Kuwait set to end long-standing Bidoon problem
Government looks into 'options' to readjust status of Arabs without proper documents
Cairo: Kuwait looks set to resolve the decades-old problem of Bidoon (Arabs without proper documents), a Kuwaiti newspaper has reported.
Al Qabas said a draft law is being studied from different aspects by ad-hoc committees and competent agencies in the country.
The paper quoted a "high-level" government source as disclosing that "options" are being examined as part of the bid to resolve the Bidoon problem.
They include offering advantages linked to education, healthcare, employment and residency to members of this community, who present their original nationality to the competent agencies and apply for having their status amended, the source said.
"The one, who can't amend his status, will get assistance through a mechanism to be specified by the government. He'll then enjoy several advantages that will be approved by the government," the source added.
On the possibility of granting Kuwaiti citizenship to the Bidoon members having verified identification evidence, the source noted that it is it is possible there will be a government approach to study granting it to those who deserve Kuwaiti citizenship on the basis of meticulous rules that will be "determined and assessed" by the government.
"Kuwaiti citizenship will only be granted to those who deserve it," the source said.
In recent months, Kuwait has stripped hundreds of its nationality for different reasons including having obtained it through fraud or holding another nationality. Dual citizenship is banned in Kuwait.
"The government is keen to radically end the file of the illegal residents (Bidoon)," the source added.
The Bidoon are estimated at around 85,000 people in Kuwait and have been at the centre of a decades-old identity problem. Foreigners constitute 3.3 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.9 million.