Today's Edition
Sami Abdulraouf (DUBAI)
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai received an astounding 1,613,798 calls in 2023, an increase of 17% from 2022, with inquiries about the UAE’s Golden Visa and entry permits topping the list of the most frequently asked questions, according to Brigadier General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the Directorate.
“The Directorate is keen to harness modern technologies to provide smart services, especially in communication with clients, aiming to ensure a quick response and provide information around the clock from both within and outside the country,” Al Marri affirmed during a press conference held as part of a field visit to a Directorate call centre.
The Directorate’s call centres have achieved significant strides in increasing customer satisfaction rates and increased public awareness on the UAE’s residency laws, he added.
Indicators have confirmed that the public is increasingly aware of the country’s legal landscape pertaining to residency, and show increasing use of the Directorate’s smart channels for information and at-home problem solving, he said.
Languages and Services
The Directorate’s call centre receives between 4,000 and 5,000 calls per day, and employees are able to answer calls in seven different languages, said Major Salem bin Ali, Director of the Customer Happiness Department at the Directorate.
The Directorate has adopted Arabic and English as the two primary languages for responding to inquiries, but assistance in other languages, including Farsi, Hindi, and French, among others, are available from the centre’s employees, who hail from nine different nationalities.
Inquiries received by the centre typically relate to nationality and residency, especially new amendments related to the Golden Visa. Other common topics include Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022 regarding the entry and residency of foreigners, inquiries about entry and residency permits, establishment card, visas for Gulf Cooperation Council residents, and visas on arrival, in addition to technical questions related to the Directorate’s systems and applications.
Through the call centre, the Directorate responds to inquiries via phone, email, live chat, and voicemail, and addresses technical problems and guiding users on the necessary steps to use different applications and websites.
According to bin Ali, the call centre resolved around 7,747 technical issues over the phone without the need to open technical tickets or redirect the matter to any entity in 2023. Additionally, the centre monitored the status of 125,985 visas over the phone, guiding users on various requirements. The centre transferred only 3% of the calls to different departments, indicating the employees’ effectiveness in handling incoming cases.
Regarding performance mechanisms, Lieutenant Anisa Khalifa bin Zabou, Head of the Information Centre for Users at the Directorate, stated that the administration has implemented a plan to ensure the call centre operates 24/7 through 10 shifts throughout the day, starting from 7:30 AM, with shifts distributed according to peak call times.
She added: “The centre’s employees receive calls from users both within and outside the country, with approximately 25% of incoming calls originating from outside the country. Employees answer these calls, resolve any issues related to the caller, and, in case the problem is connected to another entity, directly transfer the caller for assistance in completing their transaction.”
Call centre employees all complete training courses before beginning work at the centre, as well as throughout their careers, to help them enhance their communication abilities with callers of different nationalities, she added.
According to statistics from the Directorate, the call centre received 851,659 calls through the Amer service in 2023, compared to 776,801 calls in 2022. The automated visa status inquiry service ranked second with 445,999 calls compared to 361,197 in 2022. The call centre received 159,936 emails during 2023, compared to 129,055 emails in 2022.
Electronic chats ranked fourth with 117,419 conversations in 2023, compared to 82,736 in 2022. The call centre provided answers to 33,283 queries through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) automated response service in 2023, compared to 20,405 queries through the same service in 2022. The voicemail service received 5,502 calls during the past year, compared to 5,416 in 2022.
The Directorate recently topped the Employee Happiness Index and ranked highly in the Customer Happiness Index, according to the results of the 2023 study on customer, employee, and anonymous shopper happiness in Dubai’s government entities, as announced by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.
