Freezone employees and staff of private companies based in freezones of Abu Dhabi and Dubai will have to adhere to the April 1 and June 1, 2012 deadlines respectively with regards to registration and/or renewal of ID cards, Emirates Identity Authority said in a statement on Tuesday.

Earlier, the authority had said those with residence visas expiring by December 31, 2012 in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah could renew their expired cards or register for one at the time of residency renewal.

This exception came in response to the demands of a broad section of free zone employees and a large number of private sector companies operating in free zones.

Eida clarified that the deadline for freezone employees in Abu Dhabi and Dubai expired last December and delay penalties were being imposed on those who had not registered, effective January 1, 2011.

Eida added that these decision came as part of its keenness on providing the most prestigious services to public and facilitating their registration procedures.

The decisions emphasise that priority would be to complete the population register system and the ID card project because they help enhance national and individual security and was in accordance with UAE Vision 2021, Eida said.