Expat residents will no longer have their UAE residency visas stamped on their passports.
5 April 2022
| Last updated on 7 April 2022
The Emirates ID will now act as your UAE residency visa.
Effective from Monday April 11, 2022, residency visas will no longer be issued on passports and these will be replaced by the UAE Emirates ID as proof of valid residency.
This will be applied for all residency visas issued after April 11, and airlines will be able to verify the validity of expat visas through the Early Inquiry Centre by checking the passenger's passport number and Emirates ID card.
The announcement was issued in a circular by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICA), with the goal of improving customer happiness.
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Presently, the residency visa is a sticker stamped on to expat residents' passports, and these are issued for two, three, five, or 10-year periods, depending on the type of visa an expat has.