Emirates ID Name Correction 2026: How to Fix Your Name, Arabic Name, Date of Birth and Other Data with GDRFA and ICP

Emirates ID name correction is the process of changing the name, or other personal data, shown on a UAE identity card so that it matches the holder’s passport and legal documents. For residents, the card is not edited on its own: the residence permit data behind it is amended first, by GDRFA in Dubai or ICP in the other emirates, and ICP then issues a replacement card with the corrected details and the same expiry date. The identity number stays the same.

This guide was rewritten on 24 September 2026 from ICP and GDRFA Dubai service cards, ICP’s FAQ and card-holder duties, Federal Law No. 9 of 2006 and the relevant ministries. Where no official page covers a point, we say so, and press reports are labelled as secondary. It covers where your name data lives, the order of corrections, the Dubai and ICP routes, the Arabic name on Emirates ID, marriage and divorce, date of birth and nationality, children, documents, fees, timelines and typing centre errors.

If your only change is a new passport with the same name, you need the passport amendment instead. Our guide to transferring a UAE visa to a new passport covers that route in full.

Emirates ID name correction at a glance: which error, which fix

Before you pay for anything, place your problem on this table. The single most common waste of money we see is paying for the wrong service, usually ICP’s cheap Data Update, and then paying again for the right one.

Emirates ID name correction: how MIRDXB PRO helps

Most people who contact us about an Emirates ID name correction noticed the problem somewhere awkward: a bank refusal, a returned family visa, a title deed in a slightly different name. They want the wrong record found, the right service filed once, and every record after it aligned. We are a PRO and visa services firm in Al Barsha 1, and we file GDRFA Dubai residence amendments and ICP identity card transactions every working day. If you would rather hand the card side over completely, that is our Emirates ID typing services in Dubai.

What we do

• Compare every record letter by letter: passport, Emirates ID (English and Arabic), residence details, labour card or employment contract, and any certificates you rely on.
• Tell you where the error sits and whether it can be fixed in the UAE at all, or must go back to your embassy first.
• File the correct Emirates ID data correction, meaning the residence amendment with GDRFA in Dubai or ICP in the other emirates, and raise the name or data change clearly at the start.
• Handle the Arabic name on Emirates ID, including the supporting evidence for the spelling you need.
• Arrange attestation and legal translation of marriage, divorce, birth or name-change documents through our legal translation services in Dubai and attestation team.
• Follow the replacement card to delivery, then give you a list of every downstream record to update.

How it works

1. WhatsApp us photos of your passport bio page, both sides of your Emirates ID and, if you have them, your residence details and the document that proves the correct name.
2. We check the records and reply with where the error sits, how to correct name on Emirates ID in your case, the service needed and the documents, usually the same working day.
3. You approve the work after we confirm the government fees and our fee in writing.
4. We file, answer any request for documents, and send you each reference number as it is issued.
5. We confirm the corrected card and residence details match your passport before we close the file.

What it costs

Government fees for an Emirates ID name correction are passed on at cost, exactly as published on the ICP and GDRFA service cards and set out in the fees section below. Our own service fee is quoted in writing before we start and depends on the route, the number of family members and whether documents need attestation or translation. Our general price structure is on our fees page. If your problem needs nothing more than a phone call to ICP or a single online form you can do yourself, we will tell you that.

Why residents use us

• We publish our sources and show you the official fee lines, so you can check every figure.
• We cover both GDRFA Dubai and ICP, which matters because the name correction route differs by the emirate that issued your residence.
• We tell you when you do not need us, including when the fault is in your passport and only your consulate can help.
• If you are abroad, we can act for you under a power of attorney where the service allows it.
• You can visit our Al Barsha 1 office by appointment; whatsApp us any time, 24 hours; office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 (Dubai time).

Before any Emirates ID name correction: where your name data lives

Most failed Emirates ID name correction attempts we see tried to fix the card without knowing where the card gets its data. There are four layers, and data flows downwards.

Layer 1: the passport

Your passport is issued by your home country and is the document UAE authorities treat as the source of your identity. Every residence application starts from it: the name, the date of birth, the sex and the nationality are taken from the passport bio page. If the passport is wrong, nothing in the UAE can override it. Your embassy or consulate has to issue a corrected passport, and only then does the UAE record follow.

