Wednesday, Feb 08, 2012
Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: Thousands of expatriates working with private companies in free zones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will get time to register for or renew their national ID cards without paying fines until March 31 and May 31 respectively, the Emirates Identity Authority (Emirates ID) announced yesterday.
The authority had started imposing fines for delayed registration and renewal of ID cards from January 1 on expatriates employed with private firms in free zones, along with expatriates in the government and ?semi-government sectors, an official spokesman of Emirates ID told Gulf News yesterday. The reprieve is because the government considers free zones as part of the semi-government sector, he said.
The spokesman made it clear that the reprieve is not applicable for free zones in other emirates [except Abu Dhabi and Dubai] because the deadline for expatriates in the five other emirates has already expired.
Penalties: Confusion abounds
Many expatriates in the government and semi-government sectors have started paying fines because of the confusion about the status of their companies. Many others mistook the reprieve announced for expatriates in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. As Gulf News reported on January 19, only the family members of expatriate employees in government and semi-government sector in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will get time to register for or renew ID cards without paying fines until March 31 and May 31 respectively.
By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
