Defeating fraud: ‘Muqeem’ card to replace iqama

RIYADH: The government will provide new machine-readable identity cards to expatriates from the first day of the Islamic year, or Oct. 14 this year, in a bid to fight fraud and improve the efficiency of its systems.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, launched the “Muqeem” (Resident) card, which will replace the current one, in Riyadh on Thursday. The name “iqama” would no longer be used by the department.
The new card can last for five years or more, depending on how the user looks after it. All expatriates will have this identity document in place of the current one, Col. Khalid Al-Saykhan, director of information technology, told Arab News.
However, Al-Saykhan warned that the new document does not mean residency laws have changed. This was only a move to improve the efficiency of the department’s e-system, he said.
“The residency periods for expatriates will stay the same. The period of stay must be recorded through the Abshir system, to register an identity card automatically,” he said.
The cards, which will have no expiry date, will be read with special machines at checkpoints, banks and other places. It would have the photograph, name and other details of a person on it. The details of expatriates including their period of stay would be updated online.
Prince Mohammed also launched a plan to monitor the overall operations of the department and ensure officials perform optimally. He was briefed on the details of the strategy by senior officials.
Those who attended the launch included the department’s Director General Maj. Gen. Abdulaziz Al-Yahya, Director of Administrative Development Col. Salih Al-Merhie, and the Director of Media Communication Col. Mohammed Al-Saad.