UAE | Government
Emirati passports not enough for IDs
People who have Emirati passports but are not able to produce proof of nationality in the form of the Khulasat Al Qaid (family book), a document issued to Emirati nationals, will not be able to apply for ID cards.
- By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:46 October 26, 2008
Dubai: People who have Emirati passports but are not able to produce proof of nationality in the form of the Khulasat Al Qaid (family book), a document issued to Emirati nationals, will not be able to apply for ID cards.
With the deadline for Emiratis to apply for ID cards fast approaching, a number of people with Emirati passports issued from Dubai find themselves in a quagmire. While some of these individuals are in a position to produce valid documents stating citizenship of other countries, there are those without any legal documents whatsover other than their Emirati passports.
Renewal stopped
It may be recalled that authorities in the UAE had, since 2005, ordered a stop to renewal of passports of people who had availed UAE passports but could not produce proof of nationality.
All emirates subsequently stopped renewing passports of people falling in this category except the Dubai authority, which still continues to renew such passports.
Mansour, who originally had an Iranian passport but several years ago obtained the Emirati passport, told Gulf News that he was turned away at an ID card centre because he could not prove his nationality.
"I was told that I cannot apply for an ID card because I have a passport but I do not have a nationality," he said.
Officials at the ID card centre told him that he did not fall in the category of "stateless" people but could not be considered as having a nationality either.
"I was told that all data at the ID card centre is taken from the family book and that I do not have that document," he said.
Siblings, Khalid and Ameena, said they encountered the same problem.
"We have Emirati passports as do our other family members. We renewed our passports in Dubai by 2005 and they will expire in 2010," Ameena said.
Anxious wait
She said she and her family members are all anxious about how they can get their ID cards.
"We have no clue about what will happen since no decision has yet been taken by any authority in the context of our situation," she said.
A senior official from the Ministry of Interior said people who did not have the family book could not apply for a national ID card. "All data and information must be taken from the family book. For anyone to be issued an ID card, they must have the nationality," he said.
The official said that such people fell in the grey area between stateless residents (without legal documents) and those with Emirati nationality.
"We are studying their problem and it will be sorted out soon. We need to find a solution for them. They only have passports issued from Dubai because other emirates has stopped issuing or renewing the passports for those who do not have nationality or what is called the Khulasat Al Qaid," he said.
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