Cairo: Faced with the prospect of having their government dealings put on hold, increasing numbers of Kuwaitis are showing up to have their biometric fingerprints taken before a deadline ends on Monday.
Around 6,000 Kuwaitis on average now turn up daily at the fingerprinting facilities against 600 previously, a senior security officer has said.
Lt. Col.Hamad Al Shimri, an official at the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry's Identification Department, added that around 110,000 Kuwaitis out of eligible 9,500 have not yet undergone the mandatory procedure.
Meanwhile, 790,000 out of a total of 2.6 million expats have failed to do the fingerprinting so far, according to the official.
Kuwaiti authorities have warned those who fail to comply that all their government and banking transactions will be halted as a result.
Earlier this year, Kuwait extended a deadline for expatriates and citizens to undergo biometric fingerprinting and stressed importance of compliance.
Now, the deadline is set to expire on September 30 for Kuwaiti citizens and 31 December for expatriates.
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 outdoor centres.
The Interior Ministry said that work at fingerprinting offices set up at shopping malls will stop as of Oct 1 while designated centres at the ministry's identification centre will continue to operate throughout the week from 8am to 10pm.
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.
However, they will not be barred from travelling abroad, according to a security source. "A travel ban is only ordered by public prosecution or the General Directorate of Investigations or upon a ministerial decree serving public interests," the source said.
"The biometric fingerprinting is a State project that will contribute to establishing a database for everyone living in Kuwait aged 18 or above any each one visiting the country even for a single day," the source added.
The project, according to the same source, will help put an end to passport forgery and double citizenship that is banned in Kuwait.
Foreigners constitute 3.3 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.9 million.
