As of this Monday, the General Directorate of Residence and Foreigners Affairs in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the Department of Naturalization and Passports will be launching the “Remember” initiative. This aims to remind citizens and residents to check the validity of their passports and residence visas, and to renew them within the legal time frame. It also urges the public to preserve these important official documents, from all forms of damage and loss.
Colonel Salem Ali Al Qattam Al Zaabi, Director General of Residence and Foreigners Affairs in Abu Dhabi, indicated that the initiative, which will be implemented across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, stems from the Ministry of Interior’s keenness to communicate with community members in modern, sophisticated ways. It also comes in line with the objectives of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Abu Dhabi, to provide distinguished and high-quality services to citizens and residents alike.
He pointed out that a work team was established to follow up the initiative. The team consists of representatives from the various departments and sections of the Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region; the Department of Naturalization in Abu Dhabi; as well as the Security Media Department at the General Secretariat of His Highness Deputy prime Minister and Minister of Interior’s Office.
Moreover, Al Zaabi stated that the initiative will be implemented in coordination and cooperation with several partners. “We communicated with the various federal ministries, departments and local bodies, as well as with a number of institutions operating in the Emirate. All these entities welcomed this cooperation to develop a set of introductory and awareness guidelines through informational means in the lobbies of the service sections of these ministries, departments, agencies and institutions. This aims to give the public an overview of initiative’s theme and objectives.
Al Zaabi expressed his thanks and appreciation to all participating federal ministries, departments and local bodies and institutions, lauding their interaction with the objectives of the initiative, and their leading cooperation to educate community members on the importance of renewing these official documents and preserve them.
Furthermore, the Director General of Residence and Foreigners Affairs in Abu Dhabi indicated that the “Remember” initiative content and objectives will be widely publicized across screens available at the various centers of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Abu Dhabi; the Department of Naturalization; shopping centers, as well as on all audio, print and visual media outlets in the state; social networking sites, and websites of both the Ministry of Interior and Abu Dhabi Police GHQ. Moreover, SMSs will be sent to educate citizens and residents on the importance of preserving official documents, ensuring passports and residence visas’ validity, and the need to renew them within the legal time frames.
In the same vein, Lt. Colonel Morshed Al Mazroui, Abu Dhabi Department of Naturalization Director, urged citizens and residents to ensure the validity of their passports and to renew them before expiration date, as per the travel requirements regulations, which stipulate that passports must be valid for at least six months past the completion of travel, according to established international procedures. He also called on the public to take into account the fact that a passport is an important official personal security document to its holder; and that preserving it reflects a sense of patriotism.