Layer 2: the residence file

When a residence permit is issued, the issuing authority creates a residence file. For a Dubai residence that is GDRFA Dubai (the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs); for the other six emirates it is ICP (the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security). The file holds your passport data, your sponsor, your profession and, crucially for this guide, your name in English and in Arabic. The first digit of your residence file number tells you which emirate issued it: 1 Abu Dhabi, 2 Dubai, 3 Sharjah, 4 Ajman, 5 Umm Al Quwain, 6 Ras Al Khaimah, 7 Fujairah.

Layer 3: the Emirates ID card

ICP issues the Emirates ID for residents of every emirate, Dubai included. Since April 2022 the card has also served as proof of residence in place of the old passport sticker, as ICP announced at the time. The card reads its personal data from the residence file. That is why every Emirates ID name correction starts in the residence file, and why ICP’s own residence amendment service charges its fee as an “Emirates ID replacement fee”: change the residence data and the card is reissued to show it.

Federal Law No. 9 of 2006 lists the data the population register holds, including the name, date and place of birth, sex, religion and nationality, and the u.ae portal notes that the card’s chip contains the holder’s personal data.

Layer 4: everyone who copies the card

Your bank, MOHRE, Ejari, DEWA, your insurer and your employer’s payroll all copied your details from the card or passport. None of them updates automatically when you correct the card. So correct upwards first, then work downwards. For how the card and residence stay linked, see our guide to Emirates ID and visa linking.

Emirates ID name change: your legal duty to report it, and the fine cap

An Emirates ID data correction is not only a convenience. It is a legal duty. ICP’s published list of ID card holder duties requires the holder to “report any change in his/her details of the Card to the competent department in Emirates ID within one month from the date of change”. The same list prohibits tampering with, erasing, amending or distorting the card, so never correct a card by hand.

The duty comes from Federal Law No. 9 of 2006 concerning the population register and identity card. As published on the UAE legislation portal:

• Article 6 requires people entered in the register to notify the authority of any change or amendment to their personal data or civil events within the time limits set by the authority’s board.
• Article 16 allows the Cabinet to set administrative fines for breaching that duty, of no more than AED 1,000, multiplied by the number of persons concerned.
• Article 18 makes giving incorrect information to the population register punishable by up to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of up to AED 5,000, or either penalty.
• Article 26 leaves the procedures for correcting personal data already entered in the register to the executive regulations.

We found no current ICP service card or fee schedule stating a specific fine for reporting a change late. The law sets a ceiling, not the amount, so we do not quote one. Article 18 is also why we never “adjust” a name to suit a bank or employer when the passport says otherwise.

The right order for an Emirates ID data correction

An Emirates ID data correction fails most often because the steps were done in the wrong order. This is the sequence that works, whatever the emirate.

1. Collect the evidence. Passport bio page, both sides of the card, residence details (from the GDRFA or ICP app or website), and any document that proves the correct name: marriage or divorce certificate, name-change deed, birth certificate.
2. Compare letter by letter. Given names, surname, spaces, hyphens, the order of names, the Arabic name, date of birth, sex, nationality and passport number. Write down every difference.
3. Decide which record is wrong. If the passport is wrong, stop here and go to your embassy. If the passport is right and the card is not, the fix is in the UAE.
4. Identify the authority. Dubai residence: GDRFA. Any other emirate: ICP. The residence file number’s first digit tells you.
5. File the residence data amendment and state the Emirates ID name correction plainly at the start, with the evidence attached.
6. Get the replacement card. Automatic on the ICP route; a separate ICP card transaction on the Dubai route.
7. Check the result in the UAEICP app or UAE PASS, and on the physical card, before you update anyone else.
8. Update downstream records: employer and MOHRE, bank, Ejari, DEWA, insurer, telecom, RTA, school, and your dependants’ files if your name appears on them as sponsor.

Dubai: how to correct name on Emirates ID through GDRFA and ICP

If your residence file number starts with 2, your residence is held by GDRFA Dubai, and an Emirates ID name correction has two parts: GDRFA amends the residence, then ICP issues the card. This is the route where people most often think they have finished when they have only done half.

