Can you renew your Emirates ID before it expires? UAE rules explained

Dubai: Whether you are planning to travel to a country which offers visa-free entry to UAE residents or have to apply for official paperwork, you can renew your Emirates ID well before its expiry date to stay on top of your document requirements.

Here’s all you need to know.

If you are UAE expat, the first thing to remember is that your Emirates ID is linked with your residence visa, so renewing your Emirates ID would automatically require you to also apply for the renewal of your residence visa.

According to the UAE government’s official website – u.ae – the Emirates ID can be renewed up to six months before its expiry.

However, an important point to note is that renewing your visa and Emirates ID early would also mean that your new Emirates ID and visa issuance and expiry date would move up.

“We can start process for the residency visa renewal, but once the visa is renewed within the six months of expiry that renewed visa will start from the date of renewal,” Muhammad Shiyas, PRO at First Gate Business Services, said.

“For example, if the visa expires on December 20 and the renewal process starts in August, you would lose the four months on your residency duration. The new visa’s validity will start from the approval date of the application for renewal,” he added.

For UAE citizens, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) recently announced in July this year that the Emirates ID could be renewed up to one year before its expiry.

However, this is only applicable to UAE citizens.

According to Shiyas, as long as the required documents are in place, the application process takes approximately five working days. To know more about the required documents and process for visa renewal, read our detailed guide here.