Ahmed Kajoor, Assistant Undersecretary of the ministry, said the system which will be launched within a week or two will stop misplacement of applications for group visas and facilitate processing and controlling of visas. "It will allow the electronic movement of applications, with each official having access to it from any of the ministry's offices nationwide. The new system, designed by the ministry, will save time and effort with representatives of companies processing their transactions through the intranet.
"This will cut the time needed to process applications for group visas," Kajoor said. He explained that applications for group visas may currently be delayed because of discrepancies in the information provided by any one of the group.
But the new system will allow an applicant to obtain any visas without the need to wait for those which are not completed for any reason.
"The Labour Inspection Department can also gain access to the applications and conduct inspection without the need to obtain the application physically. Similarly other departments can have access and perform their own procedures.
"The system also allows for the addition of further information such as documents proving that a company has been awarded a certain project in order to obtain visas for extra workers."
The ministry will issue work permits online by the end of this year to speed up the processing of permits and curb forgery and trading of them.
Kajoor said the moves are part of the ministry's ongoing efforts to automate and transfer as much of its day-to-day operation to the Internet.
He added that the work permit system would be secured by six firewalls and will be extremely difficult for hackers to disrupt.
"The firewalls have been provided by Dubai's E-Government department, Etisalat and the ministry. Each of the providers uses a different system, making hacking all the more difficult.
The ministry's link with companies is set up through the e-unit and a system has been agreed with the Ministry of Finance and Industry in this regard.
"The 'e-unit' was set up to offer a fast, integrated, high-quality connections as part of the ministry's strategy to improve its services to private sector companies, and support economic development efforts as we shift towards electronic government.
"An applicant will be asked to enter details of the transaction and the worker involved, to maintain privacy and restrict access to applications. The system will accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 hits a day.
"A new ministry website will soon be launched to take its message to the public, as well as receive comments from users," Kajoor said.
"Feedback will be one of the key focuses of the revamped site. It will also be equipped with systems allowing companies to process their transactions over the Internet via the website, www.mol.gov.ae.
"Companies would be able to check the progress of applications while interactive facilities would allow them to check the status of staff registered in ministry files.
"Application forms can be completed with the new intelligent form systems installed on a company's desktop. Fees will be paid through e-dirham, and the system will automatically stamp the form digitally.
"Meanwhile the encrypted application can be sent through the integrated e-mail facility in the system which will confirm its receipt with a reference number for follow-up with the ministry," he said.
Networking will save time and effort
- The system will prevent misplacement of applications for group visas and facilitate processing and controlling of visas.
- It will save time and effort with representatives of companies processing their transactions through the intranet.
- It will allow an applicant to obtain processed visas without having to to wait for those which are not completed.
- The ministry will issue work permits online by year-end to speed processing of permits and curb forgery and trading.
- Companies will be able to check the progress of applications and interactive facilities will allow them to check the status of staff registered in ministry files.
- With the new smart forms and fees paid by e-dirham, the system will automatically stamp the form digitally and the encrypted application can be sent through the integrated e-mail facility which will confirm its receipt with a reference number for follow-up with the ministry.
