KUWAIT CITY, Oct 18: Acting Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled has issued a regulatory directive mandating the processing of Article 24 (self-sponsor) residency holders transactions at the residence affairs departments across the six governorates as of next week.

Reliable sources informed Al-Jarida that residence permit transactions for this category of residents, wherein the sponsor is the applicant, were previously handled by the office of the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Residence Affairs.

However, these transactions encountered prolonged processing times due to the Ministry's recent cancellation of numerous residence permits registered under this article. The cancellations were primarily limited to the wives of citizens, investors, and specific private cases, excluding others.

In a separate development, Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled has issued the Ministerial Resolution No. 1062/2023 concerning maritime safety regulations for small ships, wooden boats and cruisers registered with the Maritime Transport Administration to install automatic identification devices (AID).

This measure is aimed at precisely determining the location, whereabouts, and speed of these small ships in case of emergencies. Moreover, the resolution grants the Coast Guard forces the capability to verify the identity of ships registered with the MTA and other vessels that may intrude into Kuwaiti territorial and economic waters.

It's worth noting that the Maritime Transport Administration, previously under the Ministry of Communications, has been transferred to the Ministry of Interior, specifically to the General Administration of the Coast Guard. This move was undertaken to enhance the organization of maritime operations.