ICA launches new version of Emirates ID card

The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) has launched the second generation of the Emirates ID card as part of the new generation of Emirati passports and national ID card project.

Major-General Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, Acting Director-General of the ICA, said that the issuance of the new generation Emirates ID is part of achieving the UAE government's vision to develop the population data using the advanced technology based on best practices and international standards.

The new ID will have enhanced protection of invisible data (can be read through E-link System with ICA), advanced technical and technological characteristics (higher chip capacity and non-touch data reading feature), a high-quality card with a longer life (using polycarbonate for a life service exceeding 10 years), consolidated 3D photo (laser printing feature authenticated with the date of birth), and additional fields with codes definition (professional data, issuing authority and population group).

Al Khaili said that the authority will start printing the new card for customers after the first stage use of its electronic version. He explained that the beneficiaries of the new cards at this stage are those whose cards have expired, as well as the requests for lost or damaged ones. Al Khaili pointed out that it is preferable to use the valid card until its expiry date and to benefit from the updated ID upon renewal.

He affirmed that there are no changes in the list of approved fees for the application process and issuance of ID cards.

While announcing the start of the first phase of issuing the new version of the Emirates ID cards, the authority had called on the "identity renewal service applicants" category to use the electronic version of the ID in all services of various sectors until the issuance of the printed cards.

The authority stated that the electronic version of the ID is an exact copy of the printed card and is available via the authority's smart application "ICA UAE Smart," which can be downloaded for free from the IOS and Android stores.

The electronic version can be used via "QR Code" scanning technology, to enable immediate reading of the card, as it is automatically generated when entering the customer’s document wallet in the smart application.

The electronic ID card is characterised by all the data shown on the card, through reading it directly from the authority's database. This process helps service authorities to verify the effectiveness of the issued card in case the printed card is not available.

The authority stated that coordination has been made with the concerned authorities, service and business sectors to provide their services using the electronic version of the ID via the Authority's smart application.


WAM