Written by 
A new system announced by UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (FAI) will allow companies to issue or renew Emirates ID cards for staff members electronically, according to the FAI. The new system will allow companies to use FAI services to issue ID cards electronically. According to an FAI statement, the new service is designed to convert 80 percent of the authority’s services to smart and digital platforms over the course of 2018.
The FAI’s director of service centres, Nasser Al Abdouli, noted that the system will reduce errors and speed up the issuance process, as well as help companies cut down on the costs associated with issuance and renewal fee. To obtain the new system, companies must fulfil a number of criteria, including that the number of employees of a company or group of companies under the same sponsor must exceed 100 employees.
Additionally, the company must be licensed by relevant authorities and apply to the FAI to use the system.
The FAI statement also noted that an awareness campaign has been launched to familiarise companies with the system, and that training courses will be run for company representatives to teach them how to use it. In February, the government announced that a total of 5,435,911 Emirates ID cards were issued in 2017, including 1,288,844 new cards and 4,416,933 renewals or substitutions. Another 134 cards were replaced due to technical defects.