Emirati passport

The Emirati passport (Arabic: جواز السفر الإماراتي‎) is a travel document issued by the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to UAE citizens for international travel.

Emirati passport
The front cover of a contemporary Emirati biometric passport
TypePassport
Issued by United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior:
(Regular and Temporary)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
(Diplomatic, Special, and Service)
First issued1971 (first version)
December 11, 2011 (biometric)
PurposeIdentification
EligibilityEmirati citizenship
Expiration5 years after acquisition for applicants aged 6 or over, 3 years for children under 6 years old

Emirati passports issued since 11 December 2011 have been biometric passports. The UAE is the second GCC state (after Qatar) to issue such passports.[1]

The cost of an Emirati passport is AED 50 (US$13.60).[2]

History

Prior to the formation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, each constituting emirate issued its own passports or travel documents.[3] These documents were printed in both Arabic and English and often made a reference to the issuing emirate and its ruling sheikh.[4]

Types

There are a number of types of Emirati passports:[5][2]

  • Regular Passport (navy blue cover): issued to UAE citizens.
  • Special Passport (green cover): issued to members of the Federal National Council, members of the royal family, and retired high-ranking government officials and their families. The passport can also be issued by a federal decision from the Supreme Federal Council to Emirati state representatives. This passport has the same visa regime as the diplomatic passport.
  • Diplomatic Passport (red cover): issued to diplomats serving in Emirati embassies abroad and to high-ranking officials from the executive branch and their families during their period of service.
  • Service or Temporary Passport (cyan cover): issued to citizens and non-citizens for a specific period of time to perform a service or a particular task of interest to the state. This passport if issued to non-citizens does not bestow a right of abode in the UAE.
  • Emergency Passport (grey cover): issued to citizens of the UAE who lost their passport abroad or lost their identity card in the GCC or their passport expired abroad or issued in times of a natural disaster or evacuation.

Physical appearance

The first and last pages are made of hard paper, thicker than that of the old passport—a measure that allows it to remain in good shape until the passport expires. The first page contains a watercolour outline of the outer frame of Sheikh Zayed Mosque and the last page contains a drawing of the actual mosque with domes and columns. The passport identity page has all the particulars printed and laminated. The new passports contain data to resolve name duplication, which is one of the biggest issues that existed with old passports.[6]

Like passports of other states whose official language is written from right-to-left, the Emirati passport is similarly opened from the left-hand side.

Generic design

On the front cover of the each passport type, there is a representation of the coat of arms of the United Arab Emirates in the centre. The coat of arms was modified in 2008, and passports issued afterwards incorporated the new design. "United Arab Emirates" (in Arabic: "الامارات العربية المتحدة"‎ (in Arabic calligraphy) and in English) appears above the coat of arms.

Regular passports have Arabic: "جواز سفر"‎ in Arabic calligraphy and "PASSPORT" in English below the coat of arms.

Special passports have Arabic: "جواز سفر خاص"‎ in Arabic calligraphy and "SPECIAL PASSPORT" in English below the coat of arms.

Diplomatic passports have Arabic: "جواز سفر دبلوماسي"‎ in Arabic calligraphy and "DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT" in English below the coat of arms.

A biometric passport has the biometric passport e-passport symbol at the bottom. There are 62 pages in all biometric passport.[7]

Identity Information page

The second page of an Emirati passport is security laminated and includes the following data:

  • Photo of passport owner
  • Type of document (P = passport)
  • Code for issuing country (ARE = United Arab Emirates)
  • Passport number (9 alphanumeric digits, chosen from numerals 0–9 and letters C, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, T, V, W, X, Y, Z. Thus, "0" denotes the numeral, not the letter "O".)
  • Full Name
  • Date of birth
  • Sex
  • Nationality
  • Place of birth
  • Date of issue
  • Date of expiry
  • Authority that issued the passport
  • Owner's signature

The page ends with a 2-line machine readable zone, according to ICAO standard 9303. The country code is ARE as is the standard country code for United Arab Emirates (according to ISO 3166-1 alpha-3).

Languages

The data/information page is printed bilingually in both Arabic and English in all fields except for a white label in the next-to-last page in the passport which contains the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior emblem and documents the citizen's military specific claim number and uniform number.

Visa requirements
Main article: Visa requirements for Emirati citizens
Visa requirements for Emirati citizens
  UAE
  Freedom of movement
  Visa free access
  Visa on arrival
  eVisa
  Visa available both on arrival or online
  Visa required

Visa requirements for Emirati citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the UAE. According to the Henley Passport Index as of October 2019, Emirati citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 172 countries and territories, ranking the Emirati passport 15th in the world in terms of travel freedom.[8] However, according to The Passport Index, an online tool which uses a slightly different ranking system, the UAE passport ranks first in the world, with access to 178 countries.[9][10]

The Emirati passport is one of five passports with the greatest improvement in visa-free rating in the 2006–2016 time period.[11]

In terms of the number of countries its holders can visit visa-free, the Emirati passport is one of five passports with the most improved rating globally since 2006.[11] In 2018, the Emirati passport became the largest individual climber in the Henley Passport Index over the past decade, increasing its global rank by 28 places.[12]

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation plans to make the UAE passport one of the five strongest passports in the world by 2021.[13] According to The Passport Index, this goal was achieved by December 2018, ranking the Emirati passport as the strongest passport in the world with a visa-free score of 170.[14][9] However Henley Passport Index ranking the Emirati passport 15th in the world in terms of travel freedom based on a different criteria.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Abu Dhabi Government Digital Portal". www.abudhabi.ae (in Arabic).
  2. "Federal Law No. 17 of 1972". UAE Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-14. Retrieved 2013-07-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "British Embassy Abu Dhabi - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk.
  5. Title 2 of Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 Concerning Nationality and Passports
  6. http://dnrd.ae/ar/Services/ServicesGuide/s/AudianceService.aspx?AudianceId=1&ServiceId=10
  7. "도란도란씨 소소한 일상 기록실(아부다비 거주중) : 네이버 블로그". blog.naver.com (in Korean).
  8. "Global Ranking – Visa Passport Index" (PDF). Henley & Partners. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  9. "Unexpected country now has world's most powerful passport". NewsComAu. December 4, 2018.
  10. "UAE Passport in The Passport Index 2019". Passport Index. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  11. Partners, Henley. "The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index Celebrates Ten Years". www.prnewswire.com.
  12. "Global Ranking - Visa Restriction Index 2017" (PDF). Henley & Partners. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  13. WAM (28 October 2017). "Visa on arrival for UAE citizens in Vanuatu".
  14. Report, Web. "UAE passport now world's 3rd most powerful". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  15. "Global Ranking – Visa Passport Index" (PDF). Henley & Partners. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
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