Kuwait plans biometrics and DNA checks to revoke or confirm citizenship

Kuwait’s government will use DNA analysis and biometrics to inform decisions about granting, confirming or revoking citizenship.

A regulatory framework for the process is included in Ministerial Resolution No. 678 of 2025, which was issued by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al Yousef.

The change is intended to improve the accuracy and integrity of the country’s citizenship procedures, according to Gulf News. It comes in the wake of a dramatic surge in the number of people Kuwait has stripped of their nationality status. France24 reports that nearly 42,000 people in the country of roughly 5 million have lost their citizenship since September. Of those 5 million, only about 1.5 million are Kuwaiti citizens.

Article 5 of the Resolution specifies that iris, fingerprint or face biometrics, live or forensic, can be used in assessing citizenship changes, Arab Times Online reports. The General Department of Nationality and Travel Documents or any other body designated by the Interior Minister can request a biometric search by the General Department of Criminal Evidence. If the subject is not registered, they will be summoned to enroll their biometrics.

A mass biometric registration campaign by Kuwait’s government ended with the close of calendar 2024, with roughly 16,000 Kuwaitis, 90,000 traditionally stateless Bedoons and nearly a quarter million expats in the country missing the deadline and facing frozen bank accounts and restrictions on public services.

The Resolution also specifies several types of biological samples DNA can be taken from.

“Strict confidentiality and privacy must be maintained when handling genetic data,” the Resolution states.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  dna  |  Kuwait  |  Middle East  |  national ID