Grace period to complete biometric fingerprinting begins

Ministry of Interior (MoI) has announced that the three-month grace period to complete biometric fingerprinting for all citizens and residents in the country aged 18 and over, began on Friday, 1 March. The ministry warned that failure to complete the fingerprinting process by 1 June, will result in the suspension of various essential services from MoI to the defaulters, including their access to renewal of residencies, car registration, driving licenses, and others.

Sources at MoI say that the General Department of Criminal Evidence has received over 1.78 million individuals since the launch of the biometric fingerprint project last year. Of these, approximately 900,000 are citizens and 880,000 are residents. Moreover, around 670,000 individuals, mainly residents, have yet to complete the biometric process.

In addition, out of the total population of over 4.8 million people in the country, With nearly 1.1 million individuals, out of the country’s total population of 4.8 million people, exempt from the requirement of biometric fingerprinting due to being under the age of 18, the completion rate among those required to undergo the process is so far only 48 percent.

The sources emphasized the importance of obtaining the biometric fingerprint within the specified timeframe to avoid any inconvenience or disruption of essential services. They urged those who have not yet completed the process to schedule an appointment through the MoI website and complete the process at one of the designated locations in all governorates.

An earlier statement on the deadline, which was released last week by MoI’s General Department of Public Relations and Security Media, noted that this move was part of the ministry’s ongoing endeavor to collect biometric fingerprinting from all citizens and residents in Kuwait aged 18 and over.

The statement highlighted that citizens, Gulf Cooperation Council nationals, and residents can quickly undergo biometric fingerprinting at border outlets, Kuwait International Airport, and designated centers, as well as commercial complexes.

The locations in the country currently designated as biometric fingerprinting centers include, Security Directorates at the governorates in Hawalli, Farwaniya, Ahmadi, Mubarak Al-Kabeer, Jahra, and at the Ministries Complex in Kuwait City. People can also access the fingerprinting process at the Avenues Mall, 360 Mall, and Capital Mall.

In addition, two dedicated centers have been established for residents in the Ahmadi and Jahra governorates. Additionally, individuals can also obtain their biometric fingerprint upon returning from travel through the dedicated devices installed at air, land, and sea ports.

On a related note, Youssef Kazim, the official spokesman for the unified government electronic services application ‘Sahel,’announced that citizens and residents can now conveniently schedule their “biometric fingerprint” appointments directly within the app.

Detailing the steps for booking appointments online, he explained: “Users will first need to enter the Sahel platform – Select the ‘dates’ option – click on the ‘Book an appointment’ button – Choose the ‘Ministry of Interior’ option – Select the ‘General Administration of Criminal Evidence’ – choose ‘Biometric Fingerprint’ and then select their preferred location, day, and time from the available options.

He further added that users will receive a notification confirming their appointment reservation, along with a reminder that they must present the ‘My Identity’ application or their civil ID when attending to complete the biometric fingerprinting procedures.