that expanded the probe beyond the initial claim.
Men listed as the deceased’s brothers on the citizenship file denied any relationship when summoned, telling authorities that their father had falsely added the man as a son with no actual familial connection, Arab Times reported. DNA testing between these individuals and the deceased man’s children confirmed the absence of any biological link, aligning with the brothers’ statements. Further comparisons established that the man had seven legitimate children while an eighth son had been fraudulently inserted into the records.
DNA analysis between the legitimate children and offspring of the added eighth son proved no relation, solidifying the fraud according to the Arab Times account of the committee’s findings. The Supreme Nationality Committee subsequently revoked the primary individual’s citizenship along with all derivative grants, affecting a total of 42 people. Legal steps are now in progress to finalize the revocations under applicable Kuwaiti regulations.
This instance forms part of an intensified nationwide review of nationality records that Kuwaiti media reported had led to the revocation of nearly 50,000 citizenships in 2025 alone. Additional decrees published in the official gazette in 2026 have stripped a further 2,000 or more individuals under similar fraud and forgery provisions, according to multiple outlets including The New Arab. The Supreme Committee for Nationality Affairs has overseen the campaign, which incorporates DNA verification to resolve disputed lineages in older files.
Reports from New Lines Magazine place the cumulative impact of the revocations since early 2024 at over 50,000 people, with effects extending to entire families and contributing to new cases of statelessness. The Nationality Investigations Department continues to examine files for inconsistencies as part of this ongoing effort, authorities have indicated through published decisions. Kuwaiti law permits such withdrawals when citizenship was obtained through false statements or fabricated relationships.
