New Work Bundle platform launched on Tuesday; Processing time to acquire work permits and residency visas has been reduced to five days

With the new Work Bundle platform, which was released on Tuesday, the processing time to complete all required paperwork to get work permits and resident visas has been shortened from nearly one month to five days. According to authorities at a press briefing, the integrated approach would also cut down on the number of papers required from 16 to five and the frequency of visits to service centres from seven to only two.

The Work Bundle streamlines all government processes, including those of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security, Dubai Health, Department of Economy and Tourism, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (Mohre), and General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President, Prime Minister, and ruler of Dubai, stated that the Work Bundle platform will "facilitate, simplify, and shorten the procedures for residency and work (permits) in the country."

According to Sheikh Mohammed, the new integrated online platform would cut down on the 65 million working hours spent visiting government offices and following up on transactions. Along with reducing visits and around 25 million government processes, it will also save expenditures for both public and commercial sector organisations. 

Ministries and federal organisations in the United Arab Emirates were given orders last month to eliminate at least 2,000 procedures and slash processing times in half within a year.