Nearly 1 million expats and citizens could be denied government services over fingerprinting failure

Cairo: Around 975,000 expatriates and citizens could be denied access to government dealings in Kuwait if they fail to meet looming deadlines for undergoing mandatory biometric fingerprinting, according to a senior security official.

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

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

As of early October, around 175,000 Kuwaitis, who have not undergone the procedure, face the suspension of all their transactions with the government agencies, said Brig. Nayaf Al Muteiri, the chief of the Identification Department at the Interior Ministry.

Some 2.6 million people, including 860,00 expatriates and 800,000 Kuwaitis, have undergone the fingerprinting until now, he added.

“Biometric fingerprinting is one of the important national projects that aims to safeguard security and safety of citizens and expatriates,” Al Muteiri said.

He warned that with the expiry of datelines, government dealings will be suspended for those failing to comply with the procedure until they readjust their status.

Kuwaiti authorities also plan to gradually restrict access to bank accounts of citizens and expatriates who fail to undergo the fingerprinting, according to a recent media report.

As the deadline is expiring by the end of this month for citizens, the Central Bank of Kuwait has directed banks to ready their systems to slap curbs on the violators’ accounts, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported.

Four-phase restrictions will be enforced to these non-compliant customers culminating in a full freeze, the paper quoted what it described as well-informed sources.

Foreigners constitute 3.3 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.9 million.

In a facilitating step, Kuwaiti authorities have introduced a home biometrics service for the elderly and ill people, who are unable to head to the Interior Ministry’s centres.

The ministry has said the 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.