It's a drill every UAE resident goes through every two years, or maybe three, depending on the type of visa.
While most of us remember the month when our residence visa is scheduled to expire, we don't usually remember the date. Then, as the month approaches, it's common to flip through the pages of the passport to check the visa validity.
But we don't always carry our passport with us, do we? So what should we do then?
All you need to check your residence visa validity is your passport number and the passport expiry date. So you're good even if you have a photocopy of your passport, or a scanned version saved on your phone.
The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship provides this service through its website. A resident can enter passport information to verify if visa is still valid and can check whether the issued visa is authentic or not. Residents can also cross-check the validity of visa through this official government website.
Here's a step by step guide to track the visa validity using your passport:
Step 1: Visit this link - https://smartservices.ica.gov.ae/echannels/web/client/default.html#/fileValidity
Step 2: Select the 'Passport Information' radio button.
Step 3: Select either 'residency' or 'visa'.
Step 4: Enter passport number and passport expiry date.
Step 5: Enter nationality from the dropdown on the right. A corresponding number will appear on the box on the left.
Step 6: Select the captcha check box and click on search. The page will now display your visa details along with date of expiry.
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