Biometric fingerprinting nets hundreds of outlaws in Kuwait

Biometric fingerprint

Mandatory biometric fingerprinting has helped Kuwaiti authorities arrest hundreds of outlaws in recent months, a Kuwaiti newspaper has reported.

“Biometric fingerprinting has exposed hundreds of wanted persons and forgers since its implementation at the Kuwait International Airport and land crossings in May 2023,” Al Qabas quoted an unnamed security source as saying. No breakdown of the arrests was given.

Earlier this year, Kuwait extended a deadline for expatriates and citizens to undergo biometric fingerprinting and stressed importance of compliance.

Now, the deadline is extended to September 30 for Kuwaiti citizens and December 31 for expatriates. The extension aims to facilitate the procedure for citizens and experts, and fast-track it, the Interior Ministry has said.

In a facilitating step, Kuwait has introduced a home biometrics service for the elderly and ill people, who are unable to head to the interior ministry’s centres.

Authorities have repeatedly warned that failure to undergo biometric fingerprinting will lead to a halt to all transactions with the government for the non-compliant person.

“There is no leniency in enforcing biometric fingerprinting. It’s mandatory for everyone,” Brig Chahin Al Gharib, a media official at the Interior Ministry, said this week.

“Failure to do biometric fingerprinting will result in stopping all transactions at the Interior Ministry and all other government bodies,” he told Kuwaiti news TV Al Akhbar.

According to him, more than 2.5 million Kuwaitis, Gulf nationals and expats have undergone the procedure so far.

The ministry has said biometric fingerprinting for Kuwaitis, other nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and expatriates is conducted at Kuwait’s border outlets, the Kuwait International Airport, and designated centres at several security premises across the country.

Foreigners constitute around 3.3 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.8 million.