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29 March 2024

Get Dubai immigration token sitting at home

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

No more do you have to wait in long queues at the Department of Immigration and Naturalisation in Dubai as 'smart queuing' will become a reality.

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai and Du signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the Gitex Technology Week 2013, to develop a smart app, among other areas, to simply a visit to the Directorate.

Smart queuing will be realised through time slots that can be booked by people who plan to visit the Directorate.

In order to get a token, you must select the purpose for which you plan to visit the Department, explained an official. Based on the number of people who have booked a time slot before you, you will be given a timeslot during which you are expected to visit the Department.

The timeslot can only be given on the same day of the request, and a new smart queue will be formed every day.

"This means you should be able to come to the Department on the same day, otherwise you should not book the time slot," said the official.

"We already have a queuing system in place, but the app enables customers to get a token for the queue online," explains Colonel Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, General Director of the E-services Sector.

"The estimated time slot is based on the calculation of the average time each request is handled with. This is different for each service required, but it is never longer than 3 minutes."

Apart from the token, a general list of requirements will be provided based on the request, which will help customers prepare better for their visit to the Department.

The same information is available on the website, and customers can call the customer service desk to inquire about the required documents if they are not sure, said the Colonel.

“We are proud to support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, by making the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai a smart establishment, with full m-government accessibility for everyone within the UAE,” said Major General Al Marri, Director of General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai.

“Through this collaboration, we aim to make our customers’ interactions even more streamlined, by rolling out various features that will add to their experience in a positive way.”