Kuwait residents and citizens risk ‘block’ status without fingerprints

• As of Sunday, fingerprints were completed for 960,000 Kuwaiti nationals, 2.74 million residents, and 58,000 undocumented individuals, leaving 16,000 citizens, 244,000 residents, and 89,817 undocumented still unregistered.

As the deadline for expatriates to complete biometric fingerprinting ends tomorrow, Tuesday, the General Department of Criminal Evidence reports thatapproximately 250,000 residents, including 90,000 undocumented individuals ‘Bidoon’ and 16,000 citizens, have yet to comply.

Starting Wednesday morning, both residents and citizens who fail to submit their fingerprints will face a ‘block’status, restricting their transactions across all official authorities, according to Al Rai newspaper.

Major General Eid Al-Awaihan, Director of the General Department of Criminal Evidence, told the newspaper that as of Sunday, the department had processed fingerprints for approximately 960,000 citizens, leaving only 16,000 pending.

Similarly, the department processed fingerprints for 2,740,000 residents, while 244,000 remain unregistered. Additionally, 58,000 undocumented residents completed their fingerprinting, compared to 89,817 who have yet to comply.

Al-Awaihan noted that around 12,000 bedridden patients and individuals with special needs have also been fingerprinted, emphasizing that “these numbers represent a historic achievement for the administration, which managed to fingerprint such a large number in a short period while maintaining high-quality standards for all entries.”

Al-Awaihan expressed gratitude to the citizens and residents who adhered to the Ministry of Interior’s directives to complete the fingerprinting process. He stressed that “the deadline for expatriates will expire on December 31, while departments dedicated to fingerprinting in the governorates will continue receiving individuals to prevent a ‘block’ on all government and banking transactions for those who remain unregistered.”

He denied the imposition of fines on those who delayed fingerprinting, stating that “Every citizen and resident who has not yet completed their fingerprinting must visit any designated department to finalize the process and avoid transaction suspensions.”

He explained that “citizens are exempt from fingerprinting only if they are students studying abroad or patients and their companions receiving treatment overseas, provided they submit proof to the embassies of the State of Kuwait in their respective locations. Members of the diplomatic corps and similar individuals are also exempt.”

He added, “Other government agencies review postponement requests received from our country’s embassies to verify and assess them. Once confirmed, the block is temporarily lifted for exempted cases until they return to the country.”

Al-Awaihan expressed gratitude to all employees of the General Department of Criminal Evidence for their efforts and dedication in successfully completing this national task.