DUBAI // Passengers arriving at airports across the country will be able to pass through immigration in as little as 20 seconds after a new system starts up.
The unified security system, to be in all airports by 2015, will mean an end to long queues for people with biometric passports from 32 pre-approved visa countries, and UAE and GCC citizens.
It will mean criminal records, outstanding fines and immigration details registered in any emirate will be accessible at the touch of a button.
Emirates ID cards and existing e-Gate cards will be compatible with the system.
Three passengers will be able to be processed each minute using the new system and "Smart Gates" - a vast improvement on the current average wait of about an hour.
Developed by Emaratech, 14 of the Smart Gates are already in use at Dubai International Airport's Terminal Three, with 14 more to be installed by next month.
The system upgrade is also being carried out by Emaratech, which will re-engineer the current immigration systems.
"There are two immigration check systems - one in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai - with a gateway between them, and that carries a lot of problems," said Mohammed Karzoun, chief operating officer of Emaratech.
"We have been tasked with unifying the systems so that all the relevant information can be present from all over the country for the immigration officers.
"We have started with the new system in Dubai and by 2015, all emirates will be fully operational."
Smart Gates are the second-generation "electronic gates" to be used in the UAE after e-Gate, which required travellers to use a card to scan through immigration.
The new system will mean travellers only need to scan through the Smart Gate with their passport, Emirates ID or e-Gate card.
"Visitors to the country from the 32 pre-approved visa countries, residents and GCC citizens can use this technology without any pre-requirements, except an electronic passport," Mr Karzoun said.
The introduction of the system will also not result in any immigration job losses.
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs had previously announced plans for Smart Gates to be installed in all Dubai International terminals by next year, when it is expected to handle 75 million passengers annually.
The airport is expected to receive 98 million passengers a year by 2020.
The technology is one of the first to use three biometrics - fingerprints, iris and facial recognition - and requires travellers to register before being able to use the system from there on.
Maj Gen Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, the director general of Abu Dhabi Police Central Operations and an Emirates ID Authority board member, said the first generation of the system had been a success.
He said it had prevented the entry of more than 20,476 deportees and ex-convicts trying to re-enter the UAE through different entry points last year.
Maj Gen Al Raisi added that, before then, iris-scan technology prevented entry to the UAE of 347,019 deportees since it was introduced in September 2003.
Sunil Gulia, technical manager at Emaratech, said the new system already had almost 70,000 passengers registering since it was introduced in Dubai's Terminal Three at the start of this year.
"We want to improve the performance and so there is a lot of monitoring going on right now," said Mr Gulia.
"Once it is stable, we will think of implementing [Smart Gates] in the other terminals as well."
amustafa@thenational.ae
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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SPEC%20SHEET
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
Company%20profile
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
2017%20RESULTS%3A%20FRENCH%20VOTERS%20IN%20UK
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Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
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'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Anne%20Fletcher%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Bette%20Midler%2C%20Sarah%20Jessica%20Parker%2C%20Kathy%20Najimy%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
India Test squad
Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
