KUWAIT CITY, Aug 4: Kuwait’s expatriate community is in turmoil as a PACI crackdown targets fake rental addresses, leaving hundreds each month suddenly erased from the civil records. In scenes described by insiders as “bureaucratic mayhem,” the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) is waging war on dodgy landlords and cut-corner tenants alike.Traditional Kuwaiti cuisine
Working hand-in-hand with building owners, PACI is meticulously reviewing the records, determined to weed out anyone playing fast and loose with the rules. The numbers are staggering: month after month, expats discover their official addresses have vanished overnight, often because a fake address was supplied, a new contract wasn’t signed, or the entire building faces demolition.
It’s the most vulnerable who are bearing the brunt. For low-paid bachelors and undocumented workers (mainly from Asian countries), the only way to secure or renew a Kuwaiti Civil ID is often to pay through the nose for a “fake” address, with rogue landlords' watchmen (known as Haris) reportedly pocketing as much as KD150 per head for the privilege. This underground trade offers desperate workers a lifeline, but spells a paperwork nightmare for the authorities. It has also been found that expats are making fake rental contracts in their name and uploading them on the Sahel App.
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The crackdown has been turbocharged since the Mangaf fire disaster, which shocked the nation and laid bare the lethal risks of overcrowded, misregistered homes. There’s no more room for error—or sympathy. Letting your rental contract lapse isn’t a minor oversight anymore. PACI, reportedly acting “without hesitation,” now deletes addresses for expired, missing, or grossly outdated contracts. The effects are immediate: expats find their Civil IDs frozen, their visa renewals in limbo, and hefty fines of up to KD100 looming.
Officials are urging expatriates to check their Civil ID details on the Kuwait Mobile ID or Sahel Apps, before it’s too late. What once passed for harmless corner-cutting is now considered a serious national threat.
And if you’re one of the unlucky ones caught out, don’t panic. There’s help at hand. For step-by-step guidance on restoring your vanished address in the Civil ID system, see our previous coverage at the link below.