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Staff at General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai. Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/ Gulf News Archives

Dubai: Dubai residents now have easy access on residency services on their smartphones through the Dubai Now app.

Residents can now apply for residency services for parents, grandparents and other relatives, in addition to the residency services for newborns, spouses and children.

Smart Dubai has launched the bundle of residency services on its flagship Dubai Now app, in collaboration with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai. The new additions expand the integrated network of services offered to users of the Dubai Now app to save their time and effort, reduce paper consumption in government transactions, and support Dubai’s efforts at comprehensive digital transformation. The residency services being introduced will allow users to obtain residency visas easily and without having to visit service centres.

Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Marri

“Providing a unified platform for government services in Dubai has made a qualitative leap in the concept of government services, customer can complete the government transactions easily through an integrated digital platform,” said Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA-Dubai.

He pointed out that GDRFA Dubai will continue working in cooperation with all government entities to provide all its services in a way that contributes to enhancing the quality of life, and to ensure the acceleration of Dubai’s transformation into the most prominent developed and smart city in the world.

Dubai Now app
The Dubai Now app already offers users a host of residency services, namely applying for, renewing, or cancelling residency sponsorship for a spouse and children; viewing dependents’ residency visas and entry permits; tracking the status of visa applications and entry permits for residents and visitors; and requesting official travel and dependent reports from the GDRFA-Dubai.
Dubai Now application allows users to access more than 130 government and private sector services from over 30 entities (28 government departments and 8 nongovernment institutions). These services can be classified into 12 different categories, namely: Bills, Mobile, Driving, Housing, Residency, Health, Education, Police, Travel, Islam, Donations and General.
Smart Dubai is constantly adding more services, which saves time for users and allows them to reduce the number of times they need to visit customer service centers annually from 23 to 9 times, saving every person 28 hours on average.

According to GDRFA-Dubai, all transactions associated with these services can be easily completed from the application, which offers citizens and residents an all-in-one experience and a single tool for all dealings with Dubai government and several private sector partners.

“The UAE’s government has taken steps towards adopting the best global solutions and practices in all fields, and engaging all government entities in designing services and developing innovative digital solutions comes in line with the country’s digital future and in line with the government’s needs for smart services to provide the seamless and fastest customer journey,” added Maj Gen Al Marri.

Wesam Lootah

Wesam Lootah, CEO of the Smart Dubai Government Establishment, said that employing the latest technology to facilitate people’s lives and provide exceptional living experiences is an approach that Smart Dubai is committed to in its march towards achieving the emirate’s full smart transformation. “The Dubai Now app has been designed to meet the needs and aspirations of the residents of Dubai and to ensure the provision of smooth services that save time and effort. Dubai Now application aims to increase the levels of happiness across all members of society, in alignment of our vision to make Dubai the happiest city on Earth,” said Lootah.