Count me in for the UAE National ID Card

Dubai It has been reported that February 28, 2009 will be the last day for expatriate professionals living in UAE to obtain the National ID card that is why today me and my friends decided to go to Emirates Identity Authority Centre in Al Barsha to register.

National ID usage

The Identity Card can be used as a unified identification document with all the government, semi-government authorities and private entities. An individual may utilize it to obtain all the administrative services easily and promptly guaranteeing the highest levels of security and privacy

• UAE National may utilize the Identity Card as a traveling document to travel among the GCC neighboring countries
• The ID card can be used to logon to Computers and Access online services
• The ID card can be used for access control, signing electronic forms, and signing documents to protect it from being altered by others
• It is agreed with the Ministry of Finance to include the e-Dirham service to the Identity Card
• It is agreed with the Ministry of Interior to include the e-Gate service to the Identity Card
• The ID Card can be used on Abdu Dhabi e-Gov portal www.Abudhabi.ae to Authenticate your identity and get access to services

Future Usage

Thanks to the systems integration Emirates Identity Authority envisioning to achieve with various governmental, semi-governmental, and private sectors, it is expected to extend the identity utilizations in the future to include other domains especially after completion of the registration of all national and residents of the United Arab Emirates. The ID Card maybe utilized in the future to store other cards information or provide various applications as follows:

• Labor Card
• Health Card and Health Insurance card
• Electronic Portfolio
• Commercial and Banking applications
• Driving License
• Passport
• In addition, the ID Card acts as an infrastructure to many applications and services to entities to use such as:
• Public Libraries and rental stores to check out books, movies, games, cars, and others
• Utilized to get access to exhibitions
• Metro, public transportation

We were told that the centre only accepts few applicants per day so we went there early. We arrived at EIDA around 4 in the morning and there were already around 40 people waiting on the que. This week will be more busy as there are still 400,000 professional expats that has yet to apply. So I advise you to come earlier.

How to apply for an ID card

Visit the nearest EIDA service centre. Once you are allowed to get inside, they will give you a ticket number for typing ( if you have not applied online ) and another ticket for registration. Then once they called your number, you will be ask to pay either 220 or 320 depending on the validity length of your residence visa. After that they will take a photo of you and fingerprints. And that’s it. You will just wait for your ID card to be delivered by Empost on the address you mentioned. They said that it usually take 10-14 days for the card to be delivered.

For more information about Emirates National ID, visit there website here.

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