Dubai launches 'Distinguished Guest Project'

In an effort to offer card-operated access to regular business visitors, Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) has announced the launch of the Distinguished Guest Project, a new service that eliminates the need for applying repeated visit visas for frequent visitors.

Announcing the new service at a press conference today Brigadier Saeed bin Belailah, Director, DNRD, said: "The Distinguished Guest Project has been launched for the benefit of companies that need to bring professionals and partners on business tips several times during the year. Under the Distinguished Guest Project, companies can buy an electronic card that gives entry access a number of times, depending on the value of the card."

The Distinguished Guest Project eliminates the normal requirement of renewing the visit visas at the end of two months, or applying for a fresh at the end of the stipulated period. The special Distinguished Guest Card will enable the holder to make regular trips and thus save time by bypassing the routine channels.

"For business people, time is money. Keeping this in mind, we have developed the Distinguished Guest Project in response to a demand from corporate visitors and multi national companies that need to sponsor the same persons several times in a year," said Brigadier Saeed bin Belailah, Director, DNRD. "This forms part of our strategy to create solutions that will eliminate time-consuming procedures. The Distinguished Guest Project is our brand new solution that will not only dispenses with visit visas but also offer accelerated passport control through eGate."

The Distinguished Guest Project will allow a company to open an account in the name of a designated person. An electronic pre-loaded card will be issued in the name of the holder, with a validity of two years. Each time he enters the country, a certain fee will be deducted electronically from the amount.

Brigadier bin Belailah pointed out that the facility was introduced for the benefit of citizens of those countries that do not qualify for visa-on-arrival status given only to certain countries by the UAE authorities. It will be particularly useful for employees of multinational companies as well as diplomats.

The DNRD staff has been handling an increasing volume of passengers from all over the world. According to the Department of Civil Aviation's statistics, the Dubai International Airport handled nearly 18 million passengers in 2003, compared to just 5 million in 1992. Most of these visitors arrived on pre-arranged visas and did not belong to the 33 countries that are exempt from these visa procedures.

"DNRD's major focus has been to introduce innovative systems and procedures that eliminate delays and queues," said Brigadier bin Belailah. "With Dubai emerging as a regional commercial dynamo, business traffic has been on the rise. We anticipate further dramatic increase in visitors in the next few years, as a result of mega projects that will consolidate Dubai's status as the region's premier business and tourism centre, under the leadership of HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister."

"The Distinguished Guest Project will bring benefits to all parties concerned. The sponsoring company and the end-users will save time and enjoy comfort. There will be reduced pressure on our staff because the number of visit visas to be processed will come down," Brigadier bin Belailah added.