Soon UAE residents won’t have a sticker visa on their passports to verify their residency status. You may wonder how to prove residency after last month’s announcement that visa stickers will soon be replaced with UAE Emirates ID.
Although earlier residents had to provide copies of their passport’s ‘visa pages’ as a requirement for all official paperwork in the UAE (including the UAE’s passport), how can you give details about your residency status once that sticker has been withdrawn? These are the options that the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security, (ICP) offers UAE residents:
1. UAE Emirates ID:
ICP began replacing the residency visa sticker with Emirates IDs on April 11. ICP announced that Emirates ID will be used to prove expatriate residency. ICP last year announced the launch of a new generation of UAE Emirates ID with 10-year service life. This advanced version contains all information on your previous residency visa sticker. It also includes additional information such as your personal and professional information, issuing authority, population group, and ‘non-visible data’. These data are protected through an enhanced security system and can be accessed through ICP’s “e-link” system.
2. Digital Visa Sticker
You can still access the familiar pink-coloured sticker, but digitally through the official UAE ICP App. These are the steps to access the digital visa sticker.
1. The ‘UAEICP” app is available for both Android and Apple devices.
2. Login with your UAE Pass account or create a new account at ICP.
3. After you’ve registered, the app will show you the details about your residency.
4. Sponsoring a family member or domestic worker means that the dependents of your sponsorship will have their accounts linked with your account. You will then be able to access their details.
5. You will see an icon that looks similar to a document wallet at the bottom of your screen. You can tap on this icon to access the digital copy and the residency sticker.
6. Tap on the sticker for your residency visa and click on Download.
7. You can then download the visa sticker and share it with others via Whatsapp, Email, or any other platform.
3. Print The Residency Document
Your ICP website can be used to print your residency details. This service will provide a residence report with the stamp of the authority.
These steps will help you get your residency report:
1. Log in to your account at icp.gov.ae
2. Click on “Department” to select the immigration department which issued your visa (Dubai GDRFA Sharjah, etc.).
3. Select ‘Other services” in the section ‘Modules’.
4. Select “reports” in the service section.
5. Select ‘Residence details” in the sub-service section.
6. Under service action, select ‘print’
7. Then, you will need to choose the person whose residency report is required. You will also see options for dependents if you have them under your sponsorship. Select your residence file if you do not have dependents.
Click on the print icon to the right of the residence file to select it.
8. Confirm the details of the individual as they appear on the ICP system.
9. Make the payment.
10. After you have made the payment, ICP will send you the residency report.
Cost:
Request fees – Dh50
E-services fees: Dh29.40
ICA fees – Dh22
Total – Dh101.40
