UAE | Government
Mobile booths for national ID cards in UAE
Move will expedite worker registration in the UAE and other services, including driving licence application and vehicle registration.
- By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 March 10, 2010
Abu Dhabi: There is no immediate plan to deny any government services — especially to expatriates — for not having identity cards, Major General Ahmad Nasser Al Raisi, General Manager of Central Operations at the Abu Dhabi Police Headquarters and the head of the Executive Committee of EIDA, said.
As Gulf News reported earlier, all Emiratis had to obtain an ID card by April 1, 2009, which was mandatory to access government services. Although all government departments have not followed it strictly, some such as Dubai Courts have made the ID card mandatory for Emiratis to access its services.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior made it mandatory for all residents (both Emiratis and expatriates) in four northern emirates to have an ID card from November 22, 2009, to avail of its services, except for visa renewal.
The list of services include driving licence application, vehicle registration, renewal and several others in Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain.
Meanwhile, the company that supplies ID cards to the EIDA said it was exploring the possibilities of using the cards as access cards for Metro services in Dubai and [future projects] in Abu Dhabi.
Using the Metro
"We are looking into that technological advancement so that ID cardholders need not carry separate access cards to ride on the Metro," Jacques Seneca, president, Security Business Unit of Gemalto, said.
The company will issue the first batch of contactless technology cards to Eida in April, he added.
As Gulf News previously reported, the EIDA had ordered about a million contactless technology cards which do not need to be swiped through card readers, saving a lot of time of cardholders.
People without ID cards continue to have access
The Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) will introduce mobile registration booths to enrol workers in the country, senior officials announced at a press conference yesterday. The move is significant as the labour force accounts for a major chunk of the country's population.
Major General Ahmad Nasser Al Raisi, General Manager of Central Operations at the Abu Dhabi Police Headquarters and the head of the Executive Committee of EIDA, said: "We will introduce more registration centres, including mobile centres, to ease the enrolment process as apart of the new enrolment strategy, which will be announced within two weeks."
Apart from the existing 23 permanent registration centres, 25 more centres will be opened at health centres conducting visa medical tests across the country, he said.
As Gulf News reported earlier, expatriates will soon be able to simultaneously apply for a residence visa, labour card and ID card through a unified application form.
Al Raisi said: "They can apply for all the documents at primary health centres."
The unified application form will begin with linking the ID card application and visa application by the third quarter of this year, Dr Ali Al Khoury, Acting Director General of EIDA told Gulf News.
"Soon after, applications for the labour cards will be linked," he said.
"We aim to increase the daily registration capacity from the existing 7,000 to 20,000."
Company looks into ID cards as access cards for Metro riders
The company that supplies ID cards to EIDA said they are exploring the possibilities of using ID card as access cards to Metro services in Dubai and [future projects] in Abu Dhabi.
"We are looking into that technological advancement so that ID card holders need not carry separate access cards to ride on Metro", Jacques Seneca, President Security Business Unit of gemalto.
The company will issue the first batch of contact-less technology cards to Eida in April, he said.
As Gulf News previously reported EIDA had ordered about a million contact less technology cards which do not need to be swiped through card readers, saving a lot of time of card holders.
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