KUWAIT CITY, Jan 7: The Ministry of Interior has announced that expats in Kuwait who have not completed the biometric fingerprinting process will be barred from traveling, starting January 1, 2025. Those who have failed to comply will face restrictions not only on entry and exit but also on government and banking transactions. These restrictions will remain in effect until the biometric fingerprinting is completed.

First Lieutenant Talal Al-Khalidi of the General Department of Criminal Evidence revealed during a radio interview that over 3.5 million citizens and expats have already undergone biometric fingerprinting. Among the targeted groups, approximately 956,000 citizens out of 972,253 have completed the process, while 16,000 remain pending. For expats, 2,504,000 out of 2,685,000 have complied, leaving 181,718 yet to complete their fingerprinting. Additionally, 66,000 out of 148,000 stateless individuals (Bedouns) have undergone the process, while 82,000 are still pending.

To accommodate those who have not yet complied, the General Department of Criminal Evidence has established eight centers operating throughout the week, capable of handling up to 10,000 appointments daily. The process takes less than three minutes and requires prior appointment booking via the designated application.