DNRD to stay open till 8 p.m. during DSF to cope

It has also announced that the department will be working on all days of Eid Al Adha from 9.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m.

During Dubai Shopping Festival, the timings of DNRD will be from 7.30 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. This step has been taken largely to cater to individual applicants who wish to sponsor their relatives during the Festival.

"The real test of a service organisation comes when faced with pressure. Dubai Shopping Festival has grown into a mega event that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world," said Brigadier Saeed bin Belailah, Director, DNRD. "For our staff, this translates into volumes that are several times bigger than the normal intake. We have come up with a solution by extending the office hours till 8 p.m."

"As a customer-centric organisation, DNRD has always believed in being proactive. To continue to deliver the high levels of service, the ideal solution is to expand the capacity to handle a large number of applicants and clear a greater number of visas in a given day," added Brigadier bin Belailah. "We share the vision of Dubai to be one of the leading business and tourism hubs of the world, and we are ready to go to great lengths to support the government in achieving its goal."

"We are also happy to announce that our offices will be open on all days of Eid Al Adha, demonstrating once again our commitment to the 'customer first' approach," said Brig. Bin Belailah. "This is yet another move from our part to raise the bar on customer satisfaction."

"Dubai's rising stature as a business and tourism destination has dramatically increased the inflow of visitors into the emirate. While the pressure on DNRD is quite high around the year, it gets particularly strong during Dubai Shopping Festival," said Lt. Col. Salah bin Souloum, Assistant Director in charge of Entry Permits Section. "DNRD has risen to the occasion by not only working extra hours, but also offering normal services on all days of Eid."

"One of the main aims of keeping our counters open in the evening hours is to enable individual applicants to apply for visit visas for their relatives wishing to visit Dubai for DSF," added Lt. Col. Salah. "Many of the working people will now be able to avail of our services without taking time off from their working hours. We are confident these steps will considerably ease the flow of traffic during DSF."