64,714 new Emirati passports issued last year, reveals authority

Emad Eddin Khalil, Staff Reporter

The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) issued 64,714 new Emirati passports in 2022, with an increase rate in the number of passports amounting to about 86%, as the number recorded in 2021 was 34,812 passports.

ICP stated, according to the latest statistics, that the total number of passports which were renewed for citizens amounted to 274,618 passports during 2022.

The total numbers of issuing a new Family Book amounted to 14,702, while the number of amending the data of the Family Book reached 53,425 during 2022, the ICP indicted.

It is worth mentioning that the ICP issued in 2022 the new version of the Emirati passport, as part of the final phase of the project to develop the new generation of passports and identity cards, which was launched in June 2021.

The UAE new passport has unprecedented technical characteristics and highly complex security specifications to limit attempts of counterfeiting or forgery, Its thickness also prevents the possibility of damaging it, in addition to the ease of processing it using the readers at the outlets, ICP affirmed.

ICP clarified that the new generation of the UAE passport is characterised by high quality and speed when printing using laser technology and with three-dimensional tangible elements.

It must be applied for the renewal to obtain the new generation of the passport 6 months before its expiry, as the new passport is considered an extension of the previous one, without any change in the prescribed fees or the channels designated for providing services for issuing or renewing passports through the website www.icp.gov.ae or the UAEICP Authority's smart app, the ICP explained.

According to the ICP, a new passport can be issued while abroad, through the UAE's embassies and consulates.

It is noteworthy that the Emirati passport ranks first globally, as the most powerful passport, as it allows its holder to enter 181 countries, including 122 without a prior visa, and 58 countries which grant the visa online or upon arrival, with a rate exceeding 91% of the world’s countries.

The UAE passport also reduced the number of countries whose entry requires a visa to become only 17 out of 198, accredited to the United Nations, according to the latest update of the "Passport Index" of the "Arton Capital" global financial advisory company.