At least 50,000 people, and as many as 200,000, have lost their Kuwaiti citizenship in just 16 months during an ongoing crackdown.
The denaturalisations in the Gulf state began in September 2024 after the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who came to power in 2023, suspended parliament and key articles of the constitution related to citizenship.
The new legislation was aimed at “cleaning up” fraud within the nationality register, and the Emir promised in a speech in March to “deliver Kuwait to its original people clean and free from impurities”.