Dubai's vice president says project is 'designed to accelerate, simplify and streamline' the residency and employment process
Travelers gather! If you are hoping to move or work in Dubai, we have good news for you as the UAE authorities have reduced the processing time and number of documents required for residence visas and work documents.
Previously, it took 30 days to onboard a new employee, but under the new instructions, it will now take five days to do so and only five documents will be needed instead of 16.
Vice President and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid announced the plan on Wednesday as part of a new efficiency drive, “Zero Bureaucracy.” The National reported.
Marking the inaugural launch of the “Employment Package”, Sheikh Muhammad said the project is “designed to accelerate, simplify and streamline” the residency and employment processes.
The new plan offers services such as “issuance of work and residence permits for new employees, renewal of a residence permit, medical fitness test for a residence visa, cancellation of work permits and scanning of Emirates ID fingerprints “.
The platform will operate entirely online, but medical checks and fingerprint scanning will still be carried out in person.
The initiative is part of the Invest in Dubai platform, which will serve more than 275,000 companies in Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed emphasized that the plan “is intended to recover 62 million working days” dedicated to the process.
“This project is expected to reduce 25 million procedures annually, thereby generating substantial savings for both the government and private sectors.”
The new platform will soon be available to companies in other emirates.
The entities that collaborate on the platform are Dubai Health, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization, Economy and Tourism of Dubai, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai ( GDRFA).
The initiative also prevents any new employee from having to visit each department separately, either in person or online, as was previously necessary for the process.
Lieutenant General Mohammed Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA-Dubai, said they expect a 25% increase in service transactions this year after the launch of the new platform.
