Abu Dhabi: From January 1, all Emiratis will be required to present the national identity card for government, semi-government and private transactions, a top official told Gulf News on Sunday.
"The identity card that is meant to verify identity and simplify transactions will be compulsory for all Emiratis from the beginning of next year," said Darwish Al Zarouni, Director-General of the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA).
He added that starting next month, EIDA will discuss with all governmental and private organisations how to implement the new system.
"We have had talks with the Abu Dhabi Traffic Department that culminated in a decision making the card mandatory for Emiratis to transfer ownership of their cars and do other transactions at the department. Other departments will follow to link the card to services that will gradually enable the holders to use it as a multi-purpose smart card," he said.
Moreover, he said, the card will be used for access control for customers of certain organisations instead of the current system of user names and passwords.
Similarly, expatriates without identity cards will not be able to receive any service from government, semi-government and even private organisations by the end of 2010, Al Zarouni said.
"They will face problems dealing with all sorts of transactions, including banking."
Al Zarouni added the national identity cards will be used as a driving licence and an e-gate card, which provides fast-track immigration clearance using smart technology and a fingerprint scan.
He said the card will eventually enable holders to use it as a labour card, driving licence, at health facilities and for travelling to GCC countries (for citizens only) and e-payments.
EIDA has been entrusted with the project worth $55 million (Dh202 million) to issue about five million ID cards to both citizens and expatriates by 2010.
Al Zarouni said it was mandatory for Emiratis and expatriates to have an identity card under federal law No. 9, 2006. Expatriates in the government sector for whom registration started on June 1, have to complete registration by October.
EIDA started registration for expatriate professionals from July 1. The dates for expatriates in other categories will be announced later.
Among the estimated total population of 835,000 Emiratis, 285,000 have not yet registered. Some 30,000 residents including citizens of GCC countries have registered with the population register.
Al Zarouni made it clear that although obtaining an identity card is optional for children below 15 years, registration with the population register is compulsory.
"We issue an identity number to children, which is compulsory for official transactions including educational matters," he said.
Al Zarouni said EIDA will have access to the Ministry of Labour's data-base to integrate labour cards with national identity cards, as per an agreement signed by the two entities.
The agreement between the Ministry of Labour and EIDA will facilitate identity cards being issued to about 3.1 million workers in the country.
Ministry officials said they would encourage employers to facilitate registration of their employees for identity cards.
Work is in progress to integrate the UAE national identity card with the health sector. The integration of the identity card with the Ministry of Interior has already been done, which enables UAE citizens to use the card as an e-passport while travelling to GCC countries, Al Zarouni, said.
Technical work has been completed to integrate E-Dirham and the E-gate facilities with national identity cards. The E-Dirham service includes using the identity card as an e-wallet to pay for various services offered by ministries, government departments and companies.
Online: How to register
Applicants can fill in the registration form at www.emiratesid.ae and print it out to submit it at any of the 24 registration centres in the country.
Customers without access to the internet can approach typing centres at the registration centres to prepare the application forms.
To find out the locations and opening times of the centres and documents required visit the website or call the EIDA call centre at 600 523 432.
People looking to register from the comfort of their homes can contact EIDA's call centre and make an appointment for its mobile registration service.
The service charge is Dh500 per family (apart from the registration fee), provided all family members are registered in the same family book or under one sponsorship, in addition to Dh10 for every family member.
Citizens have to pay Dh100 for five years and Dh50 for people 15 years or younger. Expatriates have to pay Dh100 per year. The fee has to be paid for the duration of their residence visa. Identity cards for children below 15 are optional at Dh50, but registration with the population register is compulsory.
Are you aware of the procedure to apply for the National identity card? Do you think a single card will help reduce renewal woes faced by residents? Have you faced problems in registering for it? What happened? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.
