'Lost driver's license, civil ID most important to replace immediately'

"You will need a copy of your company's etimad tawqia (authorized signature form), passport copy and a printout from the traffic department."

I lost my wallet two weeks ago with all my important identification and bank cards inside. This unfortunate incident led me to face the tedious bureaucratic process of reacquiring my civil ID card and driving license, which unquestionably are the most important and most-needed documents for any expat in Kuwait.

The first steps

When you lose hope of finding your wallet, the next thing to do is to report the incident to the authorities and set the process in motion. The police desk was cooperative. When I told the police officer I had lost my wallet, he asked where and when it happened. In order to continue with the process, the police at the desk provided me with all the documents needed to file the report.

First, you  will need a letter from your employer for the driving license and civil ID. Along with it, you need to provide a copy of your company's etimad tawqia (authorized signature form), a copy of your passport and a printout from the traffic department of the lost/stolen license.

In my case, the police told me that this can be done in a day. But my boss was out of Kuwait, so there was no way I could secure the documents I wanted in a day. I had to wait till he returned, as he is the only person allowed to sign the letter. This is why the etimad tawqia is needed - to verify the signature. After my boss returned, he signed my request, and I immediately went to the police station for the papers that I had to take to the traffic department in Jabriya.

Jabriya traffic department

There, the police papers will be attached to a typed form in a room, for which you are required to pay KD 1. After securing the typed documents, the next step is to go to another room where an officer conducts a brief interview to find out why you need a new license. This officer seems to be the final arbiter to decide if you are allowed to get a new driving license. It you are denied, you will have to go to a higher-ranked police officer in the building for an appeal. But since I already had a license, I only needed him to sign.

The officer signed and told me to take the signed documents to another counter. At that counter, I faced a new issue - officers told me to pay the penalties, which took another hour. When I returned, another issue arose - I needed to provide them my photograph for the license. I didn't have one, but a photography room there does it for free. The wait for the new license starts only after your papers are accepted at the counter. Here, they'll print out your new license and your name will be called when it's ready.

The civil id procedure

For my civil ID, I didn't know it can be reissued even without a police report. Though I did obtain papers from the police, when I went to the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI), they did not ask for the police report. What they needed though was a copy of the civil ID, passport or both.

But take note of this important point - you must have a debit card to pay the penalty of KD 20 (no cash is accepted) for the lost civil ID card. Since my ATM card was also stolen along with my wallet, I had to ask someone else to pay using his debit card (which is allowed). I then repaid him in cash. The entire process took three days - from inquiry to paying the fines to finally getting the ID card.

By Ben Garcia