Look: First UAE residents get residency visa stickers replaced by Emirates IDs

As of April 12, Emirates IDs officially replaced residency visa stickers for several UAE expatriates, Khaleej Times can confirm.

The change in regulation came into force on Monday, April 11, where a sticker with a person’s residency details will no longer take up a page in their passports. Instead, all details would be stored on the Emirates ID, and the change merges residence and identity card applications instead of processing them separately.

Some UAE expatriates have already begun to avail the new service. On Tuesday, a few residents Khaleej Times reached out to have said the service has several benefits, including passport safety and speedy services.

“The waiting time to get your visa and Emirates ID processed is much lesser. It is a lot more convenient for those wishing to travel often, for example,” said Enas Naser, an Egyptian expatriate who got a digital copy of his visa on Tuesday.

Uttesh Hegde, an Indian expatriate living in Sharjah, moved jobs recently. Though Uttesh received a notification confirming that federal immigration authorities had processed his visa, he did not know how to get a physical copy of the visa.

“I have to travel to Nepal for a private function on April 14 and was worried I’d get stopped at the airport since I did not have a copy of the visa. After seeking information from several sources, I decided to go to the airport (Terminal 2) and check with immigration authorities if I am eligible to travel,” Hegde said.

“The immigration officers assured me that I am good to travel and gave me detailed information on the various mobile applications I can use to access a copy of the residence visa,” he added, sharing screenshots of the virtual copies he received of both his Emirates ID and residence stamp on the app (see below).

He added, “The process is very comfortable and smooth. I don’t have to give my passport to get my visa stamped. Only an Emirates ID is needed.”

Meanwhile, officials at authorised typing centres in UAE have assured residents there are no changes in the application processes for the Emirates IDs and residency visas.

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Shamim Yusuf, general manager of Al Nahda Business Centre, said, “The typing process for the Emirates ID and residency visas remains the same. The major change here is that the sticker will not be stamped on the passport. Expatriates can see their e-visas on the Federal Authorities for Identity and Citizenship (ICP) app, similar to the virtual Emirates ID service.”

Agents said the new service would mean people are not separated from their passports and would be able to travel abroad.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com​

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