Emiratis face the final ID deadline, fines Dh1,000

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Emiratis face the final ID deadline, fines Dh1,000

The new deadline of June 30, 2011, for Emiratis to get their ID cards announced on Saturday will be the “final” one, exceeding which would incur fines of up to Dhs1,000 per head, Khaleej Times has learnt.

By Ahmed Al Majaida

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Published: Mon 27 Dec 2010, 1:04 AM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 1:58 PM

However, expats have up to the end of 2013 to get their cards processed, said a senior official from the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA), noting “this doesn’t mean they should wait until that time”.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dr Ali Mohammad Khouri, Director-General of the EIDA, said: “The extension granted to the UAE citizens is their “last” chance and will not be extended further.”

He added that the authority has developed an appropriate mechanism to impose fines on those who would exceed the new deadline and fines of up to Dh1,000 are being considered, pending approval. However, no penalties for expats have been considered as yet. He noted that the exact penalties would be announced at a later date.

Shedding light on the Identity Strategy 2010-2013 which enables the linking of ID registration with visa renewals or issuance, he said: “We are working to get the system going in two weeks and would be completely ready by the end of next year.”

He urged professional residents to continue with their process to get the ID cards and not wait until the renewal of their visas, while requesting labourers to wait until their visa renewals to get their cards. This, he added, would help in avoiding too much rush which is being experienced at the moment.

He called upon citizens, who did not take the initiative yet to register for the ID card as yet, to get it done before the end of the grace period given to them, in order to avoid disruption of governmental and private services and transactions during the coming period, and to avoid fines as well.

According to the National Centre for Statistics, as many as 125,000 UAE citizens, mostly children, have not enrolled with the EIDA as yet.

The EIDA has taken several measures to expedite the entire process, one of which being the increase of working hours. Around 140,000 cards were processed in the last few months and there are around 20,000 cards pending to be dispatched, which were delayed due to various reasons.

Dr Khouri urged those who have processed their papers but not got their cards as yet, not to panic, “as the system will ease up in the next few days”.

Ahmedjamal@khaleejtimes.com


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