Kuwait: The interior ministry said on Sunday that citizens and expats will no longer be allowed to submit their biometric information at the airport or other land and sea exit points to avoid crowding. Citizens and expats who have failed to submit their biometrics now have to make the mandatory submission at a number of centers before leaving the country, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement said the decision was taken in order to avoid crowding at exit points. The ministry said both Kuwaitis and expats who plan to leave the country and who have not submitted their biometric data before, must undergo the procedure at the security department of each governorate, except for residents of the Capital governorate, who can do it at Hawally security department. These centers are open daily from 8 am until 2.30 pm.

Kuwaitis only can also submit their biometrics at national ID centers in each governorate. These centers are open daily from 8 am until 1.30 pm and from 3 pm to 7.30 pm. Last year, the interior ministry ordered all citizens and expatriates, including visitors, to submit their biometric data, and made it a precondition to leave the country by air, sea and land.

Meanwhile, an Amiri decree was published in the official gazette Kuwait Al-Youm on Sunday to abolish the traffic court that was established in accordance with a law issued 65 years ago. The decree said the decision will become effective after three months. It said the traffic court was abolished because normal courts can easily handle traffic offenses, and accordingly the special traffic court has become redundant.

Separately, the Public Authority of Manpower announced on Sunday the implementation of resolution no. 15 of 2025 concerning the regulation of working hours in the private sector. The new measure, which took effect on Saturday following its publication in the official gazette, aims to enhance transparency and improve oversight of the work environment through the use of modern electronic systems for managing and monitoring working hours and leave.

In a press statement, the authority said the resolution marks the launch of a series of development initiatives intended to further organize and modernize Kuwait’s labor market. It explained that the decision requires employers to record all data related to daily working hours, rest periods, weekly days off and official holidays on the electronic system adopted by PAM.

The authority stressed the importance of promptly updating any changes to this data, noting that information entered into the electronic system serves as the official reference for PAM inspectors during inspection and follow-up activities. The authority’s approval of this data constitutes official endorsement of the working hours regulations for each establishment.