Who truly belongs? The story of how Kuwait's citizenship crackdown is affecting thousands across the nation

In recent weeks, shockwaves have rippled across Kuwait following the government's decision to revoke citizenship as part of a campaign to 'clean up' the nationality register, triggering a wave of denaturalisations since early 2024 and impacting an increasing number of figures long regarded as integral to the country's public life.

At present, tens of thousands of people have been impacted, with the total number of individuals stripped of their citizenship now exceeding 35,000. Moreover, many more have been affected indirectly through dependency, pushing the overall impact to several times that figure, although the precise number of registered dependants is not known.

What is clear, however, is the scale and significance of the campaign, as seen in the list of prominent figures from across Kuwaiti society who have had their citizenship revoked thus far.

This list includes Shaykh Abdul-Rahman ibn Abdul-Khaliq, the founder of Kuwait's Salafi political movement, who died in 2020; national football team players Mouayad Al-Haddad, Fahad Al-Enezi, Hussain Hakem, and Adel Oqla; actor Dawood Hussain; singer Nawal El Kuwaitia; Rotana Group chief executive Salem Al Hendi; cardiac surgery consultant Dr Riyadh Al-Tarrazi; orthopaedic surgeon Dr Muthana Mithqal Sartawi; Islamic preacher Tareq Al-Suwaidan; former MP Mohammed Al-Mahan; and Barakat Hudaiban Al Rashidi, the owner of Al-Sabah TV channel and editor-in-chief of Al-Sabah newspaper.

Among the most recent and high-profile cases is the revocation of citizenship just two weeks ago, when Kuwait withdrew the nationality of its ambassador to the United Kingdom, Badr Mohammed Al-Awadhi. This decision drew international attention but was not the only one to resonate domestically.

Particular attention has also focused on cleric Ahmed Al-Tarabulsi, who, for years — particularly during the holy month of Ramadan — has been a familiar presence on state television delivering the call to prayer at sunset.

His public prominence as a cleric was preceded by a long and varied career in sports and the military. He was a familiar face for decades, having been a star goalkeeper for Kuwait's national football team during what is locally known as the "golden generation," when the team qualified for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain. He also held the rank of colonel in the Kuwaiti army.

The expanding scope of the campaign

The breadth of those affected by Kuwait's citizenship campaign highlights how its scope, which began in 2024 as a targeted effort to address alleged fraud within the nationality system, has steadily expanded into a far-reaching initiative.

Initially, the government's primary focus was to 'cleanse' the nationality file, specifically addressing issues with naturalisation records under the 1959 Nationality Law.

Under this law, individuals who were present in the country before 1920 are considered founding citizens, while those who acquired citizenship afterwards are classified as 'naturalised'. As a result, the campaign's early efforts concentrated on reviewing these naturalisation cases to ensure their accuracy and integrity.

As the campaign progressed, its scope expanded to include foreign wives of Kuwaiti men and individuals who had obtained citizenship through the 'exceptional services' clause. 

The provision, which allowed individuals to be granted citizenship based on significant contributions to Kuwait, was removed through amendments passed in December 2024, after having been used in cases where individuals had not been reviewed by citizenship committees or where naturalisation was granted for social or political reasons.

The widening review also extended to individuals from the stateless Bidoon community, as well as Arab figures who had been granted citizenship for their 'exceptional services' to Kuwait, including doctors, artists, and athletes. The campaign thus began impacting individuals who had once been seen as valued contributors to the country.

This expansion of the campaign became even more apparent on Sunday, 25 January 2026, when authorities issued four decrees revoking the nationality of 65 people, along with those who had acquired citizenship through dependency on them.

Among those affected were Abdulaziz Al-Suraie, a key figure in Kuwait's literary movement; Dr Yahya Al-Hadidi, the first Arab doctor to arrive in Kuwait; and former army brigadier Turki Al-Mutairi.

In light of these developments, Kuwaiti authorities have consistently described the nationality file as one of the country's most pressing challenges, with Interior Minister Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah emphasising that all nationality files are undergoing thorough scrutiny and stating, 'All of Kuwait is under review'.

An old file

While the current campaign to revoke Kuwaiti citizenship is unprecedented in its scale, it is not the first time the government has used this measure.

Over the years, authorities have revoked citizenship at various points in Kuwait's history, often in response to political and security concerns.

The first significant use of citizenship revocation occurred in the late 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, when groups like Iraq's Dawa Party and Lebanon's Hezbollah were accused of bombings in Kuwait due to the country's support for Iraq. The most notable incident was the 1985 bombing of the motorcade of the late Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

In the early 2000s, citizenship revocations targeted those accused of collaborating with the Iraqi army during its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, particularly individuals who supported the pro-Iraqi administration set up during the occupation.

The revocation measure was also used against figures with international ties, such as Al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith in 2002, and London-based Shia cleric Yasser Al-Habib in 2010, following his public attack and cursing of Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad.

However, the most intense period of revocations came after the opposition protests between 2011 and 2014, when authorities responded by stripping the citizenship of many political opponents. The 2014 government crackdown effectively ended the protest movement, with prominent figures such as former MP Abdullah Al-Barghash and journalist Saad bin Teflah al-Ajmi losing their citizenship.

That being said, some of these decisions were later reversed: Abdullah Al-Barghash had his citizenship reinstated in May 2017, followed by Nabil Al-Awadi, Saad, and others in October 2018.

The most recent reversals occurred in December 2023, when Ahmad Jabr and several others had their citizenship restored. However, those stripped of citizenship before the protests — particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s — have yet to see their cases revisited.

Ultimately, while each era has seen a different set of justifications for the measure, the current campaign stands as the largest and most sweeping in recent history, leaving many to question the long-term implications for Kuwaiti society.

As the government continues its crackdown, it remains to be seen whether more citizenships will be restored or if the campaign will expand even further — ushering in a new chapter of Kuwait's fraught relationship between its citizens and the state.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition, translated by Afrah Almatwari; to read the original, click here.