The Ministry of Interior issued Ministerial Decision No. 1769 of 2026 on October 11, updating the fee for issuing a replacement for a lost Kuwaiti passport to 100 dinars. The decision, published in the official gazette Al-Kuwait Al-Youm, amends item three of article two in Ministerial Resolution 1971/20 that previously governed such charges. Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef signed the order, which tasks the ministry undersecretary with carrying out its provisions starting from the publication date.
According to the text carried by Al-Jarida, the change modifies rules on fees collected by the General Directorate of Nationality and Travel Documents for various transactions. The directorate manages citizenship and passport affairs, including the reissuance of lost documents. Previous data from the directorate, as cited in a 2022 Al-Qabas report, showed 47 citizens had applied for new passports after reporting their originals lost.
A similar update in February 2025 introduced charges for immediate passport issuance at airports, ranging from 13 to 16 dinars depending on validity period, according to a Times Kuwait article referencing the official gazette at that time. These adjustments reflect periodic revisions to administrative fees within the ministry’s passport services. Central Statistical Bureau figures have shown steady growth in overall residency permits and mobility that frequently involve valid travel documents, though the latest announcement did not include specific annual passport loss statistics.
Applicants seeking replacement passports must typically provide a police report on the loss, their civil identification card, photographs and undergo biometric verification at designated centers, the ministry’s online portals indicate. The General Directorate of Nationality and Travel Documents maintains multiple branches to handle such procedures efficiently across the country. This latest fee applies exclusively to cases of loss and does not affect charges for other passport services.
The decision aligns with ongoing updates to government service fees across multiple departments under the Ministry of Interior. No additional statements explaining the increase accompanied the publication in the gazette. Citizens can access full details through the ministry’s official channels or by visiting the directorate branches in person.
In recent years the directorate has processed large volumes of travel documents amid rising citizen and resident mobility, a pattern consistent with Central Statistical Bureau data that placed Kuwait’s expatriate population above 3.3 million. The new charge takes effect at once to standardize costs for all future replacement applications handled by the authority.
