By IANS
Dubai : All expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be issued multipurpose identity cards from next year.
"Registration with the authority and the obtaining of ID cards will become obligatory for expatriates older than 15 years from the beginning of next year," Darwish Ahmad Al Zarouni, director general of the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA), was quoted as saying by Gulf News.
By mid-2008, electronic scans will be taken of both eyes as part of the enhanced security measures. The card will eventually replace the driving licence, labour, residency and health cards. It will also act as an e-gate, ATM card and e-passport when crossing into other Cooperation Council for the Arab States (GCC) countries.
"The validity of the card will be that of the residence period. Once a resident's visa is cancelled, his or her card will be deactivated automatically," Al Zarouni said.
The cost of the card has been fixed at 100 dirhams annually.