The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security has announced that citizens will be able to renew their identity cards one year before the expiry date, instead of the current 6-month window, effective Tuesday, 14 July 2026.
The decision comes within the framework of the Authority's strategy to adopt innovative and proactive digital solutions that enhance customer quality of life, reinforce the United Arab Emirates' leadership position, meet citizens' aspirations, and enable them to access services earlier — helping them manage their affairs more efficiently through a flexible service ecosystem and an advanced digital infrastructure for citizen services management.
The decision aligns with the Authority's previous resolution allowing citizens to renew their passports one year before expiry, enabling citizens — when expiry dates coincide — to renew both their passport and identity card together in a single integrated transaction, saving time and effort and expanding the pool of beneficiaries who can renew both documents in one visit.
Major General Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, Director General of the Authority, affirmed that extending the identity card renewal window to one year instead of 6 months is being implemented in line with the wise leadership's directives on delivering proactive services to citizens. He said it also reflects the Authority's commitment to meeting citizens' aspirations, responding to their wishes, and taking their circumstances into account by providing more flexible services that allow them to complete their transactions at a time of their choosing — enhancing quality of life, raising citizens' satisfaction levels, and contributing to their happiness.
He noted that the United Arab Emirates holds a leading position globally in identity card issuance, in terms of ease of issuance, service quality, robustness, reliability, and security, as well as the card's use in accessing all government services through a unique electronic network linking governmental and private entities. He indicated that the decision represents a strong boost to the standing of the UAE identity card regionally and globally, making the identity card issuance and renewal system and services an inspiring model for other countries in the region and the world.
He added that renewing the identity card one year before expiry achieves the targets of the Zero Bureaucracy Programme by simplifying the customer journey, reducing procedural duplication, enhancing service integration, and employing artificial intelligence technologies — in line with the Authority's drive to deliver proactive, integrated services and to transition from operational excellence to proactive leadership, and from a model of "fragmented services" to "integrated packages", and from a "waiting" model to a "proactive" model.