Scanning the iris of the eye will become one of the mandatory procedures preceding the issuance of a new type of UAE national identification cards, which will be received not only by citizens of the country, but also by all expatriates.
Electronic national identification cards (IDs) will soon be the only document of every resident of the Emirates. The Department of Population Registration under the UAE Committee of National Affiliation (EIDA), began the project of issuing a new ID for citizens of the country in the summer of 2005. At the end of 2006, it was decided to cover all expatriates to whom electronic IDs will begin to be issued from July of this year.
Two electronic memory cards of the card, 64 Kb each, will contain all official information about its owner, including passport and visa, as well as information on the status of stay in the country, details of labor activity and medical insurance. The new ID can be used as electronic e-gate cards, bank cards and electronic passports when visiting the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Cards have three degrees of protection - an access password, biometric information, fingerprints and an iris scan. The latter, according to the head of the Population Registration Department, is especially important for identifying older people and workers.
Registration of expatriates will begin in July, when 17 special registration centers will open in the Emirates, whose number will be increased to 35 in 2008. The cost of using the card for expatriates is 100 dirhams ($ 30) per year.
