So the UAE is now implementing an ID scheme, this means you cannot do or buy anything without having the ID which gets kinda annoying after a while. In fact, it got so annoying I faced up to the idea that I was going to have to go and visit the ID office and apply for the damn thing. Below is a brief explanation of the process that you need to go through to get the ID.
So I got to the office and a helpful guy at the desk give me one of those numbered tickets and got me to wait at the correct desk. I was something like number 514 and the number showing was 512 so I thought I was in luck and this whole debacle would be short and painless. Obviously I was wrong. It took over an hour for the two desks to process the two people in front of me, this is because once you get to the desk you hand over your passport and the morons scan every single page from it. They then proceed to ask all those complicated and confusing questions such as "what's your phone number?" or "what's you address?" which I obviously cannot be trusted to answer safely or correctly on my own. Once completed you then have to go wait in line in another queue to pay the £100 for the new card the government is forcing you to get.
Once this is over you need to go and get your fingerprints scanned and photo taken (im surprised they don't do DNA swabbing too). For this process they again seem to only have two machines to service, as far as I can tell, the whole of Abu Dhabi. You go get another ticket from the desk then go to wait in a waiting room with all the other cattle. The fingerprinting process is much quicker than the application process but more than just the ID applicants are there to get scanned. This means there is another hour wait extended by the incredibly irritating fact that any woman is allowed to skip the hour long queue and jump in without the need of a ticket. Who ever claims Muslims are suppressing their women are talking out their arse.
The thing that irritates me most is the fact that the UAE gives the impression that it wants to join the modern -westernised - 21st century and is all keen to utilize things like fingerprint scanning, hold the final F1 race of the season and build record breaking building but streamlining any application process, adding an on-line application feature or simply improving the post system in Abu Dhabi to allow such commonplace luxury's that we in the west are used too seems to be a step to far. If only I was Emir for a day...
P.s. During the fun I also attempted to apply for an UEA drivers liscence; Again I was lured into the idea when I found out I could kill two birds with one stone and apply there and then at the office. I needed to get a translation of my English liscence so I found the correct desk and asked the clerk to do the job listed on his placard, to which, he claimed was only achievable on Sundays. Obviously I was a little bemused and attempted to discover why Sunday was a special translating day rather than, as I suspect the clerk hoped, accepting this fact and disappearing. After a very confusing conversation it turned out that the guy could translate my liscence but I would need to turn up on Sunday to take said translation across the room to a different desk where some more form filling happened and I would be presented with my liscence. Again, I stupidly questioned the need of my presence in getting my form from one side of the office to the other and tried to explain that it may be possible for him to internal mail it to the correct department but I may of well tried to explain astrophysics. I never got an explanation as to why I need to be there to carry paper around, I thought they would of loved the idea of yet another pointless job being created to employ one more moron but apparently not. I shall return tomorrow to get my liscence and discover why I am in such demand at the government office.
So I got to the office and a helpful guy at the desk give me one of those numbered tickets and got me to wait at the correct desk. I was something like number 514 and the number showing was 512 so I thought I was in luck and this whole debacle would be short and painless. Obviously I was wrong. It took over an hour for the two desks to process the two people in front of me, this is because once you get to the desk you hand over your passport and the morons scan every single page from it. They then proceed to ask all those complicated and confusing questions such as "what's your phone number?" or "what's you address?" which I obviously cannot be trusted to answer safely or correctly on my own. Once completed you then have to go wait in line in another queue to pay the £100 for the new card the government is forcing you to get.
Once this is over you need to go and get your fingerprints scanned and photo taken (im surprised they don't do DNA swabbing too). For this process they again seem to only have two machines to service, as far as I can tell, the whole of Abu Dhabi. You go get another ticket from the desk then go to wait in a waiting room with all the other cattle. The fingerprinting process is much quicker than the application process but more than just the ID applicants are there to get scanned. This means there is another hour wait extended by the incredibly irritating fact that any woman is allowed to skip the hour long queue and jump in without the need of a ticket. Who ever claims Muslims are suppressing their women are talking out their arse.
The thing that irritates me most is the fact that the UAE gives the impression that it wants to join the modern -westernised - 21st century and is all keen to utilize things like fingerprint scanning, hold the final F1 race of the season and build record breaking building but streamlining any application process, adding an on-line application feature or simply improving the post system in Abu Dhabi to allow such commonplace luxury's that we in the west are used too seems to be a step to far. If only I was Emir for a day...
P.s. During the fun I also attempted to apply for an UEA drivers liscence; Again I was lured into the idea when I found out I could kill two birds with one stone and apply there and then at the office. I needed to get a translation of my English liscence so I found the correct desk and asked the clerk to do the job listed on his placard, to which, he claimed was only achievable on Sundays. Obviously I was a little bemused and attempted to discover why Sunday was a special translating day rather than, as I suspect the clerk hoped, accepting this fact and disappearing. After a very confusing conversation it turned out that the guy could translate my liscence but I would need to turn up on Sunday to take said translation across the room to a different desk where some more form filling happened and I would be presented with my liscence. Again, I stupidly questioned the need of my presence in getting my form from one side of the office to the other and tried to explain that it may be possible for him to internal mail it to the correct department but I may of well tried to explain astrophysics. I never got an explanation as to why I need to be there to carry paper around, I thought they would of loved the idea of yet another pointless job being created to employ one more moron but apparently not. I shall return tomorrow to get my liscence and discover why I am in such demand at the government office.
