How to get a digital Emirates ID while you wait for your new card


Gillian Duncan
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In August, officials unveiled a “new generation” Emirates ID card.

The card includes a 3D picture, showing the date of birth of the cardholder, along with enhanced protection of “non-visible data” and a longer service life of more than 10 years.

It will also store extra data, such as employment information.

Anyone who is waiting for their new card can follow the steps below.

How can I use my Emirates ID if it has expired?

You can download a digital version of the card.

Services and businesses that require Emirates ID cards have been instructed to accept the digital version, the ICA said previously.

Emirates ID cards are mandatory for residents and widely used for identification purposes across the UAE.

The new Emirates ID cards will have a 10 year service life. Victor Besa/The National
The new Emirates ID cards will have a 10 year service life. Victor Besa/The National

How do I download a digital copy?

There are two ways to do it.

The first is through the ICA UAE Smart app, which can be downloaded free from the Apple and Android stores.

Once you have logged into the app, click on the Emirates ID button on the home screen.

That will show you an exact copy of how the new card looks, if the new-style card has been issued. This will happen if the card is new or has been renewed, or replaced recently.

The new-look card includes the EID number, name, date of birth, nationality, gender issue and expiry date, along with a copy of the cardholder’s signature on the front.

On the back, it includes the person’s occupation and employer, as well as the card number.

It is possible to either download a PDF copy, or generate a QR code by clicking on the “view QR code” button above the card, which can be used by a service or business for authentication.

Alternatively, you can download a copy of your EID using the UAE Pass app, available on the Apple and Android stores.

It can also generate a QR code for authentication.

This can be used until the new card arrives.

When will I receive my new EID card?

The first recipients of the new cards will be those whose current Emirates ID has expired, as well as those requesting replacements for lost or damaged cards.

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Turkish Ladies

Various artists, Sony Music Turkey 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives. 

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast. 

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker. 

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

 

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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

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Rating: 4/5

Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz

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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

 

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

 

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

 

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.

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Updated: September 29, 2021, 1:06 PM