Kuwaiti Wives Can Travel This Summer Using Old Passports

Post by : Bianca Suleiman

The Interior Ministry of Kuwait made an important announcement on Thursday. They said that thousands of foreign women, who were married to Kuwaiti men and later became Kuwaiti citizens, can travel abroad this summer—even though their Kuwaiti citizenship was cancelled last year.

These women can still use their Kuwaiti passports to travel outside Kuwait from June 1 to September 30. But to use this travel option, they must start getting back the passport of their original country. They must show proof that they have begun this process through their country’s embassy in Kuwait.

In the past year, Kuwait canceled the citizenship of over 29,000 women. These women had become Kuwaiti citizens after marrying Kuwaiti men since the year 1987. The government said that there was a legal mistake in giving them Kuwaiti citizenship.

Now, the ministry says that these women have one year, starting from June 1, to get back their original nationality. They must begin the process within the first three months, which means by August 31.

Once they get their original country’s passport, they will be given a residency visa in Kuwait. After that, they will get new civil ID cards. These cards will show their new nationality and mention that they will be treated like Kuwaiti citizens in most ways.

The ministry also said that these women can still complain about their lost Kuwaiti citizenship. A special committee will look at their complaints.

But the ministry gave a clear warning—women must start the process of returning to their original nationality to get any government help or benefits. This step is very important.

In short, even though these women lost their Kuwaiti citizenship, they can still travel this summer and live in Kuwait if they take the right steps on time.