Did you ever do this?

UAE Visa E Gate Access
 

Have been using E-Gate ever since it came in existence. No problems ever as long as my UAE Resident Visa is good. Any more I do not know.

Safe Flying

EGT

I finally got around to getting my eGate, just 2 weeks ago - not a problem - at departures, just after passport control.

I do not have a UAE residency visa.

I did try around a month ago and was told to go to arrivals to get it done, he couldn't do it as I didn't have an arrivals stamp in my passport, I.e. I had an exit stamp - basically he couldn't be bothered to do it, more interested in texting.

I have had an e gate pass, (got it on an upgraded Emirates flight) I do not hold a UAE residents visa but visit 3x a year into DXB, despite the fact that on about 4,5 separate attempts the system has not been working, I use the passport control desk at the e gate, which has less of a queue.
Then last time I was told my pass had to be renewed, it had expired and I had to pay to renew, you can only renew land side in DXB.
I used my e pass last April and it was fine, I am travelling in September again and will see what happens this time!

Any updates?? I am going to DXB in April and June( I've never left the airport before). I am travelling on a British passport and I am Skywards Gold. Is there any chance of getting an egate? Or Is that still for residents only?

If they give eGate to Aussies, (ie me), I'm pretty sure they'll even give it to you :p. You have to go and have your fingerprints taken, and some surly looking security guard taps away at a computer, does something to your card and then grunts and hands it back to you. Has worked like a charm everytime I have been to DXB...

Did you get yours in the arrivals section or in departures?

Just after departures, there's a little office to the right (or at least there was when I got it). Just ask one of the Immigration staff and they will grunt and point and send you in the right direction. One of the local Ambassadors will know - ie Khalid26, mrtdxb, GigoloArt etc

If you are departing out of the J/F terminal, it is to your right after you clear departure immigration before you go through security. Look for a little window with an officer sitting at a computer behind it. :)

I never knew that DXB had separate terminals for F/J and Y. Like I've said in an earlier thread, I've never left DXB airport as I have always travelled via DXB in transit!

My first trip in April is a personal trip and I am flying Y. Is there an e gate office in the 'cattle class' :p terminal.

If not I'll have to wait for my second trip in June in which I am flying J:eek:

As a Gold member, just use the J check in area...

good. I did'nt think about that.LOL. :D:D:D. I have never flown Ek in Y before and so never had to use the card at the check in desk/lounge. Looks like the gold card would finally be of some use.

With a British passport you will get one as you are in the waiver countries.

When you are lucky, yes. If not, just ask the officers for their colleague. The counter is always manned.

I have to say, having the eGate on the Skywards Gold card has repeatedly brought me into trouble. On several (unlucky) occasions, officials would not recognize or believe me that the Gold card is my egate:

- Abu Dhabi Immigration Officers when the egate didn't work (ok, 1-2 years ago)
- EK own's staff last week when my passport got deteriorated (unintentionally) after Saudi immigration and the staff almost denied me boarding since they were scared that I would not get into UAE land. They asked me if I had an egate card to enter the country. They wouldn't believe me that the Gold card is my egate (the little remark on the note is not clear). I passed, after some hard negotiations and because I knew the guy. :rolleyes:

I have never used the Gold or Silver card as egates, always issued a separate one. Nowadays you can't even do that and residents/citizens have to enable their National ID as their egate.

To answer the questions:

Yes all 34 visa waiver country citizens can get egate cards issued at Dubai immigration counters only, Abu Dhabi will not issue them. There are counters located in Terminal 1 (upstairs next to the food court, before check-in) and at T3 F/J check-in area (after immigration :confused:, if the window is not manned, walk round through the door on the left and there will be an officer slouching at his desk looking very enthused) and before immigration at arrivals in T1. I think there is one more at T3 Y area but can't remember where. In addition, there are a few other counters in the city.

The card is valid for 2 years from date of issue and costs AED 210 (last I checked).

:D:D:D

It's probably worth locking this thread... The information in the first post has changed. And was probably never true anyway, I suspect I just got a lazy immigration agent.

Just FYI... I just went to activate my e-gate for the first time last night. The agent told me that I need to renew it every 3 months and I was not charged any money to have it activated.

This doesn't sound typical does it?

If you used your Gold card then it would be free, but it should be valid for the length of your gold membership, not sure what this 3 months thing is

e-gate Summary (from Skywards)
 

* This service is complimentary for Gold members and available at a redemption of 5,000 Skywards Miles for Silver members. Eligible Skywards Blue members and non-Skywards members pay the AED 200 fee and have the card issued.

Eligibility
All members residing in the United Arab Emirates, or nationals of the Gulf Co-operative Council or of the UAE's visa waiver countries* are eligible for the e-gate service.
* Eligible visa waiver countries as per Dubai Immigration Authority:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the USA and the Vatican.

Activating your Skywards e-gate card
You can activate your e-gate* privileges by carrying the following to any of the issuing offices listed below:

your passport (with a validity of at least 6 months)
a passport size photograph
your Skywards Gold/Silver e-gate card
your previous e-gate card (if you have one)
* A Dhs 10 UAE government administration charge must be paid at the time of card activation.

