Al Ahmadi residency office opens drive-thru service

If you’ve ever taken an elderly parent or a relative with a disability to a residency office in Kuwait, you know how hard it can be. Long queues, crowded waiting rooms, and sometimes no easy way to park close to the door. Al Ahmadi Governorate has just made that a little easier.

The General Department of Residency Affairs, through its Al Ahmadi branch, has launched a “Drive Thru” service. It lets elderly citizens and residents, along with people with special needs, complete their paperwork without stepping out of their cars. If you’ve been keeping up with our Sahel app updates for lost documents, this is another step in the same direction: making government services less of a hassle for people who need extra help.

Who can use the drive-thru?

The service is for two groups: elderly citizens and residents, and people with special needs. The Ministry of Interior did not give an exact age cut-off for who counts as “elderly,” so that detail isn’t confirmed yet. If you fall into either group and need to visit the Al Ahmadi Residency Affairs Department, this option should now be available to you.

It’s worth remembering this is specific to the Al Ahmadi governorate branch. The ministry’s statement did not mention plans to roll it out to other governorates yet, so for now, residents in Hawalli, Farwaniya, the Capital, Jahra or Mubarak Al-Kabeer should assume the normal in-person process still applies at their local offices.

How the service works

Based on what the Ministry of Interior has shared so far, here’s the general idea of how a drive-thru transaction should work:

1. Drive to the Al Ahmadi Residency Affairs Department premises.
2. Look for the designated drive-thru lane or signage for elderly and special needs visitors.
3. Stay in your vehicle while staff handle your transaction.
4. Collect any documents or confirmation directly through your car window, without needing to park and walk inside.

The ministry hasn’t published a detailed list of which specific transactions are covered, what documents you need to bring, or the exact operating hours for the drive-thru lane. If you’re planning to use it, it would be sensible to check with the Al Ahmadi office directly before you go, since these details aren’t yet confirmed publicly.

Why the ministry is doing this

In its press release, the Ministry of Interior said the service lets beneficiaries finish their transactions without leaving their vehicles, which saves time and effort and takes their needs into account. The ministry also said the service helps organise the flow of cars entering and leaving the department’s premises, which should improve traffic around the building and create a calmer environment for everyone visiting, not just drive-thru users.

The launch happened with Colonel Mohammed Saleh Al-Namesh, Director of the Residency Affairs Department of Al Ahmadi Governorate, present, along with his assistant Colonel Mohammed Sabah Al-Mukaimi. Their presence signals that this is an official, ministry-backed initiative rather than a small local trial.

What this means if you live in Al Ahmadi

For families in Al Ahmadi who regularly help older relatives or people with disabilities through residency paperwork, this should cut down on a lot of the physical strain of these visits. No more finding a wheelchair-accessible path through a packed office or waiting in a long line on a hot day.

It’s also a small win for everyone else who uses that office. If elderly and special needs cases move through a separate drive-thru lane, the regular queues inside should, in theory, move a bit faster too. That fits into a wider pattern this year of the ministry trying to cut congestion at government counters, something we’ve also seen with other changes like the new fee for converting visit visas to residency.

If you want to follow more updates like this, our Local news section covers changes at ministries and government offices across Kuwait as they’re announced.

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