Dubai: The Dubai Health Care City (DHCC) has opened its first integrated medical fitness and residence visa processing centre for 8,000 residents.
The free zone has collaborated with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) and will process 100 applications each day, officials said on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the centre, Major-General Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, director-general of the GDRFA-Dubai, said, “Establishing external centres such as this is in line with the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It will put government services on a par with international standards. This collaboration between DHA, DHCC and GDRFA will facilitate the speedy processing of the residency visa applications in the free zone.”
The centre, which is situated in the Ibn Sina building No. 27 at the health care city, will be open from 8am to 3pm and will carry out medical fitness tests and issue residence visas with a very quick turnaround time, said Ramadan Al Beloushi, CEO of the Dubai Health Care Regulatory (DHCR).
“It is going to be a one-stop shop for the free zone residents to give their blood samples and X-ray under 15 minutes and have their residence visas processed soon. We have integrated all services which include a typing centre as well.” he said.
Dr Beloushi also added that the free zone will start a second shift, from 3pm to 9pm, depending of the demand, and it is also considering the opening of another centre as part of the expansion plans. “We have approvals for everything and once we get an idea of how this centre copes with the influx of crowd, we will take subsequent decisions,” he added.
Humaid Al Qutami, chairman of the Board and director-general of DHA, also sent his best wishes to the centre. He said, “The DHA and DHCC Authority complement each other in developing the health sector to meet the country’s rapidly growing health-care demands. The DHCA has succeeded, in a short period of time, in leaving its pioneering imprint in one of the UAE’s most vital sectors. We, at DHA, are proud of their achievements and will continuously work to support them in their mission.”
Emphasising DHA’s role in operating the centre, Al Qutami said, “We want to put our experts, especially those involved in medical fitness test services, on a par with global standards.”
The prices for the two-day and five-day duration, and the VIP quick package have not been fixed yet but Dr Beloushi said they will be similar to the fees other DHA health fitness centres charge.
