Dubai Municipality launches 'Clinic' eService to simplify medical test procedures required for obtaining visas

By use of this paperless service, applicants visiting the Dubai Municipality medical clinic will have their test results directly transferred to the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) on the same day, through an integrated online system. This project is being developed jointly with the IT team at DNRD.

The Clinic e-service will result in huge-time savings for the applicants as well as both government departments, leading to more efficiency in processing of visa applications. The e-service will also reduce costs by eliminating the need for printing of physical reports and x-rays films.

"The Clinic e-service will accelerate medical test procedures substantially, and is one of the greatest achievements in Dubai Municipality's e-services bouquet," said Abdulla Al Shaibani, Assistant Director General for Technical Services, Dubai Municipality. "As medical tests are a mandatory requirement to obtain residence visas and work permits, there are hundreds of people taking these tests everyday. At present, the whole process of medical tests and submitting the papers takes around three days, but with the new e-service, this could be done in one day. This is truly a remarkable achievement."

"The IT Department of Dubai Municipality (DM) has received full cooperation from DNRD's IT section in developing and implementing this project. As a result, the system is fully integrated with DNRD's system, resulting in fool-proof and immediate test results," said AbdulHakim Abdul Kareem Malik, Director of IT Department, Dubai Municipality.

This service, designed to benefit the public, will be a boon to the growing number of people applying for work permits and visas," added AbdulHakim Malik.

The service is available to employees of different companies and government departments in Dubai as well as the prospective employees of Dubai Municipality," said Salem Al Mesmar, Director of Health Dept, Dubai Municipality. "On an average about 750 people take the medical tests daily. With the availability of the web-enabled Clinic service, nearly 1,300 people can complete these tests in a day, without having to stand in long queues. Moreover, applicants can make prior appointments and pay in advance for the tests through e-Dirham or credit card. The service is currently in a testing phase and will be fully functional by the end of February 2005."

Under the Clinic e-service, after taking the medical test, applicants can go with their passport and visa reference number directly to DNRD to obtain their visa if the test results are positive.

Al Mesmar also stated that the next phase of the Clinic service will be the 'Mobile Clinic', whereby Dubai Municipality's mobile medical unit will go personally to select companies or areas, saving time for companies in areas like Jebel Ali. There are also plans to introduce SMS alert services, through which DM will send SMS alerts to applicants informing them that the results of the tests are ready.