Nationality remains open to expat wives

This news has been read 6569 times!

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 8: Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Residency Affairs at Ministry of Interior Major General Sheikh Mazen Al-Jarrah has denied that issuance of citizenship for the expatriate wives of Kuwaiti citizens has been halted, affirming that those who meet the allotted conditions for obtaining nationality, such as married to Kuwaiti men for more than five years and having children from the union, will be considered for naturalization, reports Al-Kuwaitiah daily.

He also denied that the issuance of Article 17 passports for Bedoun residents included in the 1965 census has been stopped, affirming that the process has been stopped only for those included in the census of 1970 and 1975 based on a different situation. He clarified that specific regulations are required to issue passports to people of this category, as it is only issued for students to study abroad and for those travelling overseas for medical treatment, under the discretion of the concerned department which will study each case and take the necessary decision based on need and circumstances.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Al-Jarrah revealed that the tender on e-passports is nearly complete and is currently with the State Audit Bureau for review and feasibility analysis before it is launched by the Central Tenders Committee (CTC).

He indicated that the implementation of epassport system will pave way for countries of the European Union to issue decisions for exempting Kuwaiti citizens from obtaining Schengen visas to travel to those countries.

Regarding the Syrian residents in Kuwait whose residence permits have expired, Sheikh Al-Jarrah explained that they will be given three months to fix their situation due to the current situation of their country, stressing the keenness of the department to facilitate all procedures for them. He urged violators of residency law to fix their situation because they will be deported from the country immediately after they are arrested.

This news has been read 6569 times!