Applications submitted to the various governmental departments and banks across the country will shortly be rejected if the applicant has no ID card,” Eida higher committee deputy head Dr Ali Al Khouri said.
With the threat of services of traffic departments being denied, around 5,000 people registered for the card on Monday.
Application forms are now available online at www.emiratesid.ae and at various printing and post offices, where applicants can provide documents, fill out forms, pay fees and make appointments to visit a registration centre for the final steps.
At registration centres, applicants will only be photographed and fingerprinted, which will take no more than five to seven minutes, he said. Currently there are 22 registration centres and 25 preventive medicine centres, which also offer registration services.
Two hundred new registration devices will be deployed to mobile centres to serve labourers.
Children younger than 15 need not apply for the cards in person.
The existing 25 medical centres, where residents are tested before receiving their residency visas, will also serve as registration centres.
By the end of this year, applicants wishing to obtain residence visa or renew it will be required to produce the ID card. The government also plans to combine it with the driving licence and the labour card. There are plans to add features to the ID cards, such as a so-called e-purse, an electronic signature and a Metro fare-paying facility.
