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Dubai: Identity card centres are crammed as nationals rush to apply for their cards before the deadline arrives.
Citizens are complaining that centres are overcrowded and that they have to wait several hours just to get tokens and a number to apply for their ID card.
The deadline set by auth-orities for nationals to apply is the end of April, the same date set for expatriates to start applying for their ID cards.
Citizens from remote areas have been coming to Dubai due to their inability to apply in their locality because of problems with the computer systems there.
Applicants complained that people coming from remote areas are adding a burden to the Al Karama centre in Dubai, the only one that has facilities to obtain fingerprints.
Maitha from Dubai said that she had to take a day off from work in order to apply for her ID card.
"My mother came the day before and picked up an application form in order to save me some time. However, I was at the Al Karama centre in Dubai at 7am and I was given number 60 and told to wait," Maitha said.
Maitha added that at 11am only 18 people were able to go through the fingerprinting process.
Bu Khalid who arrived with his family members from Ras Al Khaimah said he came to Dubai because the computers and systems do not work most of the time at the Ras Al Khaimah centre. Shamsa, who was waiting for her turn for more than seven hours, said the centre is crowded with people who are coming from remote areas in the country.
"The process is taking too long. I am here with my mother, father, two sisters and four brothers. We are waiting but the process is very slow," she said.
A woman in her sixties said that she came all the way from Umm Al Quwain.
"My nephew dropped me here. He finishes work at 3pm and at that time, the centre in our area is closed so he brought me here," she said.
Abdullah Ahmad, a 70-year-old said that he came twice and waited for many hours.
"I am an old man. I cannot walk and stand properly. I cannot come here every day. It is so difficult to come again and wait," he said.
Extension of working hours
Darwish Al Zarouni, director general of Emirates Identity Authority, said they have received complaints from the public about the slow process of issuing ID cards.
He said for that reason they have extended the working hours at all 16 centres from 7am to 10pm. Al Zarouni added all centres will be open on Saturdays. He said there is aplan to extend the deadline to the end of May for citizens to apply for the ID card.
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