Picture used for illustrative purposes.

Emadeddin Khalil, Staff Reporter

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) determined four procedures that a foreigner who has a valid residency in the UAE must follow in case of his/her passport or Emirates ID card lost or damaged abroad. Pursuant to the decision on the controls of entry and residency of foreigners, these procedures start by reporting the incident of loss or damage to the competent authority in the country, where the incident occurred.

The next step is to get a report from the competent authority for the incident. The report must contain the basic data of the document subject of the loss or damage so as to be attested from the UAE’s embassy in that country. After that, a request to enter the country through the ICP’s smart services platform must be submitted, with all documents required, date of arrival, port of entry, flight number or other means of transportation, and data of the new travel document.

After completing all these procedures, the foreigner will be allowed to enter the country. He must report to the relevant department within 3 working days to complete the necessary procedures. On the other side, the ICP explained the procedures that a foreigner, who is existing in the country based on an entry permit or those who are excluded from pre-entry visa scheme, must follow in case of his/her passport lost or damaged in the country during his/her stay.

He/she must report to the nearest police station within 3 days from the date of the incident, and make an announcement at his/her expense in two newspapers, one in Arabic and the other in English, about the passport’s loss or damage. After that, he/she should visit the entity from which the visa was issued, in order to obtain a letter directed to the embassy of his/her country.

The letter must contain the person’s data and the type of his/her entry visa. He/she will then obtain a permit to leave the country (after paying the prescribed fee) through the issued passport or its substitute documents issued by the embassy of his/her country to be able enter his/her home country or any other destination, or to rectify his status in the country, when the conditions for that are met.