Losing or Damaging Your Emirates ID: The Full Replacement Process and Cost

An Emirates ID is required for almost everything in daily UAE life, from opening a bank account to picking up a courier delivery, so losing one or having it damaged beyond use needs sorting quickly. The first step differs depending on the reason: for a lost or stolen card, file a police report first, either at a police station or through your emirate's police app, which generates a report number within minutes and is normally free. For a damaged card, no police report is needed, but you'll need to present or photograph the damaged original.

From there, the replacement application itself can be submitted three ways: through the UAEICP app (log in with UAE Pass, select Emirates ID services, then Replace ID), directly at an ICP Customer Happiness Centre, or through an authorised typing or Amer centre. You'll need your passport, current visa copy, a recent photo, and the police report number if the card was lost or stolen. The standard replacement fee is AED 300, though the total out-of-pocket cost is typically higher once typing centre service charges and card fees are included, commonly landing somewhere in the AED 400-450 range depending on the channel used. Standard processing takes five to seven working days; an express Fawri service is available at select centres for a roughly AED 150 surcharge and can turn the replacement around within 24 to 48 hours.

One detail catches people out: you cannot replace an Emirates ID that is linked to an already-expired residence visa. If your visa has lapsed, you need to renew the visa first, and the new Emirates ID is then issued as part of that renewal rather than as a separate step. The replacement card also carries the same expiry date as the original, since it reflects the underlying visa's validity rather than resetting the clock.

While you wait for the physical card, activate UAE Pass immediately using the reference number from your replacement application; the digital Emirates ID inside UAE Pass is accepted by most government services, many banks, and telecom providers, and bridges the gap until the physical card arrives by Emirates Post or Zajel.