The shift from the UAE residence visa – which was previously stamped on the passport – to the upgraded Emirates ID – which bears all the information previously present on the residence visa – is officially underway.
The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Ports Security (ICA) in the UAE and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) had earlier revealed that this switch would go into effect from 11 April for all expats residing in the country in a digitisation push to phase out the stamping of residence visas on passports.
Abu Dhabi begins move from UAE residence visa to Emirates ID
Within a week of the planned launch of the initiative, experts have begun to see the impact of the implemented changes, particularly in UAE capital of Abu Dhabi and its free zones.
“In Abu Dhabi, the processing time for obtaining a residence visa has now been reduced. Previously, the passport was required to obtain the visa sticker, which was done via submission to Empost, who then liaised with immigration and returned the passport with the completed stamped visa,” said Jessica Ashford, the COO of the PRO Partner Group.
“The removal of the visa stamping process will save between a number of working days, which is a significant benefit. The previous timeline was realistically 15 – 21 working days, which has now been reduced to by 3 – 5 working days, if all relevant documents are in place and there are no delays for approvals from the government departments or in the issuance of a health insurance.”
The resident visa itself can be obtained through the ICA smart app and printed in a physical form, if required.
UAE residents can apply for a printed version of their residency bearing the authority’s stamp, through their individual accounts on the authority’s smart services system, which allows individuals to print their residency details in just three steps.
Dubai to begin switch from passport-stamped visa to Emirates ID soon
In Dubai, the initiative has not yet been implemented in line with the updated process announced by the government, but the expectation is that it will begin shortly, the PRO Partner Group expert said.
Ashford added: “In Dubai, once the visa is approved an electronic version has always been issued by GDRFA. However, we are still witnessing the physical visa being applied to the passport, for the visas we have processed within this week.
“We do foresee potential teething issues when dealing with other departments, and other organisations in the UAE – such as banks, utility providers, travel agencies etc that do usually require sight of the physical resident visa in order to authorise transactions.”
Therefore, it will be important for all other organisations and government departments to update their systems to embrace the new combined ID document and smart app printing visa process.
“Overall, this is a very positive step and will make the immigration process more efficient and streamlined, it is a very welcome update from the UAE Government,” Ashford concluded.
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