Abu Dhabi: Expatriates who renew ID cards while undergoing visa medical tests for renewing their residence visa at Preventive Medicine Centres (PMCs) across the country have to undergo fingerprinting again at the ID card registration centres, Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) said.
Eida announced this new rule as part of linking the ID card registration and residence visa processing in Abu Dhabi since yesterday.
"It is for security purposes," an official spokesperson of the authority told Gulf News yesterday.
Eida earlier said that those renewing the ID cards did not need to fingerprinting again. If anybody's fingerprints are not clear on the system, he or she is advised to take fingerprints again. Others did not need to visit the registration centre but could complete the renewal process at the typing centres.
Abu Dhabi is the fifth emirate in the country to link the visa processing and ID card registration after Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman. A few Preventive Medicine Centres (PMCs) in Dubai free zones and Sharjah have already completed the linking process. The remaining PMCs in these emirates will gradually be linked with the ID card registration by the end of this year.
Eida has opened registration centres at several PMCs in Sharjah and they will complete the linking process soon, the spokesman said.
Since the ID card registration centres are close to the PMCs, it will not be an inconvenience to the applicant, he said.
