RESIDENCE STICKERS VALID ’TIL EXPIRY

KUWAIT CITY, March 6: General Department for Residency Affairs affiliated to the Ministry of Interior held a press conference on March 6 to provide explanation of the ministerial Decision No. 135/2019 concerning cancellation of residence permit stickers in the passports of expatriates, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

Director General of General Department for Residency Affairs Brigadier Abdulqader Al-Sha’aban explained that the ministerial Decision No. 135/2019, which is based on directives issued by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lieutenant General Eng Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah and executed under the guidance of Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior Lieutenant General Essam Salem Al-Naham, for cancellation of residence permit stickers in the passport of expatriates, will be implemented in stages.

The first stage will be launched on March 10, starting with domestic workers with residence permit type of Article 20.

Expatriates with all other residence permit types will be covered in the second stage. He clarified that residence permit stickers will not be placed in the passports of expatriates, and the relevant information will instead be included on the civil ID cards of expatriates.

Brigadier Al-Sha’aban stressed that an expatriate will not be allowed to enter or exit Kuwait without a valid passport and a valid civil ID card issued by Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI). He indicated that those with residence permit stickers in their passports prior to the enforcement of this decision will be exempted provided their residency and civil IDs are valid.

Meanwhile, Director General of PACI Musaed Al-Asousi explained that expatriates who need to renew their residence permits must visit the website of Ministry of Interior and register their data including their telephone number and health insurance details.

In case of any problems in the renewal of their residence permits, they will receive an SMS with the request to visit PACI office. In addition, Director General of Information Systems Department Brigadier Ismael Rashed Al-Yasin said sponsors who want to carry out transactions related to residence permits must visit the government website and select the page of Ministry of Health in order to buy health insurance for their employees. After buying the health insurance, they must move to page of Ministry of Interior for registering the data. They must check if they or their employees are required to pay for any traffic violations or are wanted for enforcement of judicial sentences.

Finally, Assistant Director General of Information Systems Department Lieutenant Colonel Bashar Al-Sayed Hashem elaborated on the procedures for completion of transactions. He revealed that the transaction for renewal of a residence permit can be carried out two months prior to the expiry of the residence permit.

Earlier this month, the Egyptian consulate of Kuwait addressed the Egyptian community in Kuwait with instructions in this regard. It explained that an amendment has been made to the residency law of foreigners by Kuwaiti authorities as per which no residence permit stickers will be placed on the passports of expatriates.

The consulate informed the Egyptians in Kuwait that they will be able to exit Kuwait using their civil IDs from March 10, provided they hold a valid passport and civil ID as all their residency data will be recorded in their civil IDs. Previously, the Arab Times quoting the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lieutenant General Sheikh Khaled Al- Jarrah said Ministry of Interior had issued a decision to cancel the residence permit stickers on the passports of expatriates calling it part of an ongoing process to upgrade services in various government departments. On his part, Assistant Undersecretary for Residency Affairs Major General Talal Marafie said the data included in the residence stickers will be mentioned in the civil IDs.