ShareKUWAIT: Expatriates in Kuwait are struggling to update their home address, a simple process which has turned increasingly confusing over the past few months. Many who change their place of residence are now resorting to hiring brokers or intermediaries who charge up to KD 130 to facilitate the paperwork.
Since July 2024, the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) has been conducting surveys of residential areas to identify and eliminate fake addresses, often used by people who do not live at the listed locations. Speaking to Arabic-language media, sources said the issue first came to light as police cracked down on violators of the residency law. Many property owners have also reported unknown individuals or families registered at their property without their knowledge.
To tackle this issue, PACI is requiring individuals to update their addresses, with fines for non-compliance. The stakes are high. Individuals who fail to register their new address within 30 days of their previous address being removed could incur a fine of KD 100, as outlined in Article 33 of Law No. 32 of 1982. Local media have also reported that people have two months to provide their new address after receiving a notification through the Sahel app, after which they will be fined KD 20 per month, in addition to facing legal action.
Adding to the confusion, social media users have said that neglecting to update one’s address can result in the deactivation of their civil ID, loss of access to the Sahel app and interruptions to banking and government services.
The lack of clear official communication has fueled confusion, with residents going to social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, where individuals — not experts — attempt to explain the address changing process and the required documents. Kuwait Times contacted PACI for comment, but no response was received by the time of publication.
No appointments
A newly-married Palestinian resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, shared her ongoing struggle to update her address after moving to a new apartment last May. The process begins with booking an appointment through the Sahel app or the Meta platform, an obstacle she has yet to overcome. “Every time we try to sign up for an appointment through the government platform, it is fully booked,” she told Kuwait Times. Friends and family suggested trying at midnight, but the results were the same. “The site crashes at midnight, and by the time it’s back, all the slots are gone,” she explained. Frustrated, she added: “This should be easy. You book an appointment, gather the paperwork, and visit the department — simple.”
Her experience reflects a widespread issue. Online platforms and community groups are filled with similar complaints. An Egyptian user in a Facebook group dedicated to residency inquiries posted: “For three months, I’ve been trying to book an appointment, logging into the platform at all hours, but no slots are available. Can someone please help me?” The cause for the appointment backlog remains unclear.
Those living in shared housing encounter even greater difficulties. An Indian resident posted her dilemma: “I’m sharing a flat with my sister’s family. The apartment contract is under my husband’s name. When my sister applied to change her address to this one, PACI officials refused, saying a flat cannot be shared by two families. What can be done in this case?”
Workaround
Comments online highlight a common workaround that some residents use to resolve their issues. One commenter suggested: “Go to any typing center to get your address change processed, but it will cost you.” Another echoed this advice, saying: “Visit a typist, tell them you want to change your address in the civil registry, and they’ll handle it immediately.” Even on online platforms like Reddit, typing centers are frequently recommended as a solution.
These typists, who have offices adjacent to government agencies and usually offer photocopying services, seem to be part of a larger community of fixers. Kuwait Times has found that phone numbers of such individuals — both Asians and Arabs — are circulating widely on social media, taking advantage of others’ difficulties to profit from the situation.
Through a conversation with one of the fixers, Kuwait Times learned that they charge exorbitant amounts for their services. For existing expatriates who wish to change their registered address, the procedure costs KD 130 and takes approximately 15 days. The fixers also “sell addresses” to newcomers for KD 55, which is against the law. Those sharing flats in overcrowded buildings are also benefiting from the broken system.
For the Palestinian resident, it was worth questioning how the introduction of the online platforms — intended to simplify the process of changing one’s address — has instead made it more difficult. She went on to explain how, in the past, changing an address was never a big issue. “It was easy to do. You didn’t need an appointment; you could just go and get it done,” she reflected.
“For three months, I’ve tried booking an appointment at all hours, but no slots are available,” one Egyptian user shared on Facebook.
