No arrest at airports if you don't have Emirates ID

Residents who do not yet have Emirates ID card, or have an Emirates ID card that is about to expire, do not have to fear being arrested, because Emirates ID is not related to border issues, according to Samir Haddad, deputy of media and communications of the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida).

Since April 1, 2012, ID card has been linked to the residency permit of all UAE residents, meaning that the ID card expires the same date as the residency expires.

However, this does not mean that the Emirates ID card is critical at borders, explains Haddad. “The official document at any border of the UAE is always the passport [with valid residence visa for expats]. And this has not changed,” he says.

“The Emirates ID card will not need to be presented.”

“When an Emirates ID card has expired, this means that the residency visa has expired too. This is an immigration matter, and has nothing to do with the Emirates ID card.”

Likewise, residents who do not yet have an Emirates ID card will not be stopped on the airport if they do have a valid visa. Not having an Emirates ID card before the deadline of June 30 will have the familiar consequences of paying the fine.

“The Emirates ID card is a technique that will be used by entities to provide certain services, and we facilitate that technique.

Although it is linked to the residency visa, it remains a tool for these entities and has nothing to do with immigration matters,” Haddad says.

People who have an Emirates ID card that is to expire will have to take the following steps:

• Apply for a new Emirates ID card at one of the authorised typing centres;
• Apply for a new residency visa, presenting the application of the new Emirates ID in addition to all other documents required for this process;
• Return to an Emirates ID centre, presenting the renewed residency visa;
• Pick up the renewed Emirates ID card

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.