In our Spotlight on EMEA we round up the latest developments from across the region. In this post we focus on Kuwait’s push for registration of fingerprints in the national biometric database.
Kuwait
The Kuwaiti Ministry of the Interior has set a three month lead up to the deadline of 1 June 2024 for citizens, Gulf Cooperation Council citizens and foreign residents to register their fingerprints in the national biometric database. The deadline of 1 June 2024 is important because anyone who fails to register by that date will be denied access to Ministry of Interior transactions.
The Ministry handles, amongst other things, policing, immigration and national security.
Individuals can access Registration Centres with biometric scanners at all border crossings including at Kuwait International Airport. There are also scanners at certain shopping centres.
Foreign nationals are permitted to leave Kuwait for travel purposes without registering their fingerprints as they will be required to do so on their return to Kuwait at port of entry.
If you require more information on this or other immigration matters across EMEA please contact [email protected] or [email protected].