UAE to cut residency permit processing time by 50%

The UAE has announced plans to reduce the processing time for issuing residency permits for private sector workers by up to 50 per cent, official news agency WAM reported.

The move is being undertaken by the ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Health and Prevention, and Human Resources and Emiratisation, along with the Emirates Identity Authority.

The move is being undertaken as part of the government accelerators programme, which was launched to achieve the National Agenda of the UAE Vision 2021, the WAM report said.

The health ministry has already established a “happiness station” at the Ajman Preventive Medicine Centre to streamline the process of issuing the residency permit, said Hussain Al Rand, assistant under-secretary for Health Centres and Clinics.

“The Ministry of Health is committed to co-operating with other government stakeholders to deliver the objectives of the government accelerators regarding the residency permit for private sector staff in 100 days,” the report quoted him as saying.

The UAE cabinet announced the creation of the government accelerators initiative in October last year, with the first group focussing on five ministries: the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and Ministry of Education.

The government bodies will “accelerate the implementation of projects, policies and regulations; instill the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the government; and encourage integration between government entities and the private sector”.

The entities will be tasked with implementing joint projects in “record time” in order to shift government services into advanced standards by 2021, said Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Launching the programme, Sheikh Mohammed said: “We instructed the establishment of the world’s first government accelerators in order to accelerate work towards the realisation of the National Agenda. We want to intensify efforts and accelerate our strides towards the future. Many challenges lie ahead, and time is the biggest challenge. There are only five years ahead of us.”

He also directed officials to “intensify efforts to achieve a 100 per cent completion rate for the National Agenda goals”.