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Abu Dhabi: About 80,000 Emiratis have not registered for ID cards despite the deadline being extended by three months to March 31, a senior official told Gulf News.

Out of 825,000 Emiratis [according to latest official census], about 90 per cent have already registered, said Thamer Rashid Al Qasimi, Planning Director and Project Management Director at Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA).

It was announced earlier that Emiratis who did not register before the deadline had to pay a fine of Dh1,000. The original deadline of the December 31, 2008 was extended by three months by a cabinet decision on December 28 as about 190,000 Emiratis had not registered then. They were exempted from the fine until March 31.

Al Qasimi said 90 per cent of the nonregistered Emiratis were from Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and just about 8,000 were from other Emirates.

"People did not come forward in the beginning&they unnecessarily delayed it. Later, the registration centres in those three emirates became crowded", he explained.

He made it clear that the number of non registered Emiratis is not alarming as they include diplomats and students abroad, patients and the elderly. A registration centre in Ras Al Khaimah alone estimated that about 200 elderly people in its jurisdiction were unable to register, according to the official.

Emiratis must have an ID card for any official transaction with government entities from April 1, he reiterated.

Source: Copyright © 2009 Gulfnews.com. All rights reserved.