Dubai firms handed Emirates ID deadline reminder

Companies in Dubai are being urged to alert employees about the looming ID card application deadline so they may avoid late-registration fines. Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) has sent more than 23,000 text messages to private firms asking them to remind employees to register for their ID card before June 1. According to EIDA data, a significant percentage of Dubai’s population is yet to apply for their identity card, despite having a window of just two weeks to send off their registration documents. Expats in the Dubai have been given a deadline of June 1 to apply for the card, or receive fines of AED20 per day. The northern emirates became subject to fees from December 1, whilst workers in Sharjah were penalised from February 1 and those in Abu Dhabi from April 1. All residents in the UAE are currently not permitted to renew their visas without having applied for their ID cards. Lawyers say the UAE government will increasingly require expatriates and nationals to present ID cards when dealing with federal agencies, in a further bid to pressure residents to sign up for the scheme. So far only Ajman has linked all of its government services, including Ministry of Interior services, to the ID card. Abu Dhabi requires emirates ID for car registrations and traffic services, and Dubai requests the document for other transactions, such as monthly metro passes. EIDA says it expects ID cards to be linked with all government processes in all emirates within two years.