People abandoned 'wait and watch' policy for ID cards

People who adopted a ‘wait and watch policy' on national ID cards had enough reasons to change their mind in 2011. The Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) started fining people who did not renew their existing cards or apply for new cards. The visa application process and ID card registration were linked across the country except in Dubai, making the ID card mandatory for applying and renewing residence visas. The ID card is required to access many government services, including traffic department services in most emirates, and many more services are added to this list every day. Eida's September 14 announcement on fines for Emiratis and expatriates was an unexpected move for many people as the authority had extended its announced deadlines for Emiratis several times since 2008. It had also taken a soft stance on the announced deadline for expatriate professionals in 2008. Although a Federal Law stipulated December 31, 2010 as the deadline for expatriates, it was extended, considering its 2010-2013 strategy which envisaged enrolling all expatriates by the end of 2013. The authority's new announcement on fines followed the Ministerial Decision No. 25 for 2011 on ID cards. Failing to meet the new deadlines would attract a Dh20 day fine up to a maximum of Dh1,000. Children are exempt from fines until October 1, 2012. Emiratis were supposed to pay fines from November 1 and expatriates in four northern emirates (Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman), and all expatriates working in government sector across the country from December 1. But the authority did not reveal the number of people who had paid the fine or any related information. "We don't want to talk about the fines. Because we don't want to scare people but prefer to encourage people to fulfil the legal obligation," an official spokesman of the authority told Gulf News yesterday. The fine will be applicable for expatriates in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai from February 1, 2012, April 1, 2012 and June 1, 2012 respectively. October 31, 2011 was the deadline for renewing all identity cards expiring up to that date. Any cardholder across the UAE, with the exception of children under 15 years, has 30 days to renew the card from the date of expiry. A delay in registration, renewal of ID card and reporting changes will attract a fine of up to Dh20 per day, up to Dh1,000. Any change in the personal data of cardholders, except children under 15 years of age, and incidents that bring about changes in personal data should be reported to Eida within 30 days from the date of change. ID card registration will be mandatory to apply for or renew residence visas in Dubai from April next year.