Dubai’s Jebel Ali freezone to process visas in 24 hours

Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) has simplified visa procedures for employees working within the development, it announced on Monday.

As part of an agreement signed with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), employees working in the freezone will be able to get residence visas in 24 hours or less.

The GDRFA will provide improved services to the 7,500 companies operating in Jafza and the National Industries Park (NIP) through the recently completed electronic link that will directly benefit more than 150,000 people working in the freezone, a statement said.

The GDRFA recently upgraded its e-services to help users manage all their visa-related transactions online.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World – Jafza’s parent company, said: “As home to tens of thousands of employees who need work and residence visas, Jafza constantly seeks to improve the support services required to help companies focus on their core business activities.

“The agreement represents a new phase of cooperation with the GDRFA and integrates business practices. Simplifying business processes results in increased efficiency and more productive companies and employees.”

Also read: UAE announces new visa rules for residents, jobseekers and tourists

Dubai is looking to digitise processes related to visas as part of its smart city strategy.

Last year, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) launched a new medical fitness and occupational screening system to make it faster to receive results of health tests for visas.

The new system, called Salem, reduces customers’ waiting time, minimises human intervention to almost zero and makes blood test and x-ray results available electronically, the DHA said.

The system has been integrated to all medical fitness centres in Dubai.

With the new system, customers do not need any papers – the data will be retrieved from GDRFA.

Read more: Dubai launches new smart system to make visa medical testing faster