Dubai: There are currently around 314 typing centres in the UAE still authorised to provide the e-form typing service for Emirates ID, after a grace period to meet new standards expired on July 28, the Emirates Identity Authority has said.
Only those typing centres who confirm to new standards, enforced since August 1, can continue accepting the e-form application, which is necessary for the ID card’s issuance or renewal.
All other centres that used to provide the Emirates ID typing service are no longer accepting such applications. It wasn’t immediately known how many typing centres in total were offering the service before the new rules came into effect.
However, there have been no reports of long waiting lines at the remaining typists. Besides the accredited typing centres, applicants can also continue to visit Tas’heel offices, which provide services for a variety of government transactions, or apply online. There is no Dh30 typing fee when residents choose to apply online.
Typists and applicants also confirmed the development to Gulf News recently, with some residents saying they were told by their regular typists to visit Tas’heel instead.
All related procedures and fees for applicants remain unchanged. The new standards only apply to typing centres, which were instructed by the authority to upgrade to services such as a queue system, and meet minimum space and staff requirements, among other standards.
On August 8, the authority said on its website (www.id.gov.ae) that the new standards would mean better service for applicants at the typing centres.
Nasser Al Abdouli, director, Service Centres Support, Emirates ID Authority, said, “Ninety per cent of errors in the customer data entered in the ID system result from errors in the work methods at these offices as they do not meet the basic conditions approved by the authority, which leads to obstructing and delaying the issuance of ID cards”.
A spokesman of the authority told Gulf News that the new rules on typing centre came into effect on August 1.
Although at the moment 314 typing centres across the country have been authorised, residents can expect more centres in the coming days.
“We receive new applications from typing centres on a daily basis, and we give approval to new ones if they meet the new criteria,” the spokesperson said.
The authority has also pointed out that it has ensured that customers are able to obtain its services within 10km of their areas. Al Abdouli has explained that the authority excluded the minimum space requirement for offices located in low population areas that are far from major cities, in order to ensure that the service is available for the residents of such areas.
For inquiries, the authority can be reached 24/7 on its call centre on 600530003.
