Dubai announces smart system that renews Emiratis' passports automatically

General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs also says 44,000 golden visas have been issued to residents in the emirate

UAE citizens will be contacted when six months validity is left on their passport to arrange delivery of a new one. Philip Cheung / The National

A new smart system means that Emiratis in Dubai will no longer need to remember to renew their passports six months before they expire.

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai will use artificial intelligence to issue notifications to staff when passports are drawing close to their renewal dates.

“With the full digital transformation in services and a database of Emiratis passports, the expiry dates of each passport will be identified,” said Lt Gen Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, GDRFA-Dubai's director general at a press briefing.

Once GDRFA staff receive notification of the expiry date of a passport, they will contact its holder to ask about their preferred delivery method.

“We formed a team to contact people once the expiry dates of their passports are detected, then renew the passport and deliver it to their place,” he said.

To date, 92 passports have been renewed and delivered to UAE citizens in Dubai under the initiative, which was launched in line with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

“We are keen on rolling out schemes that are for the benefit of citizens and expatriates alike,” Lt Gen Al Marri said.

Golden visas

He said nearly 44,000 golden visas have so far been issued to residents in Dubai.

“The department deals with golden visa applications on a daily basis,” he said.

He also said the number of travellers arriving at Dubai airports has been increasing steadily with the recovery from Covid-19.

“The airports welcome around 65,000 travellers coming to Dubai every day, with an estimated number of around 145,000 travellers in total arriving and departing from the emirate,” he said.

“I expect the number to increase to 200,000 travellers daily soon.”

He said the increase in passengers numbers was clearly attributable to the way the UAE had handled the pandemic.