According to the latest directive from the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA), children under 15 years of age need to obtain national identity cards. Previously, registering was mandatory, but obtaining the cards was optional.
The cost of the mandatory ID card is Dh120 per child, whereas previously it was Dh50 for the optional card.
While there is a desire from the EIDA to make the use of the card mandatory for all federal and government services, the implementation of the scheme has been spotty at best, chaotic at worse and confusing to most.
For those expatriates who have obtained the ID card, there is little need to produce it as most government services do not require it.
With current work visas valid for three years, the simple approach to implement the ID scheme for expatriates would have been to link the ID cards to visa renewals. Problem solved within three years.
