Emirates ID a must at Labour, Interior, Justice ministries

Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) has achieved a full e-linkage with the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice and has launched an initiative to replace Labour Ministry’s e-signature cards with the national ID. “We have achieved 100 per cent electronic linkage with Ministry  of Labour and Ministry of Justice. We have launched a new initiative to replace the electronic signature card with the ID card for any transactions in the Ministry of Labour,” Dr Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Emirates ID, Director-General, said on Tuesday. In September, Emirates 24|7 reported that the ID card will hold the capability of being a single docket of documentation and identification for a resident of the UAE, holding their passport, labour card, driving licence and heath insurance details by the end of 2013. The move is expected following completion of the population register and electronic linkage system by next year. However, there is no obligation on any of the government entities to replace their cards with the ID cards. Eida will also be distributing 500,000 card readers this year, which will contribute to reducing time required for completing transactions in many of government organizations. The “urgent” service, currently  only available for UAE Nationals, has now been extended to 11 centres. In mid-January, only four registration centres offered the service. The ID card will be issued in 24 hours for which the applicant has to pay an additional charge of Dh150 over and above the regular fees. Last month, Eida announced changing the name of cards given to expatriates to “resident ID” to show the card holder is not a UAE citizen. The measure will be enforced on February 1 but those holding valid cards need not change them before they expire. “The change is in line with a recommendation by the Federal National Council to differentiate between cards given to UAE nationals and expatriates,” the authority had said. Emirates 24/7