UAE visa is stamped on every expat’s passport almost 8.4 million of them, but still, there are many expats who are still unaware of the secrets of numbers which are written on UAE residence visa especially people who don’t know about UID number also File Number. Let’s discuss it.
If a person applying for a new visa, he/she first receive an E-Visa also known as entry permit UAE before the visa print and stamp on the passport.
Which Authority manages the Visa Page?
Two authorities manage the visa page. The GDRFA (general directory of residency and foreign affairs) who manages the services of visa and the 2nd authority is ICA (Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship) which handles the Emirates ID services.
Unified Number:
The first part of the visa is the UID Number which is part of the Federal authority for identity and citizenship records. UID no. contains 9 digits that are required to complete the Emirates ID applications.
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If a person canceled his/her visa and applies for a new visa, then the resident will get a new visa number but his/her UID number will remain the same as previous. As we already mentioned above that the UID is used for emirates ID purposes and as you already know that this UAE ID number will never change.
File Number:
The second part on the visa page contains more information hidden in its numbers like visa number, emirates that issued the visa, a year during which visa issued, and therefore the sponsor details. let’s check them all.
The first three digits of the file number describe the name of emirates who issued the visa, for Abu Dhabi visa code will start with 101, the Dubai visa code will start with 201, Sharjah with 301, and Ajman with 401.
The next number is the year in which a visa is issued, if a person is working with one sponsor for a long time his/her visa year code will remain the same upon renewal. The year code on the visa will only update if the visa is canceled and applied for a new visa.
On the visa page, the last part of the file number is the UAE visa number (residence number) which a resident needs to provide If he/she asked to enter his/her visa number or searching for it. and also this number has some hidden information.
- The visa which starts with number 2, is an employment visa (work visa) issued by a company registered in UAE.
- The visa which starts with a number 3, is a spouse or family visa. (Sponsored by mother/father or husband/wife).
- In Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, visas come with a slash sign (/) after the number 2 or 3 which shows the category of visa if it is a family visa or employment visa.
Personal & Sponsor Details with a validity of visa:
The third, fourth and fifth part on residence visa is self-explanatory as it states the personal details such as passport number, visa holder name, profession, Company or sponsor’s name or the name of an individual who sponsored his/her family in case of family visa and also you can see visa issued & expiry dates.
- Residents have 1 month grace period after the visa expiry date.
- Visa will become invalid if residents remain out of UAE for more than 6 months.
At last, a barcode for e-scan is printed and on rock bottom right, you’ll see a signature, it’s not by the sponsor (company) the signatures actually of the director of residency and foreign affairs who is responsible and deal all the visa & entry permits related issues such as UAE Visa number (File no) UID Number.
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