Emirates Post steps up ID card process

DUBAI // More than 75,000 application forms for national identity cards have been handed out at UAE post offices during the last four weeks. The forms, which cost Dh40, allow people to preregister their details at the post office, before being given an appointment to attend an Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) registration centre to have their fingerprints and photograph taken for the biometric identity card. Emirati citizens are legally required to have an identity card by December 31 this year, or they will face fines of up to Dh1,000. Expatriate professionals will be unable to access government services, including health care, if they do not have a card by this date, although they will not be fined until 2010. Several hundred thousand people have still to apply, and the registration system has struggled to cope with the numbers. "We have made arrangements to handle the rush," said Ibrahim bin Karam, the CEO of Emirates Post. "We urge all customers to start the process early to avoid chaos when the deadline draws near. The post offices are fully geared to meet the demands of applicants, and our staff has been specially trained to handle queries from customers. We are working closely with EIDA officials to smoothen the whole process." arichardson@thenational.ae