ShareKUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry yesterday urged holders of diplomatic passports to hurry and obtain e-passports to avoid travel difficulties after the Interior Ministry announced old ones would be invalid as of July 1. The ministry noted in a statement that holders of valid diplomatic and special passports will be allowed to enter Kuwait, as a direct destination. Kuwaitis holding regular invalid passports will have to seek help at the country's embassies to have travel documents to return home.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Protocols Ambassador Dhari Al-Ajran said the foreign ministry notified the concerned world authorities, through the Kuwaiti diplomatic missions abroad, that the old Kuwaiti passports would be rendered invalid as of July 1.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said meanwhile that citizens holding old version and valid passports could come back to the homeland. There is a ministerial decision to stop using the old passports as of July 1, the Ministry's Public Relations and Security Media Department added in a press statement. Based upon Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah's decision suspending the old passports as of first of July, in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry, those who hold invalid and old travel documents have to head to the Kuwaiti Embassies abroad to issue documents so as to return home, the statement noted.
The move shows the ministry's keenness on offering facilitations to the Kuwaiti nationals living abroad, it pointed out. However pointing out that no one can travel using the old passport as of the above-mentioned date of July 1, the statement added.
In the meantime, the Interior Ministry announced yesterday that citizenship and e-passport issuance centers at Shamiya, West Mishref, Saad Al-Abdullah, Fahad Al-Ahmad, Adan and Ashbeliah will open during evenings from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm starting from June 24. The aim of this measure is help citizens obtain their new passports easily and more swiftly, the ministry explained in a statement.
