Residents need to look for the Amer logo when visiting typing centres for visa-related transactions.
The Amer logo will be a clear indication that the typing centre is approved by the authorities, a General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) official said on Monday.
With the unveiling of the UAE Vision system last week, residents are no longer required to visit the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs headquarters or any of its external branches in order to renew or apply for visas. Instead, all transactions will be carried out through the approved typing centres.
The transactions include applying for visa, renewing residency, applying for new residency, and visa cancellation, in addition to any other related services. According to the GDRFA official, there have been no changes to the required materials or charges related to the visa transactions.
“When customers visit typing centres, they need to look out for the Amer logo,” a GDRFA official said. “The logo will be clearly visible on the counters and on the staff uniform. The logo is a badge of approval from the GDRFA, indicating that the typing centre is qualified to carry out visa-related transactions through the UAE Vision system.”
The GDRFA official said that “in a couple of months” all 600 typing centres in Dubai will be redesigned to have the Amer logo, adding that while some centres have been carrying out the services for several weeks on a trial basis, the others are waiting to integrate their systems.
Elaborating on the new system, Colonel Hussain Ebrahim, assistant of the director-general for administrative support at the GDRFA, earlier said: “The UAE Vision System is a new system where public members will be able to visit any of the typing service offices and submit their transactions without having to visit the GDRFA building or any of the centres to complete their transactions as everything will be done at the typing centre only.”
Visa applicants are strongly urged to provide accurate contact information to typing centres. Those who apply for visit visa-related transactions will have it sent to their email and those applying for residency visa service will have it sent to them via Zajel courier service, Col Ebrahim explained.
Zajel counters will be available at all the approved typing centres. Those applying for residency visas can hand over their passport to the counter after the application process is complete. The Zajel courier service will then deliver the customer’s passport once the visa has been issued and stamped.
In cases of requesting a visit visa for family members, regular documents used in the previous manual system are required, and they will be uploaded online at the typing centre, explained a GDRFA customer service agent.
Application procedure at typing centres
Submit visitor application form, passport copies of both the sponsor and visitor, an attested copy of the sponsor’s labour contract along with bank account IBAN numbers, sponsor’s visa copy, tenancy contract, and latest Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) bill, a photograph of the visitor, and proof of relationship.
Once all documents are uploaded at the approved typing centre, the user is notified through email and the e-visa is sent once the application is approved.
Fees
Charges and visa fees remain the same. The visit visa fee is Dh400, along with a Dh1,000 deposit by the sponsor, and Dh220 as file opening charge.
For residence visa renewal and cancellation, documents can be uploaded at the typing centre. Residents can use the Zajel courier service to submit the passport for visa stamping. Typing centres will have Zajel counters where residents can submit their passports. The users are then notified through SMSes once their applications are approved.
Alternatively, the courier service can also pick up the passport from any given destination, and deliver it to the GDRFA in order to issue the visa and stamp the passport before delivering it to the resident at the given address.
