The Perks of Being Kuwaiti

This week didn’t provide much material for blogging, but when I drove past the Ministry of Higher Education I was reminded about the university scholarship Kuwaiti’s are eligible for and this got me thinking about all the perks that come with having Kuwait citizenship.  When I got to talking with my Kuwaiti friends I was blown away to learn about all the assistance the government offers Kuwait citizens.  With the extreme climate, surplus of sand, and other drawbacks it might seem like Kuwait isn’t a great place to live but let’s talk about all the perks that come with being an official Kuwaiti.

If your father is Kuwaiti you get Kuwaiti citizenship.  If not, gaining citizenship here is not an easy task.  I read a little bit about it on our local blog, 248am.

It [The citizenship law] was one of the first laws in Kuwait, even before the constitution and before Kuwait was officially recognized as a country. The citizenship law was promulgated (published) in 1959, via an Amiri decree. (Kuwait didn’t have a parliament then)

If you meet one of the following:

• You have been a legal resident for 20+ years (non-Arab), or 15+ years (Arab)
• You have made a significant contribution to Kuwait
• Your family was in Kuwait before 1965
• You have been married to a Kuwaiti man for 15+ years
• Your mother is Kuwaiti and your father is either a POW, deceased, or divorced

Then you must satisfy the following three (all three of them):

• know Arabic
• Have legal work and not committed a crime
• Muslim, or convert to Islam for 5 years

THEN you can apply for citizenship.  It just might be worth all of that when you consider the perks of being Kuwaiti.  I called a friend to get some clarification on the deal they get on groceries and I was blown away to learn about all the support the government offers the citizens!

1. Scholarship– Kuwaiti’s can apply for a scholarship from the government to earn their Bachelor’s degree in the US or Canada.  They must attend an approved university for an approved degree.  Tuition is covered PLUS they get a monthly allowance (which converts to more than my monthly paycheck as a teacher back home).  They can apply right out of high school, but many of my friends went to the US on their own dollar (or their family’s dollar) to begin at a community college and raise their GPA, then transferred to a university with the scholarship later.  You can extend the scholarship to earn your Master’s degree if you have above a 2.5 GPA.
2. Marriage– When a Kuwaiti gets married they get 6000 Kuwaiti dinar as a gift from the prince.  Half of it is an easy pay back loan and the other 3000KD is with no strings attached.
3. Groceries– With a civil ID that shows you are a citizen you get a monthly food supply that includes 50 kilos of rice, 50 kilos of sugar, oil, tomato sauce, milk, chicken and even baby milk if needed.
4. Children– on the topic of baby milk, having kids gets you an extra 50 Kuwaiti Dinar per month per child until that child gets a job.  (I clarified, and yes, even a 30 year
5. Work– The government helps citizens find work (thus, many Kuwaitis hold government jobs).  If the government can not find a job for a citizen that citizen gets 200KD per month until they are employed.  If a citizen works in the private sector (any non-government job) they earn 900KD per month in addition to the salary their employer provides (that’s almost $3,000 USD per month on TOP of their regular salary!).
6. Heath care– Heath care at the public hospitals is free and if you are so sick that the doctors here can not take care of you Kuwait pays for you to travel overseas for treatment.
7. Voting– Not surprisingly, you must be a citizen to vote.  When you get citizenship you get a paper called aljenseya (nationality paper).  It tells what level of citizenship you have or essentially how Kuwaiti you are.  Only those at the top level can be in parliament.

As an expat we don’t feel the benefit of many of these perks but evidence of the cushy lifestyle is very clear.  I’m still satisfied with my American citizenship.  Did you know that America and the U.K. are tied for the most powerful passport (that is, the passports that allow access to the most countries)?  Still, less than half of Americans are passport holders.  American friends, get your passports and start seeing the world!