Kuwait Uncovers False Family Link in Citizenship File, 59 Citizenships Revoked

KUWAIT CITY, Aug. 6: Kuwait’s Nationality Investigation Department has resolved a major citizenship case involving a deceased man born in 1954, after investigations concluded that he was not the biological son of the person whose nationality file he was registered under.

The case involved a nationality file belonging to a man who had four wives and 28 children registered under his name. The investigation initially focused on verifying the status of all sons and daughters listed in the file, with authorities later confirming that 13 of them were genuine biological children of the file owner.

The deceased man, who was registered as a son of the second wife, remained among the cases under review. Investigators raised doubts after discovering that his name was not included among the listed heirs of the family, unlike his supposed brothers.

During the investigation, authorities obtained Gulf documents belonging to the deceased man. One of his sons was presented with the documents and confirmed that they belonged to his father.

The investigation was then supported by DNA testing. Genetic samples taken from the deceased man’s children were compared with samples from the individuals listed as his father’s brothers. The results showed that the alleged uncles were not biologically related to the children, proving that the deceased was not their brother.

Authorities also questioned the supposed brothers, who reportedly admitted during the investigation that the deceased was not their sibling, matching the findings of the DNA tests.

The Nationality Investigation Department said the decision was based on several key pieces of evidence, including:

Investigators also cited an additional indicator dating back to 1993, when seven of the deceased man’s 14 children were registered through a court order while they were outside Kuwait. Authorities considered this a factor requiring further review of his residency history and circumstances at the time.

Following completion of the investigation, the Supreme Committee for Kuwaiti Citizenship Investigation decided to revoke citizenship from the deceased man and all individuals who obtained citizenship through his file by dependency.

The decision affected 59 people, including 14 sons and daughters, while the remaining individuals were wives and grandchildren registered through the file.

With the conclusion of this case, the Nationality Investigation Department has completed reviews of 14 out of 28 children linked to the original file. Authorities confirmed the legitimacy of 13 children, while the lineage of the deceased man was found to be invalid. Investigations into the remaining cases are continuing.