The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) recently announced in an exclusive to Khaleej Times that soon Dubai residents will be able to apply for visas, and entry permits, through facial recognition from their smartphones. They will no longer have to go physically to visa embassies or locations.

As of now, Dubai airport already has a facial biometric system in place for those who are registered & use the smart gate.

Also read: Dubai Airport Takes It A Step Further By Launching 24-Hour Customer Contact Centre

Director of the project management office at GDRFA, Fatima Salem Al Mazroui said, “We aim to have all of GDRFA services and transactions processed through facial biometrics. All GDRFA services such as applying for residency, visa or any other services will be accessible and verified with facial biometrics. Dubai residents will not be required to use a passport or any other document to verify themselves.”

She further added, “This facial recognition project that offers all the services of GDRFA will take a while to be implemented because each type of service has a different procedure.” As of now, there is no definitive timeline in place. “We are working on a fast pace to launch it as soon as possible but it is difficult to give a timeline.”

Well, we certainly are looking forward to this and hope that it happens soon!

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