Manama: Two Syrian men have been found guilty of fraudulently obtaining the Kuwaiti nationality.
Under the Kuwaiti citizenship law, the nationality is revoked if the applicant provided false information or fake certificates during the application process.
Offenders are slapped with fines, jail term and are later deported — the Kuwaitis that help them are usually fined.
In the first case, investigators discovered a Syrian man had paid 55,000 Kuwaiti dinars to three Kuwaitis in 1998, to secure the nationality for his four sons.
Under the deal, the Kuwaitis forged documents enabling them to register the boys as their own sons.
In the second case, a Syrian man married to a Kuwaiti woman paid 44,000 Kuwaiti dinars to Kuwaitis to register their three sons as his own.
Under local laws, a Kuwaiti mother cannot pass on her nationality to her children who must take up only their father’s.
Most Arab countries do not allow women to pass on their citizenship to their children, creating problematic and difficult situations for children with foreign fathers.
Various awareness campaigns have been pressing authorities to re-evaluate the issue.
Kuwait has been engaged in a massive operation to hunt down those who have fraudulently obtained citizenship. Dozens of arrests and deportations have been carried out in this regard.
