Emirates ID and UAE Pass explained for Australians

In Australia you can go years without showing anything more official than a driver's licence. In Dubai, almost nothing happens until you have an Emirates ID, and almost nothing happens online until you have a verified UAE Pass.

The short version

The Emirates ID is issued by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP). Residents must apply for one and carry it at all times [1].
Before your residence is finalised you'll do a medical fitness test (blood test and chest X-ray) and give biometrics [1][3].
Late renewal costs AED 20 a day once you're more than a month past expiry, capped at AED 1,000 [1].
UAE Pass is the national digital login. A verified account takes a face scan and a few minutes in the app [2].
Let your Emirates ID lapse and your phone line can be suspended, and your bank, Ejari and government logins start to stall [4][5].

Why Australians find this strange

Australia has no national ID card. Your identity is spread across a passport, a licence, a Medicare card and a myGov login, and nobody can demand to see any of them while you're walking down the street. The UAE works the other way. The Emirates ID is a legal requirement for every citizen and resident, and you're expected to have it on you [1].

The card carries a 15-digit identity number that stays with you for life, even if you leave and come back on a new visa. It has a chip that stores your personal data and digital certificates for signing and logging in [1]. It's also your key to the e-gates at UAE airports, which matters more than it sounds when you're coming home from Sydney on a 14-hour flight [1].

One rule worth knowing early: it's illegal for anyone to keep your Emirates ID. Employers, landlords and hotels can record its details, but they can't hold the card [1]. If someone tries, say no politely and offer a copy.

This guide covers the card itself. Your employer's visa sponsorship, and the order of the first weeks, are in our guide to moving to Dubai.

Getting your first Emirates ID: medical, biometrics, card

On a work visa, your employer's HR team or PRO (the company's visa fixer) usually books things for you. You still have to turn up in person.

The medical fitness test

Foreign nationals over 18 who need a residence or work permit sit a medical fitness test. It's a quick physical check, a blood test and a chest X-ray, screening for conditions including HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis and syphilis [3]. In Dubai it's done at Smart Salem centres such as City Walk, Index Tower in DIFC and Dubai Knowledge Park, and you can book online or walk in [3]. Gulf News reported a fee of AED 700 per person and a certificate within about 30 minutes, but that was in 2023, so check the current price and hours before you go [3]. Many employers pay it.

There's no Australian equivalent for residency in your own country, so it can feel intrusive. It's routine here, and the results go straight into the system.

Biometrics

You may need to visit an ICP service centre to give fingerprints and a signature [1]. Anyone 15 and over also does this again at renewal [1]. Bring your passport and the appointment confirmation, and expect a short queue rather than a long one.

The card

Applications go through the ICP website, the UAEICP app or an accredited typing centre [1]. ICP lists the documents and fees for each case on its service pages rather than one simple price, and the amount depends on how long your visa runs, so we haven't quoted a figure here [1]. Once it's printed you'll get an SMS, and the card is delivered or collected.

Stage	Where	What to bring	Who usually pays
Medical fitness test	Smart Salem centre in Dubai [3]	Passport, entry permit, photo	Employer, on most contracts
Biometrics	ICP service centre [1]	Passport, appointment message	Included in the application
Emirates ID application	ICP website, UAEICP app or typing centre [1]	Passport, visa details, photo	Employer for you; you for family
Card collection	Courier or pick-up	Your phone for the SMS

What the Emirates ID opens in Dubai

Think of the card as the key that opens everything else. Without it, most of your first-month list stalls.

A bank account. Banks ask for your Emirates ID alongside your passport and visa. Read more in banking in Dubai.
A phone plan. Mobile lines are registered to your Emirates ID. When the ID is renewed, you renew the registration too, and e& warns that if you don't, linked numbers can be suspended and disconnected [4].
Ejari. Registering your lease at a Real Estate Trustee Centre needs the original contract and your Emirates ID [5]. The online Ejari fee is AED 177.75, against AED 220 at a trustee centre [5].
DEWA, Salik and RTA services. Utility, toll and driving services are tied to your identity, so connecting them usually means entering your Emirates ID number or logging in with UAE Pass.
Airport e-gates. Residents can use the card at UAE immigration gates [1].

UAE Pass: your digital identity

UAE Pass is the national digital ID, launched in 2018 by Digital Dubai and the federal digital government authorities [2]. It's one login for government, semi-government and many private services across every emirate, including banks, money exchanges and telcos [2]. It also has a digital vault for official documents and lets you sign documents digitally [2]. Australians can think of it as myGov and myID rolled into one, with a document wallet attached.

The important word is "verified". A basic account won't get you far. A verified account is linked to your Emirates ID and is what services such as the e& renewal and the MOHAP medicine permit ask for [4][7].

Setting up a verified UAE Pass

Wait for your Emirates ID. You need a valid card, or at least your Emirates ID number, linked to your residence.
Download the UAE PASS app from the App Store or Google Play [2].
Create an account with your UAE mobile number and email. Use a number registered in your own name.
Scan your face. The app's facial verification can give you a verified account in under five minutes without visiting a service centre [2].
Set a PIN and turn on biometrics on your phone, because you'll be approving logins from the app many times a week.
Test it. Log in to the ICP or e& site with UAE Pass and add your Emirates ID to the documents vault.

If the face scan fails, the UAE Pass help desk is on 600 561 111 [2].

Renewing, replacing and keeping it current

Your Emirates ID runs with your residence visa. When the visa is renewed, so is the card, and you can apply from six months before expiry [1]. If you're more than a month past expiry, ICP charges AED 20 a day, up to AED 1,000 [1].

Some other rules that trip people up:

Lost or stolen card. Report it to ICP within seven days and request a replacement online [1].
Changed details. Personal detail changes should be reported within a month, and you can update your phone number and address through ICP [1]. If you renew your Australian passport, ask your employer's PRO to update the passport on your residence file.
Leaving for good. The Emirates ID is cancelled automatically when your residence visa is cancelled. In Dubai, your sponsor submits the cancellation to GDRFA [1]. Smartraveller also advises residents leaving permanently to cancel their visa first [6].

The renewal-week checklist

Renew the visa and Emirates ID through your sponsor.
Collect the new card.
Renew your mobile registration with e& or du, using UAE Pass or face recognition [4].
Update your bank with the new card, as banks keep a copy of your Emirates ID on file.
Check the new card shows in your UAE Pass vault.

The Australian side

Your Australian passport is still your travel document and your proof of citizenship. The Emirates ID doesn't replace it, and the UAE doesn't recognise dual nationality [6]. Keep the passport valid. If it's close to expiry, renew it before your UAE visa renewal so the new number goes on your residence file. See renewing your Australian passport overseas.

Smartraveller notes that unresolved cases or unpaid debts in the UAE can lead to detention on arrival, even in transit [6]. Because your Emirates ID number links your bank, phone, lease and fines, a bounced cheque or an unpaid bill is easy for the system to find. Clear things before you leave.

Register with Smartraveller and save the Consulate-General in Dubai's number, +971 4 508 7100 [6]. If you lose your passport and Emirates ID together, the consulate handles the passport, ICP handles the card.

Got a UAE Pass question that's driving you mad? Ask in Cooee UAE, our Facebook group for Australians in the UAE. Someone will have fought the same face-scan error last week.

Emirates ID and UAE Pass: the two cards that run your Dubai life