Manama: A non-Kuwaiti man who marries a Kuwaiti woman will be granted the Kuwaiti citizenship if his wife of at least ten years approves his application, a government study has recommended.
According to the study, other conditions required for the citizenship stipulate that the couple has at least five children.
"The husband must not take up a second wife after getting the citizenship and the wife cannot divorce her naturalized husband to marry another man," the study said, according to Al Watan daily.
"The husband has no right to a government-sponsored house or a housing loan and cannot run or vote in elections. The wife may obtain a loan to purchase a house, but the husband will not be registered as co-owner."
According to unnamed sources quoted by the paper, the stringent conditions aim to guarantee the future of the children of Kuwaiti women and to secure their rights.
The study will be submitted to the parliament for debate and a final decision is expected to be reached before the end year.
Immediate reactions from readers were positive. Many welcomed it as a humanitarian step that would help resolve long pending issues.
"I wish they would bring down the number of children to four," a Kuwaiti woman wrote. "I am a Kuwait woman married with a Saudi man. We have four children who were all born in Kuwait and the eldest is now 21. However, we cannot have a fifth child, so I hope that my children will not be deprived of the Kuwaiti nationality," she wrote, signing as Mother of Her Children.
Another woman urged the authorities and the MPs to review some of the conditions to "lift injustice and unfairness."
"There are couples who have been married for 35 years and more and have three children. This means that they do not fulfill the criteria. It is totally unfair, especially that there are couples who have been married for ten years and have five children and are therefore eligible. Please review the conditions," she wrote
Around 100,000 stateless (Bidoon) people live in Kuwait and claim residency. A large number have married Kuwaiti women, but have been facing problems with obtaining official papers.
Several MPs have been pushing for finding a final solution to their issue as the country is witnessing intense debates over the need for their full assimilation amid security concerns.
