I am flying with EK via dubai and I have 3 hours transit time from 3am to 6am. can I do the egate card while I am in the transit area without passing through immigration on that day so I can use the card later on?

No... E-Gate registration is outside the secure zone... 3 hours might be short.

If you're Gold, you can go in the Biz checkin side and go thru Immigration E-Gates and Security (which is faster).

Terminal 1 - enter departures and head down to your left until you reach an escalator which will take you up to the food court. As you reach the top in front of you you'll see a Costa coffee. Look to your right as you get off of the escalator and the immigration / e gate office is the glass fronted building with 3 desks inside, clearly sign posted. Its located prior to the food court btw.

Hi felixtae. I know two counters at DXB that will activate your skywards card to become e-gate functional.

In T1, outside (!) the check in area is a food court area. To get there, you need to go up the stairs. The food court sits basically on top of the check in desks that are below. The e-gate is close to the food court and is usually quite empty. Do this before you check in.

In T3, I only know the one in the premium check in terminal. So you pass immigration but before (!) you got through security you will find a small booth for the e-gate. Here, they also can enable the skywards card to become e-gate active. I have often found the booth unmanned, e.g. when I come late at night, i.e. past midnight, for a departure in the 2-3am bank.

I have the feeling that there must be another e-gate counter at T3 Eco terminal.

There is also an "e-gate registration" desk in T1 airside. So you could theoretically do it before going through immigration. Getting back could be difficult, however, unless you then proceed through immigration. (I guess you could walk backwards down the stairs and past the moving walkways, then up the stairs back to the transit desk. I have gone backwards though security in the T1 transit areas many times, no problem there, but I am not sure if they would let you walk all the way backward from immigration.)

Also I am not sure of the operating hours of this desk.

I also just discovered something interesting -- the Emirates Gold card with e-gate added doesn't work inbound at T1. I didn't try outbound, but will on Sunday. (The card also refers to "Dubai," so I assume that it doesn't work in Abu Dhabi.) I asked the immigration agent adjacent to the T1 e-gates if I could also get the old e-gate card (I am not a UAE resident), and he said yes. I didn't bother yesterday, but when I enter Dubai T1 next week I will try.

That's the best option so far. Do you think I can do the registration in 3.45 hours transit time arriving on EK and departing also on EK?

Yes, if the registration is open at that time and if you are allowed to go against the grain and walk back airside in T1. (If you try this, please let us know if it works.) But I am not sure the point of using the T1 option -- wouldn't it be faster just to go through immigration in T3, use the desk there (if it's open), and go back through immigration to catch your connection? You should be able to then use the e-gate to leave Dubai if they issue it right away, further saving time.

Given the generally shorter immigration queues in T3 compared to T1, and the long walking (usually; unless you are lucky and your EK flight arrives at T1) required airside from T3 to the T1 exit, I don't think that this would save time anyway. But you'd get plenty of exercise.

For some private reasons, I don't want to show Dubai stamp on my passport;)

Ah-ha. Good luck to you then; please let us know how it goes. I plan to get the card issued airside at T1 next Thursday night; I will try to remember to ask them what the operating hours are.

Please keep in mind also that you are running some risk. If they don't allow you to go backwards from T1, then you will have to go through immigration and come back. Even if you use the e-gate to enter Dubai, you won't be able to use the e-gate to exit (or vice-versa), since you cannot enter and then re-exit on e-gate within six hours. You can play dumb (and avoid the lines) by going to the immigration agent at the e-gate area in either T1 or T3 and saying that your e-gate won't work, but they usually stamp your passport there.

Thank you both for the detailed reply. I did not know there is a separate food court in T1. I never checked-in at DXB, always went through the security check before check-in desks and directly to the immigration. Will look for the office in T1 next time I go there. I assume that office is closed on Friday and Saturday and during Eid in October???

In theory it should be open 24/7/365.

Is there any phone number to call and check?

Does anyone know how long the E-Gate registration/reactivation in T3 J/F entrace is open? Just arrived last night and was told my E-Gate expired. Have to fly out tonight again and actually wanted to reactivate everything.

The central yellow booth at Departure never close...

Status Update: E-gates for everybody...
 

http://www.acmelabs.biz/Blog/2013/07...in-20-seconds/

So it says that anybody can register at no cost...