The Supreme Committee for Kuwaiti Citizenship Verification approved the withdrawal of citizenship from six individuals under decision No. 17/96 of 2026, according to the text published in the Official Gazette Kuwait Al Youm. First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah, who chairs the committee, issued the measure on September 3, 2026. The decision rests on Article 11 of Amiri Decree No. 15 of 1959 concerning the Kuwaiti Citizenship Law and its amendments. It instructed all concerned authorities to enforce the revocation, which took effect immediately upon publication in the gazette.
The Official Gazette Kuwait Al Youm listed the six whose citizenship certificates were cancelled as Muzna Ali Ayed Al-Wazhan, Bakhita Ali Ayed Al-Wazhan, Khazna Nashi Abdullah Badah Al-Otaibi, Reham Jassim Khalil Abdullah Al-Qattan, Amira Nasser Eid Nasser Al-Mutairi and Sarah Mohammed Abdullah Al-Turki Al-Mulaifi. The decree also extends to any who obtained Kuwaiti nationality through dependency on those named, the published decision stated. This action forms one element of the committee’s systematic review of citizenship records to ensure conformity with legal standards.
Kuwait has pursued several similar reviews during 2026, resulting in multiple decrees that revoked nationality in batches ranging from single figures to hundreds. The official gazette carried six additional decrees in early October 2026 that together addressed 415 principal cases, Gulf News reported at the time. One of those October decrees alone withdrew citizenship from 286 people plus their dependents, while another specifically targeted 14 women.
The nationality law permits such revocations when evidence emerges of irregularities in how citizenship was originally granted, although the September decision did not elaborate on individual grounds. The Supreme Committee operates as the primary body overseeing verification processes, with the interior minister holding ultimate approval authority on its recommendations. A comparable large-scale review in 2025 affected nearly 50,000 people, according to regional coverage of the citizenship policy.
Government departments must now update all official records to reflect the change in status for those affected, a step that bars them from citizen-only benefits including certain public-sector jobs and subsidies. The process aligns with long-standing policy aimed at preserving the integrity of Kuwaiti nationality rolls amid demographic pressures. Publication in the official gazette ensures the decision carries the force of public record and allows for immediate implementation across institutions.
Further decrees issued later in September and throughout October demonstrated the committee’s continued activity, with each following the same legal pathway under the 1959 amiri decree and its updates. The interior ministry holds responsibility for executing these measures and notifying the individuals involved. Kuwaiti authorities have maintained that all cases undergo thorough examination before revocation.
