Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 16 July 2026 The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFA Dubai) celebrated the recognition of the “Domestic Workers ’Management” initiative as the Best Digital City Experience under the Hamdan bin Mohammed Programme for Government Services. This new achievement adds to GDRFA Dubai’s distinguished record of leadership in digital government services and reaffirms its ability to transform national visions into practical experiences that positively impact Individuals lives.
The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai; His Excellency Mohammed Rashid Bin Taliah, Assistant Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Government Knowledge Exchange; His Excellency Thani Abdullah Al Zaffin, Director General and Board Member of Emaratech; His Excellency Dr. Amer Ahmed Sharif, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Health; Eman Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of the Assessment and Studies Department at the General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai.; Mr. Mohammed Samer Al Hellou, General Manager of Dubai Insurance; GDRFA Dubai’s Assistant Directors General; as well as a number of senior officials, work teams and partners who contributed to the development, implementation and successful delivery of the project.
The recognition is the result of an integrated institutional effort led by GDRFA Dubai in a spirit of teamwork and through effective partnerships with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, Digital Dubai, Dubai Health, Dubai Insurance, and Together, the entities developed an integrated digital experience that streamlines procedures, simplifies the customer journey and enhances quality of life.
The “Domestic Workers Management” experience covers nine core services, including the employment contract, health insurance, the issuance and cancellation of work permits, visa issuance, status adjustment, medical fitness testing, residence permit issuance and Emirates ID issuance, all brought together within a single, clearer, smoother and more efficient service journey.
The experience has delivered a significant transformation in the customer journey by integrating nine separate services into one comprehensive service, reducing the number of completion steps from 11 to only six, consolidating six payment channels into one, and decreasing the number of required visits from six to a maximum of two. It provides a practical model of a government service that saves time and effort while redefining simplicity in government service delivery.
The impact of the experience extends beyond improving the customer journey to delivering tangible operational, economic and environmental outcomes. To date, it has facilitated the completion of 10,813 transactions, eliminated the need for 25,676 paper documents and generated direct financial savings of AED 4,325,200 for customers. The fully digital transformation has also contributed to reducing carbon emissions by the equivalent of 72.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai, said: “What we have achieved today, by the grace of Almighty Allah, followed by the dedication of our work teams and the outstanding partnership between government departments, authorities and ministries, is the result of genuine collaboration that has enabled us to deliver an integrated service bringing five entities together within a single customer journey.”
His Excellency added: “The next phase aims to unify government services through a single window, in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, and under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.”
He affirmed that this ambition represents a steadfast approach for GDRFA Dubai and that the organisation will continue to pursue it, God willing. At the conclusion of his remarks, His Excellency thanked the attendees and expressed his appreciation to everyone who honoured the ceremony with their presence.
For his part, Colonel Expert Khalid Ahmed Bin Madia Al Falasi, Assistant Director General of the Digital Services Affairs Sector at GDRFA Dubai, said that the “Domestic Workers Management” experience demonstrates the ability of digital services to build a more interconnected ecosystem among government entities. This enables customers to move through the different stages of the service clearly and seamlessly, without having to navigate fragmented procedures or multiple channels.
He added that the significance of the experience lies in its transformation of an everyday service journey that affects a broad segment of customers into a simpler and more efficient model. This was achieved by connecting data, unifying service channels and facilitating access to services, thereby strengthening GDRFA Dubai’s readiness to continue developing more integrated digital services in the future.
The ceremony concluded with the recognition of the work teams and partners who contributed to this achievement, in appreciation of their efforts to develop an integrated digital government experience that embodies a collaborative approach and strengthens Dubai’s position as a global model for the design of innovative government services.
