Applying for visas in the UAE can take some time, mostly due to the requirements that come along with it such as getting a health certificate which takes about a day or two to complete. While the visa system has been working for both tourists and residents pretty well, there are still ways to help improve the process.
And out of the best interests of the residents of the UAE, the government is looking at more ways on how to make the visa processing system in the country more convenient and strategic for all.
Soon, Faster Residency Visa Processing to be Offered thru Help of New Medical Centres
In line with this, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has decided to increase the number of medical examination centres for residency from 10 to 18, to boost the services provided in light of the heavy turnout by the ministry’s clients, as shared in a report by the Khaleej Times.
According to a ministry report, the number of beneficiaries from the services provided by these centres reached 752,000 last year, considering that each transaction is done in a record time of just seven minutes.
This effort has led to an increase in the customer happiness index to 83%, amid expectations of a further increase, with the opening of three new centres last October. Two of these centres were in Sharjah and the other one was in Fujairah.
According to Dr. Hussein Abdel-Rahman Al-Rand, Under-Secretary of the ministry’s Health Assistant Sector, Health Centres and Clinics, the ministry’s focus has been on customer-centred services. And so, the decision to expand the agency’s network centres and adding new services to provide medical examinations for residency was set into motion.
Al-Rand explained that the new centres will become an important addition to the agency’s sophisticated line of medical services, which underscores MoHAP’s strategy which aims to provide comprehensive and integrated healthcare services as per the highest standards of excellence.
Furthermore, Al-Rand pointed out that new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), have been added. There is also a new programme being tested to help obtain an accurate and quick diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis for expatriates and residents to protect the society against infectious diseases. The screening programme is believed to provide around 98 percent accuracy in results.
Also of note, regular screening time was three minutes; however, after applying the AI technology, the time was reduced to only 0.1 second for each case. The new programme is currently available at the examination centres of Al Kuwait Hospital, Dubai and medical examination centres at Ibn Battuta Mall, and it will be circulated at MoHAP’s centres in the near future.
The services offered by the medical examination centres for residency vary from printing residence visa forms, medical examination and issuance of UAE ID card (among Preventive Medicine Departments only). To avail such services, the client must provide a copy of the following documents:
- a valid passport,
- valid visa or residence permit,
- two (2) passport photos, and
- a valid Emirates ID (only applicable for individuals renewing their residence permit)
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