ID card registration linked with visas in RAK

Beginning Tuesday, residents of Ras Al Khaimah applying for resident visas are required to have National Identity Cards, according to Emirates Identity Authority (Eida).

This has already been implemented in Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah as part of Eida's 2010-2013 strategy to enrol all expatriates as part of process to procure a residence visa, reported 'Gulf News'.

Abdul Aziz Al Ma'amari, Director of Public Relations and Marketing, Eida, said: "Visa applicants in Ras Al Khaimah will need to first apply for ID cards before applying for a new visa or renewing an existing one."

Resident visa application forms must have Eida's seal, as proof of registration.

Meanwhile, Dr Ali Al Khoury, Director-General, Eida, said: "We are gradually extending the linking process through every emirate, beginning with the Northern Emirates."

No date set yet for Dubai

Meanwhile, Brigadier Obaid bin Surour, Deputy Director, General Directorate for Residence and Immigration, said earlier expatriates seeking to renew their visa residence in Dubai are not required to be registered in the national identity as they are not linked yet.  

The General Directorate for Residence and Immigration is consulting with Eida to complete that link at a later stage, he told 'Emarat Al Youm' newspaper. 

“We are still issuing and renewing visa residence for expatriates without asking for the ID,” he said.
 
“The Directorate, however, is about to take steps to implement a decision to link residence to the ID…we need to conduct consultations with the Eida in this respect to ensure a smooth operation and avert additional burdens on clients.”
 
Eida, which seeks to cover the UAE’s more than five million nationals and foreigners in its ambitious ID project, has said visa residence and other government services would eventually be linked to ID registration but has not set a date.
 
Eida has extended its December 2010 deadline until June for all residents to register with the ID but it is not clear if there would be another extension. 

Last month, the Authority said more than three million people had been registered since it launched the ID campaign a few years ago.  
 

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