Re-activating your Skywards e-gate card
Skywards Gold/Silver members who have retained their tier and are issued an e-gate enabled card will need to re activate their card for use at Dubai and Abu Dhabi International Airports. To re-activate carry the following to any of the issuing offices listed below:

your original passport (with a validity of at least 6 months)
your Skywards Gold/Silver e-gate card
your existing Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) number.

Issuing Offices:
Dubai International Airport
Arrivals Immigration Hall or Departure Lounge, near the food court on the 1st floor
Tel: + 971 4 206 1597

Dnata Travel Centre
Mezzanine Floor, Sheikh Zayed Road
Tel: + 971 4 316 6966

Dubai Municipality
Tel: + 971 4 206 4055

Jebel Ali Port
Passport Office
Tel: + 971 4 881 8777

Using e-gate
Upon receipt of your boarding card, simply approach the electronic gate and place your Skywards Gold/Silver card on the reader, located on the right side of the turnstile. When the first door closes, place your index finger on the finger print reader and proceed to your boarding gate. Upon re-entry, complete the same procedure. That's all there is to it! Always remember to carry your passport with you.

Lost Cards
Should your Skywards Gold/Silver card be lost or stolen, please call the Emirates contact centre immediately and we will advise the immigration authorities.

They didn't charge me this government fee. Also, they had me scan my left and right thumb, not index finger, so no way will my index finger work to enter.

Where is it you did this? They sometimes change fingers if they can't read a print off the index

They never asked me to try my index finger, just "left thumb" then "right thumb".

I did the processing at level 1 of departures.

I am more curious about the 3-month validity than anything else. 3-months is useless when I travel here every 3-4 months.

My gold card is valid until 2/2013.

could someone confirm whether i can sign up for egate in arrivals??. Most of the posters have been signing up at departures!!!

I know for sure that there is one in T1 arrivals before th passport check and I think someone else mentioned earlier in this thread that there is also one in T3 (I am too tired to look back to check for sure).

Also when using eGate card to leave Dubai you need to also scan your boarding pass after you have presented your card to the machine - it is not very intuitive because there is no signal that your card has been accepted but a quick swipe of the card followed by a scan of the BP usually leads to the plastic doors swinging open ... even though it beeps angrily and flashes red!

Yes, in T1 (maybe there is one in T3 that I haven't seen), after you moved along the very very long transfer tunnel you will go up the escalator on the immigration counter level. When you arrive that level just 5m after the escalator, there is a counter on the right side that is doing e-gate cards only.

I just picked up an e-gate card on my last trip through Dubai. I went to the office in the F/J departures area in T3. I had no trouble obtaining the card (this is the regular blue UAE-gate card, not affiliated with EK), but the immigration officer made it sound like my card was not "activated" because I had already departed the country (gone through passport control). I'm not a resident of Dubai, but I hold passport from a visa-waiver country.

Will I need to get my card activated before I can use it? If so, where can that be done?

I vaguely remember that in such cases you pitch up at the e-gate on arrival, try it and when it does not work the guy behind the desk will ask you to come over to see him and breathe some life into it for you ...

Correct. Either way you don't have to Q up at the regular counters

Brilliant. Thank you for the info, khalid26 and mrtdxb!

That was not my experience. I went to the same guy at the e-gate kiosks, and he stamped my passport and let me in, but he told me I have to go to the e-gate counter to get it programmed as he was not capable if doing so.

My understanding was he exists there as an immigration officer for those people that have a problem with their existing e-gate functionality.

OT, but when I travelled to Dubai with my family they allowed my family to clear customs with that guy since I have e-gate, which was awesome as the lines at all other immigrations counters were at least 20 minutes long.

It took me about 6 minutes to get my gold card activated for e-gate in DXB. I went to the egates in the arrival level but was informed by the man sitting there that I would have to exit and go to departures.

I did that and, apart from the very long walk, had no trouble in getting my card activated. When I asked about the fees, the guy told me that it is complimentary.

On the whole it was a straightforward transaction and all the people I encountered were polite and efficient.

I am not a resident in UAE and I hold a passport from a visa waiver country.

I never bothered with the Gold card (when I had it). Just paid for the regular two-year card.

Sorry to resurrect this thread.

Can anyone confirm that there is an e-gate office in the arrivals hall of T3? Before or after passport control?

Thanks a lot!

There isn't. I've never seen one.

Eitherway, the registration process is not quicker than the Q ..... actually it might be if you arrive at midnight !

If you go upstairs, there is an office at departures (at least there was 2 years ago)

My Skywards gold card no longer working
The last 2 entries into the UAE (dubai and AD) my card has not worked.

Its valid till Dec 2012 so not sure what the issue is. has any non resident had any problems the last 6 weeks with egate working?

Not sure cuz I'm a resident but I do have friends that are not w gold cards. When the card doesn't work it's no big deal as there is always an immigration officer on hand at the E gates that can just stamp you in. You still don't need to wait in line & if you ask he can look at your card in the computer & tell you why it's not working

Odd you should say that. Because it was this post written actually by you that I was looking to get confirmation on:

Whatever, I'll figure it out when I arrive tonight.