The Dubai government announced, on 6 March, the launch of its new 'Work Bundle' platform, which is designed to "facilitate, simplify and shorten the procedures for residency and work permits in the country." It is to be rolled out in Dubai initially, before being implemented in other Emirates.
The Work Bundle platform is part of UAE's digital transformation initiative to improve the ease of doing business for private companies by having only one platform to complete work permit and residency visa procedures – including application, renewal, cancellation, medical examination and fingerprinting – instead of the previous five.
It integrates procedures for the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre), Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Ports Security (ICP), Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), as well as the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).
The government said the Work Bundle platform will cut the number of procedures from 15 steps requiring 16 documents to only five steps requiring five documents. The number of visits required to government offices will also be reduced from seven to two. This is expected to reduce the overall waiting and processing time from 30 working days to five.
The project is supported by DET and Digital Dubai, which provides the digital infrastructure and services between government entities. In its initial phase, the new platform will be accessible via the 'Invest in Dubai' website and mobile app. It will then be rolled out across other Emirati government digital platforms and on the 'Work in UAE' website.
"The new Work Bundle platform is set to reclaim 62 million working days previously devoted to the renewal of residencies and employment contracts within government frameworks," said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE. "This project is expected to curtail 25 million procedures on an annual basis, thereby yielding substantial savings for both the governmental and private sectors.".
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