Kuwait: Information on whether a Bedoon with a blue Kuwaiti passport is considered to be a national with the right of return
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | KWT15257.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Kuwait: Information on whether a Bedoon with a blue Kuwaiti passport is considered to be a national with the right of return, 1 October 1993, KWT15257.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acc16c.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to a representative of the Embassy of Kuwait in Washington, there are various types of blue passports (3 Oct. 1993). The representative added that a Kuwaiti passport is not proof of Kuwaiti nationality (13 Oct. 1993). A person holding a Kuwaiti passport can exit from or return to Kuwait without being a Kuwaiti national (Ibid.). The representative stated that for further details on this matter, the DIRB should send a letter to the Kuwaiti Ministry of the Interior (Ibid.).
A representative of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in New York stated that a person holding a blue Kuwaiti passport is not automatically entitled to Kuwaiti nationality (13 Oct. 1993). People holding Kuwaiti passports and who do not hold Kuwaiti nationality can exit from and return to Kuwait under the following condition: that they are sponsored by Kuwaiti nationals who become guarantors for a valid work permit which entitles non-nationals to temporary residence status in Kuwait (Ibid.). A Bedoon cannot hold Kuwaiti nationality since the word "Bedoon" means "without nationality" (Ibid.). According to a representative of the Kuwaiti Association to Defend War Victims, a Kuwaiti non-governmental organization based in Washington, holding a blue Kuwaiti passport does not constitute in itself proof of Kuwaiti nationality (14 Oct. 1993). A blue Kuwaiti passport or a laisser-passer is usually issued to Bedoons to facilitate their departure (Ibid.).
For general information on the situation of Bedoons in Kuwait, please refer to the attached documents.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Embassy of Kuwait, Washington. 3 and 13 October 1993. Telephone interviews with representative.
Kuwaiti Association to Defend War Victims, Washington. 14 October 1993. Telephone interview with representative.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, New York. 13 October 1993. Telephone interview with representative.
Attachments
Gulf Newsletter [London]. April 1993. "Bidouns in Kuwait."
Gulf Information Project. 1992. Information Package, "The Bidoun in Kuwait." London: The British Refugee Council.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. April 1993. Laying the Foundations: Human Rights in Kuwait. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Publications.
. 1992. Kuwait: Building the Rule of Law. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Publications.
Middle East Watch. September 1991. A Victory Turned Sour: Human Rights in Kuwait Since Liberation. New York: Human Rights Watch Publications.
US Committee for Refugees (USCR). 1993. World Refugee Survey, 1993. "Kuwait." Washington, DC: USCR.
