Kuwait: Biometric fingerprinting exposes false returnees

Cairo: Kuwait has discovered hundreds of forgery cases linked to expatriates whose fingerprints were matched to people who had previously been deported from the country for various reasons, a Kuwaiti newspaper has reported.

A mandatory biometric fingerprinting system has exposed those expats, mainly domestic workers and drivers, after their fingerprints were matched with people who were deported years ago from Kuwait, Al Rai newspaper quoted security sources as saying.

Some were deported more than 20 years ago. They illegally returned to Kuwait with forged passports and different names. The majority are Asian nationals, the sources added.

“Many citizens were renewing their workers’ residency permits normally, and these workers used to come to Kuwait and travel on vacation normally, with no travel restrictions,” the sources said.

Their return came after tampering with their data and physical features to the point that some of them underwent surgical operations on their fingers, the sources explained.

Others resorted to burning and disfiguring their hand so that their previous fingerprints could not be recognised, while some others changed their passports and obtained a passport in another name, relying on the fact that taking their fingerprints according to the old system makes the forgery too difficult to discover.

But after implementing the biometric fingerprinting, their violations surfaced and will be deported from Kuwait again.

“Everyone who is discovered through the biometric fingerprinting will be deported, and no one will be exempted, even if their residency is valid and they have been regularly renewing it for several years,” the sources added.

Kuwaiti authorities have repeatedly warned citizens and expatriates that failure to undergo biometric fingerprinting will lead to a halt to all transactions with the government for the non-compliant person.

Foreigners constitute around 69% of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.9 million.