The Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) has announced a deadline extension of one month for Dubai residents to register for their Emirates ID card.

The decision comes after taking into consideration the plight of workers who have not been able to register yet and to help them avoid delay fees.

The Eida revealed that it received 3.3 million transactions for issuing ID cards over the first five months of 2012, including one million (new and renewal) forms that were filled out in May, this being the highest number of forms received by the authority in one month since the registration started in 2005.

The authority decided to extend the Dubai deadline to June 30, noting that this initiative was in response to the queries received through its website and

social media pages. The deadline was extended despite the success in registering around 90 per cent of Dubai’s population by the deadline of May 31.

The Eida centres did not witness any rush, compared to the crowds witnessed by the Dubai-based typing centres in the last week of the deadline, thanks to the culture of waiting till the last minute.

The authority affirmed that the given deadline until the end of June would be enough for adjusting the conditions of Dubai population who have not registered yet and those whose residency expires after December 31, 2012.

The Eida pointed out that the extension of the deadline in Dubai confirms that the “deadlines decision”, which covered all the emirates and was announced in September 2011, proved to be successful in speeding up the registration of the UAE population.

It also confirms that it was aimed at completing the population registration system and the ID card project, which allow the authority to switch gradually to linking the ID card with the transactions and services provided by the government and private organisations as a means of identification and confirmation of the identity of individuals and a condition for benefiting from these services, the authority added.

The Eida noted that the UAE population’s response and adherence to the issuance of the ID card within the deadlines, and completing the population register system and the ID card project as per the authority’s strategic plan 2010-2013 would contribute to speeding up the pace of development and growth of the nation.

It will also support the projects emanating from the e-Government plan 2014 and in achieving the federal government’s strategy and the UAE Vision 2021.

The authority called on the private sector companies operating in Dubai to seize this last opportunity by cooperating with it and coordinating with the directors of its affiliated centres to complete the procedures of registering their workers, provided that they adhere to the prior appointment system and avoid transporting workers in buses to the registration centres without prior appointment or coordination.

The residents whose visas would expire before December 31, 2012, in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah should register by the time of the residence renewal procedures.

New expatriates who have no residence visas should fill out a registration form and then visit one of the registration centres attached to preventive medicine centres to complete registration procedures (fingerprinting and photographing) immediately after the medical examination as per the procedure followed all over the UAE based on the linkage project between the ID and the residence.