The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Acting Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled ordered the inspection of all driving license documents of expatriates who obtained licenses in the previous years, an Arab daily reported. The official noted the efforts came after discovering that some expats obtained their driver’s license in violation of MOI regulations and rules. The violating license holder will be summoned and the license will be permanently canceled from the General Traffic Department database. The report also added that the license holders are subject to the instructions of the Minister of Interior, following the law regulating expats applying for driving licenses issued on 1st of April 2013.
The Ministry of Interior has earlier set guidelines for expats who are applying for a driver’s license, which included a university qualification, salary bracket requirement, and a driving license issued by the expat’s country, with the exception of segments and jobs. Hence, the General Traffic Department, based on these instructions, will check the university certificates and the validity of the driving licenses issued by the country of the expatriate. An expat’s driver’s license will be withdrawn permanently if they failed to comply and possess a non-valid license from their home country, especially if they falsified their certificates. This directive also applies to expats who changed their profession, stressing that every license obtained under an exception or bypassing the law was canceled completely.
In terms of the approximate number that are scheduled to be withdrawn, the paper said that the ministry will likely withdraw thousands of licenses, indicating that it will be necessary for any expat to open their “Kuwait Mobile ID” app to verify retention or withdrawal of their license, stressing that any violating expat will be subject for deportation. In addition, the ministry has the authority to file correspondence with the countries of the expats, to validate the university certificates and driving licenses attached by expats in their files, ruling out that the ministry’s procedures will be extended for those who were issued driving licenses before 2013, because there is no law regulating the application of driving licenses.
Moreover, the MoI announced in May 2019 the cancellation of thousands of driving licenses for residents due to deportation or death and other reasons. The total number of resident licenses distributed between private and public sectors is 738,404, and does not include construction licenses and motorcycle driving licenses.
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