Renewing a Kuwaiti passport is a short transaction on paper, and the official page of the General Department of Nationality and Travel Documents limits what it asks for to three items for anyone over twenty-one.
The fees
Three dinars for five years, and six dinars for ten years for anyone aged thirty and over.
Who pays nothing
Citizens with special needs are exempt, as are citizens aged sixty-five and over, under circular 159 of 2017.
The three documents
A recent 4×5 photograph on a blue background. The applicant in person with the original civil ID and a copy. And the passport itself.
For minors: the legal representative in person with their original civil ID and a copy, and the passport to be renewed. Where the renewal is by court ruling or power of attorney, it is approved by the technical office department at the general administration.
Where and when
The service centre is determined by the address on your civil ID or the governorate you fall under, and the centres are spread across the six governorates.
Hours: Sunday to Thursday, eight in the morning to half past one, and Saturday nine to two. Between eight and ten in the morning, priority goes to older people and those with special needs.
Fingerprint and photograph
Fingerprints and a signature are taken from anyone aged twelve and over. Under-tens are exempt from the signature and under-twelves from the fingerprint.
The photograph must be on a blue background, high quality, and no more than six months old. For a child under three, a photograph with the mouth open is accepted.
Why not to wait until you lose it
Replacing a lost passport is not a faster transaction but a slower one: the loss must be announced in the official gazette, Kuwait Al Youm, and the passport is not issued until the period set by ministerial decision has passed — five months. The fee is five dinars for five years and six for ten.
What the page does not say
No published processing time for collecting the passport after applying, and no stated penalty for renewing late. The official page describes an in-person route at service centres, and does not confirm that the whole transaction can be completed through the app.
A note: the Kuwaiti e-passport runs to 64 pages, with its data in Arabic and English.
Photo: passports. By seantoyer, CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.
Source: the “conditions for issuing Kuwaiti travel documents” page and the travel document issuing locations page, General Department of Nationality and Travel Documents, Ministry of Interior.
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