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Kuwait: New Residency Rules for Individuals with Withdrawn Citizenship

Times Kuwait, 6 September 2026: The Ministry of Interior has issued Kuwait Decision No. 1410/2026 amending the executive regulations of the Kuwait Decree-Law No. 114/2024 on the Foreigners' Residence Law, creating new residency provisions for people whose Kuwaiti citizenship has been withdrawn and who have rectified their status by returning to their original nationality or acquiring another nationality.

The new rules apply to two groups: individuals whose Kuwaiti citizenship was withdrawn by decree and who reverted to a foreign nationality, and dependents who acquired Kuwaiti citizenship through association with a person whose citizenship was withdrawn, and who have since returned to their original nationality.

Eligible individuals may be granted a regular residence permit for up to ten years, with conditions and renewal procedures determined by the Director General of the General Department of Residency Affairs. They may also work in Kuwait subject to applicable controls.

The decision exempts these residents from the standard six‑month limit on staying outside Kuwait. Categories excluded from this limit include children of Kuwaiti women without citizenship through marriage, property owners, investors under Kuwait Law No. 116/2013, and residents under the new Article 7 bis. Permission for longer stays abroad may be granted if the residence permit remains valid.

Domestic workers remain subject to a four‑month limit outside Kuwait unless they obtain prior permission from the Residency Affairs Department.

Residency fees are waived for individuals under Article 7 bis, but family members are subject to annual fees: 10 dinars per year for spouses, children, mothers, and fathers, and 300 dinars per year for other relatives. These provisions also apply to Gulf nationals whose Kuwaiti citizenship was withdrawn and who returned to their original nationality. Domestic workers sponsored by eligible families are subject to the same fee rules.

In effect, the decision creates a ten‑year residency route for people who lost Kuwaiti citizenship, exempts them from annual fees, and places them among categories allowed to remain abroad beyond six months, while setting clear fee structures for family members and domestic workers.

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