Kuwait- Health benefits

(MENAFN- Arab Times) I am an American male married to a Kuwaiti female. At a hospital/ clinic we were told by an employee that because my son's mother is Kuwaiti, we could make appointments during the day like a Kuwaiti, and for health benefits only, his file would be treated as Kuwaiti.

Then another employee had a different view and said that as my son is an American he must come in the afternoon like other foreigners regardless of the fact that his mother is Kuwaiti. I would like to know, for general knowledge, what's correct in terms of the law.

Name withheld

Answer: According to the Kuwait law, Kuwaiti women married to expatriates/ non-Kuwaitis are regarded as mothers of non-Kuwaiti children.

The children and expatriate/non-Kuwaiti spouses of these Kuwaiti women are treated like any other expatriates and have no political, economic and social protection from the state.

They also have no right to remain in Kuwait unless they get residence permits on the same basis as other foreigners. Having said that, we would like to stress that children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaiti men still get some preferential treatment until they become adults.

That is why there is a difference of opinion among the health staff. While the law says one thing, tradition dictates something else. So, from the law point of view, your child is not entitled to any special treatment and will be treated as a foreigner.