Abu Dhabi: Medical tests done as part of visa requirements at centres of preventive medicine at Dibba Al Hisn and Al Dhaid in the emirate of Sharjah have been linked with national ID card registration procedures from the beginning of this week, the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) announced on Tuesday.
It is part of Eida' s plan to link visa medical tests and ID card registration at small centres of preventive medicine across the country besides the emirate-wise extension of the system, Dr Ali Al Khoury said.
The new system allows visa applicants to fill out application forms for both visa medical tests and ID card at the same typing centres in Dibba and Al Dhaid, sparing them a second visit. The typing centres will guide the applicants in this regard.
The official said a few more small centres of preventive medicine conducting visa medical tests in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi will also start offering ID card registration soon.
Eida has linked the issuance and renewal of visas to expatriates with ID card registration in three northern emirates — Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah — as part of its 2010-2013 strategy to enrol all expatriates in the country by the end of 2013.
Expatriates in these three emirates who apply for a residence visa or renew existing visas have to first register for ID cards.
The system will be extended to all other emirates by the end of this year.
The Eida registered three times more ID card registrations and almost four times more card printing in February, compared to last year. The number of registrations went up to 197,266 in February this year from 58,700 during the same period last year, an Eida statement said.
Meanwhile, the number of ID cards printed increased to 242,453 in February 2011 from 61,498 in the corresponding period of 2010. The statement said this proves the success of Eida's 2010-2013 strategy that envisages enrolling all residents by the end of 2013.
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