Kuwait plans residency cards instead of Civil IDs for expats
In an effort to enhance efficiency, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior is working on a plan that would produce ‘Residency Cards’ instead of Civil IDs for expats.
The General Department of Residency Affairs is working on a mechanism that will allow the residency card to have all the person’s details so that it can be used for all formal transactions, an informed source told Al Rai.
In addition, handing over the responsibility to the Residency Affairs department at the Ministry of Interior will limit the load on the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI). Currently, PACI is solely responsible for the processing and issuing of Civil IDs for both expats and citizens. Since its establishment in 1982, PACI has granted around 30 million Civil IDs.
The source also added that by handing over the responsibility to the Residency Affairs department once the person leaves the country the residence card will be cancelled immediately, as it is connected to the status of the residence’s work permit.
By ensuring that all information is connected in one card, the project aims at reducing illegal activity, as sometimes expired Civil IDs are used outside of Kuwait by some criminals, the source added.
