Dubai: UAE-based Pakistanis can now apply for new “tamper-proof” smart ID cards designed to prevent identity fraud and serve as the gateway to various services and benefits.
Each SNICOP (Smart National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis) carries its holder’s fingerprint and eye scan, making fraud impossible, officials say. It also has 30 built-in security features and laser engraving.
SNICOP was launched on Wednesday at the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai by Javed Jalil Khattak, Consul-General of Pakistan in the UAE.
The card costs Dh128 for the normal application service, Dh147 for urgent, and Dh165 for the executive category. “It is optional right now, but gradually it may phase out other cards when it becomes prominent in use,” Khattak said.
SNICOP is issued within 10 to 30 days, depending on the opted service, and remains valid for seven years.
Since it stores information securely, Khattak added, it will eventually access driving licence records, enable electronic voting, cash transfers and even frequent-flyer programmes and store discounts.
SNICOP’s predecessor in Pakistan — the SNIC (Smart National Identity Card) — is already in service for accidental death insurance schemes and targeted subsidy programmes.
SNICOP’s storage system also allows for on-the-spot “reading” of captured data by special scanners, doing away with the need to have access to a central database.
Public service
Khattak also told reporters at the launch that the existing NICOP (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis) service will soon be made available in other emirates.
He said mobile units from the consulate will visit Pakistanis who live far from Dubai, doing away with the need for them to visit the consulate, and “reduce the burden on the consulate as well”.
“We got the equipment for NICOP and, after testing it for two or three weeks, we’ll take it to their doorstep.”
The consul-general said the move was “part of the commitment of Pakistani missions in the UAE” to extend public services to Pakistanis, no matter where they live in the UAE.
He added that Pakistanis must nurture a strong community spirit, especially with regard to Pakistani schools in the UAE, which need funding to improve and expand facilities.
