National ID Card

News Title: "Card fees to generate Dh120m"

Dubai: The UAE government is spending $55 million on cutting-edge technology to implement the national ID system and is expected to generate an income of about Dh120 million from card fees by the end of this year, an official confirmed on Wednesday.

Business establishments in the UAE are highly encouraged to register their employees, as getting the all-in-one identity card, which will eventually work as a driving licence, passport and labour, residency, health and ATM card or e-wallet, will help them cut expenditures on acquiring staff's numerous IDs.

The technology being used to implement the identity cards will also offer other financial benefits, as it will plug the security loopholes in the banking system, which was recently plagued by fraudulent transactions, according to engineer Thamer Rashid Al Qasemi, planning director of the Emirates Identity Authority.

Registered

So far, the UAE has already registered 610,000 residents, 95 per cent of which are nationals. About 600,000 more, which include 350,000 expatriate professionals, are expected to enlist before the December 31, 2008 deadline.

The identity card costs Dh100 for nationals for five years, Dh100 for expatriates for one year and Dh50 for children under 15 years, regardless of nationality. In the case of expatriates, however, the fee has to be paid for the duration of the residence visa.

Given that 1.2 million residents are expected to register before this year's deadline, Al Qasemi said the issuance of cards will generate an income of about Dh120 million or more.

"Looking at the return, the income we get out of this registration process is really not comparable to the operational cost. The ID card itself costs about Dh35 to Dh45. This is the direct cost of the card. And we only give it to children for Dh50," Al Qasemi told Gulf News.

link to source Gulf News



News Title: "Identity cards needed by end of the year"

Professional expatriates who do not obtain the new identity card by the end of the year may face a suspension in transactions and dealing with governmental and semi-governmental bodies, said a senior official at the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA).

Darwish Ahmad Al Zarouni, Director General of EIDA, told Gulf News that the authority is under discussion with relevant government bodies to consider suspending some service to professional expatriates. "Services we are looking at suspending will include driving licence renewals and renewal of vehicle registration," said Al Zarouni.

The deadline to register for the card for professional expatriates and all nationals is December 31 2008.

The authority defines professionals as holders of bachelor degrees or higher qualifications. They also include: consultants, medical doctors, engineers, journalists, teachers, IT professionals and accountants. Blue collar workers will be given until the end of 2010 to register for the card.

However, the suspension of services by next January will be applied to all UAE nationals who have not obtained identity card. Bank transactions will also be suspended for Emiratis, according to Al Zarouni.

Earlier on Tuesday, Thamer Rashed Al Qasemi, Planning Director at the authority, said in a press gathering that expatriates will face a suspension in bank transactions and all governmental services if they do not obtain the cards by the end of the year.

"A circular has been sent two months ago from the UAE Central bank to banks informing them not to provide any services for Emiratis and professional expatriates who do not produce the card as identification," said Al Qasemi.

Applicants can fill in the registration form at www.emiratesid.ae and print it out to submit it at any of the 24 registration centres in the country. Customers without access to the internet can approach typing centres at the registration centres to prepare the application forms. To find out the locations and opening times of the centres and documents required visit the website or call the EIDA call centre at 600 523 432. – Gulf News '

link to source UAEinteract.com


I hope these articles serve as news/a reminder to those who qualify for the ID card.

I find it a bit confusing to see Gulf News be quoted by UAEinteract.com when GN titles their article on the same subject in a very different way than UAEinteract.com, known as "The Official Website", casts its news.

It's a case of "Card fees to generate Dh120m" vs. "Identity cards needed by end of the year"