Kuwait: The interior ministry announced on Thursday the soft launch of the Kuwait Visa app, which will eventually be used as the only means to verify expatriates’ visa status before entering the country. The current entry procedures remain the same until the app is officially launched at a date to be announced later; after which a resident or visitor will not be allowed to enter Kuwait without verification through the app.

The soft launch allows airlines, expatriates and staff at Kuwait embassies abroad to verify the validity of a visa “in an electronic, swift and accurate way”, the ministry explained. It said the application will play a key role in preventing those with criminal records, people who are wanted by law or people who have infectious diseases from entering the country.

The ministry added efforts are being exerted to add a number of services in coordination with the state’s various ministries, with the goal of educating workers about labor laws, entry requirements and numerous benefits that are intended to control demographics and expand the labor market.

Meanwhile, First Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah inspected the final stages of the development and establishment of an “integrated central system for biometrics” that includes finger and handprints, face and iris scans and electronic signatures of all individuals, which will enter operation in March in its first stage.

Sheikh Talal, who is also the acting defense minister, inspected the components of the second stage to upgrade systems and infrastructure at the borders, which includes a comprehensive overhaul of entry and exit procedures for individuals and vehicles.

The project includes the establishment of data centers for border security and to provide devices to ease procedures by digitally reading travel documents, verifying their authenticity and checking their security features to control cases of forgery, as they will be matched with the biometrics of travelers and crosschecked with local and international travel ban lists. The project also includes checking vehicles at land borders to verify they are not stolen locally or internationally and documenting their movement.