EIDA accuses Expatriates of being Complacent

Well, anybody who have applied for the Emirates ID Card, in past two months, is well aware of the inefficiency of the process. From a website that stucks most of the time, to staff that is unable to manage pressure, EIDA has failed to meet its own defined deadlines.

First EIDA set unrealistic deadlines for the expatriates to get registered for Emirates ID Cards. Then, they applied pressure tactics by announcement of fines and barring services like bank transactions etc. When the panicked expats started to rush EIDA registration centers, the system collapsed under the pressure and they have to announced an extension of deadline.

However, now EIDA accuses expatriates of getting complancent following the announcement about no fines and the granting of more time. Thamer Rashid Al Qasimi, Planning Director and Project Management Director at (EIDA), says:

“About 493,000 of the estimated 600,000 expatriate professionals (by November 30, 2008) are left to register before February 28, 2009 but very few of them turn up these days.”

He cautioned that even if there are no fines, the ID card is the official identification document of expatriate professionals from January 1, 2009, and if any official body demands it for any transactions, EIDA will not be responsible.

Instead of accusing the expatriate community, EIDA officials should set realistic deadlines. It would be better if the ID cards were issues at time of visa renewal, rather than making the whole process another cause of suffering for the expatriates.