Emirates ID deadline put back for under 15s

Parents will have until October 3 to register for new identification cards for children under 15-years old before they will be hit by fines, the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) announced through the WAM news agency.

“Registration of this category all over the UAE should be made before October 1… The three-day grace period has been given in response to appeals of segment of parents who have missed the deadline of registering their children,” EIDA said.

“The authority urged parents to seize the new grace period to expedite registration of their children through more than 1,200 typing centres across the country,” the statement added.

Authorities previously extended the deadline for all Dubai residents by one month to June 30, which EIDA said would be a “one-off” and would not be flexible in future.

Those who do not begin the process by the new deadline face fines of AED20 per day. Failure to renew cards and failure to update important biographical data will result in a maximum fee of AED1,000.

EIDA has faced an uphill struggle in convincing UAE residents to sign up for mandatory identification cards, despite announcing a series of deadlines for applications.

The scheme, which began in 2005, was designed to integrate information from labour cards, visas and other ID documents, and to make government transactions easier.

Each card contains the holder’s address, photo, date of birth and fingerprints, and can be used as an official source of identification in the Gulf state.