Sahel app adds lost passport service for Kuwait expats

If you’ve ever lost your passport in Kuwait, you know the drill: a trip to the police station, a queue, and paperwork you need just to start sorting out a replacement. That routine has just changed.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior has added a new service on the Sahel app (the government’s official services app) that lets you report a lost passport and get the official loss certificate online, without stepping into a police station first. If you’ve already paid attention to the KD 100 fee for a lost passport, this is the step that comes before that – and now it’s digital.

What exactly did the ministry announce?

The Ministry of Interior confirmed the new service through its official Sahel account. It’s called “Certificate of Loss of Passport” and sits inside the security services section of the app, alongside other reporting tools.

Before this, if your passport went missing, you’d usually need to visit a police station in person to file a report and get documentation. Now, the ministry says residents can report the loss electronically and get an official certificate to hand to whichever authority needs it next – your embassy, the Ministry of Interior’s own residency department, or wherever you’re applying for a replacement.

This fits a pattern we’ve been seeing on Sahel lately. The app already covers a long list of government services, and the ministry keeps adding more tools that used to need an office visit. Just this month, Sahel also picked up a new rule on who’s responsible for traffic fines when you drive someone else’s car, and earlier in October it added the ‘Report Me’ service for labour violations.

Who does this affect?

This is aimed squarely at expats living in Kuwait. Expat residents are the ones who most often need a loss certificate quickly, because a missing passport affects their residency status, travel plans and dealings with their own embassy.

It doesn’t change the fee for a replacement passport itself, and it doesn’t replace the need to eventually get a new passport from your embassy. It just removes one step from the process: getting the official paper that proves you reported the loss.

What should you do if you lose your passport now?

1. Open the Sahel app and log in with your Civil ID details.
2. Go to the security services section and look for “Certificate of Loss of Passport.”
3. Follow the prompts to report the loss electronically.
4. Download or save the certificate once it’s issued.
5. Take that certificate to your embassy or the relevant Kuwaiti authority to start your replacement passport process.
6. Keep a copy of the certificate on your phone and on paper until your new passport and any linked paperwork are sorted.

One thing to watch out for: the certificate confirms you reported the loss, but it isn’t your new passport. You’ll still need to go through your embassy for a replacement, and depending on your residency situation, you may still need to update your civil ID or residency papers once you have the new document.

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