It looks like passports could soon become a thing of the past for Dubai residents and expats as the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) rolls out the “Smart UAE Wallet”, which will contain all the passport details and smart gate card data of passengers.
Speaking to various local media on the sidelines of the Gitex Technology Week in Dubai on Monday Oct. 9, officials of Dubai Police said the new technology will reduce departure clearance time.
In an interview of Angel Tesorero, Khaleej Times, with Capt. Amer Rashed Almheiri, the GDRFA director of smart application department showed what the mobile application will look like.
It has a specific barcode for each passenger which will be scanned by the technology called “Smart Gate” stationed at the Dubai Airports.
“Once they’ve cleared the immigration check, they can go straight to the boarding gates,” Khaleej Times quoted Almheiri as saying.
The new application will soon “replace the need for physical identification documents for travelers”, the report said.
“At present, e-gates at Dubai airport terminals still require an Emirates ID to access the system but for smart gates, the passenger only has to scan the barcode on the smart phones to open the smart gate. Then the passenger will scan his/her fingerprint and the entire process is finished in under 15 seconds,” told the report.
