UAE | General

ID cards will be made obligatory from next year

The charges for the identity card will be Dh100 for UAE nationals and up to Dh300 for expatriates, depending on the residence period, according to a Cabinet decision.

  • By Samir Salama, Bureau Chief
  • Published: 00:00 October 27, 2006
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
  • All members of UAE national families may need the cards as they can be used when visiting GCC countries.

Abu Dhabi: The charges for the identity card will be Dh100 for UAE nationals and up to Dh300 for expatriates, depending on the residence period, according to a Cabinet decision.

Under the decision signed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the charges will be Dh100 for a year's residence, Dh200 for two-year residence and Dh300 for three-year residence.

Registration with the Emirates Identity Authority and the obtaining of ID cards will become obligatory for nationals and residents older than 15 years from next year.

In response to complaints from residents over the hefty charges of Dh500 previously fixed for the ID card, regardless of their stay in the country, the authority has recommended that the Cabinet link the fees to the residence period, Mohammad Al Shamsi, marketing director of the authority, told Gulf News yesterday.

The decision, he said, states that a fraction of a year will be regarded as a full year for the purpose of calculating the fees. "The validity of the card will be that of the residence period, but personal data on it will be updated free of charge. If a resident's visa is cancelled, his or her card will be deactivated automatically."

In May the authority launched the second phase of the registration of the ID card and population register programme.

The new phase, to continue until the end of this year, is divided into two parts. The initial phase involved the registration of employees at 16 chosen ministries and federal institutions which have fewer than 600 employees.

Al Shamsi said that registration of expatriate employees in these ministries was temporarily stopped for the amendment of the fees.

The second part will register employees in the remaining ministries and federal institutions.

A pilot phase started mid-2005, aimed at testing the registration system by registering only the employees of the Ministry of Interior and armed forces.

"Replacement for a lost or damaged card will cost Dh300 for nationals and expatriates. For those who wish to obtain ID cards for their children younger than 15 years, the charge will be Dh50," Al Shamsi said.

Once the cards are issued, all members of UAE national families can use them for visiting GCC countries.

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