Part 1: GDRFA residence data amendment

GDRFA publishes the service as “Amendment of all types of residence permit data”. The card lists these requirements and conditions:

GDRFA’s card does not list evidence for an Emirates ID name change among its requirements. In practice, when the name on the new data differs from the name already on the file, the officer will ask why. Attach the evidence from the start: a marriage certificate for a married surname, a name-change document from your home country, or the passport page showing the corrected spelling. Gulf News reported in August 2023 that the Dubai online amendment lets residents update personal information, including the name, from the GDRFA dashboard’s “update personal information” option. That is a press report, not a GDRFA page, so treat the menu wording as indicative.

Channels. The GDRFA website (24/7, UAE PASS login) or an Amer centre during its working hours. Our Amer centre services in Dubai page explains what an Amer centre handles.

Fees published on the card: urgent service fee AED 100; innovation fee AED 10; printing fee AED 100 where the application is submitted through a ZAJEL courier centre. GDRFA does not print a single total. An Amer centre adds its own typing and service charges, which are not government fees.

Part 2: ICP replacement card for the data update

GDRFA’s card does not include an Emirates ID line. ICP’s “Issue Replacement for lost / damaged ID Card” service card, however, publishes a specific fee line: “ID card replacement – data update (available at the Authority’s service centers)”, AED 150. This is the ICP transaction that completes a Dubai Emirates ID name correction: it prints a new card with the corrected data after the residence has been amended. Its terms say the new card keeps the original validity period, and applicants aged 15 and over complete fingerprints and signature.

Gulf News (August 2023) quoted a typing centre supervisor saying Dubai residents must “separately apply for an update for your Emirates ID through ICP” after the GDRFA amendment. ICP’s “available at the Authority’s service centers” wording means an ICP Customer Happiness Centre visit, or a typing centre that files at one. Make sure it is the data-update replacement, not a lost or damaged replacement at AED 300.

Steps to correct name on Emirates ID in Dubai

1. Log in to the GDRFA website with UAE PASS, or visit an Amer centre with your passport, card and evidence.
2. Choose the residence data amendment for the person whose name is wrong. A sponsor files for dependants.
3. Enter the corrected data exactly as on the passport, English and Arabic, and attach the evidence.
4. Pay the published fees and keep the receipt and application number.
5. Answer any document request within 30 days.
6. Once approved, file the ICP data-update card replacement and complete biometrics if called.
7. Check the new card before updating your employer, bank and others.

Other emirates: ICP’s Amendment of Residency Permit Data

If your residence file number starts with 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, ICP holds your residence and issues your card, and one service handles the whole Emirates ID name correction. ICP publishes it as Amendment of Residency Permit Data, service code 377-006-003-005, described as “a service through which residence permit data is modified”.

Who can apply

ICP lists three categories: residents (an individual for their own record, or a sponsor for a family member); accredited educational institutions for the foreign student category; and government, private and free zone entities for the employee category. For an employee, the employer’s representative usually files, so start by asking your HR or PRO.

Steps, as published

1. Submit the application through the chosen channel (ICP smart services website or app, 24/7, or a Customer Happiness Centre in working hours).
2. Review and adjust the data retrieved by the system. This is where the correct name, English and Arabic, is entered.
3. Attach the required documents if they could not be retrieved electronically.
4. Pay the fees.
5. Receive a notification of approval or rejection.

Documents, fees and time for an ICP Emirates ID data correction

ICP’s card lists no separate document for an Emirates ID name change. As with Dubai, attach the evidence of the correct name at the start; the “attach documents” step exists for exactly that. Khaleej Times reported in August 2023, quoting ICP, that once a residence amendment is requested, an Emirates ID replacement application is created automatically, and that the online service covers personal information, profession, passport information and nationality. It also reported that fees are refunded if the application is rejected for insufficient details. That is consistent with ICP’s fee wording, but it is press, not an ICP page.

Residence not yet stamped: amend the entry permit instead

Many name errors are born at the entry permit stage, when a sponsor or typing centre first keys in the applicant’s details. If you spot the error while you still hold only the entry permit, fix it there: it is the cheapest Emirates ID name correction there is. A correct entry permit produces a correct residence and a correct card, and you avoid the replacement fee altogether.

ICP publishes this as Amendment of Visa Data, service code 377-005-001-003: “a service whereby a request is made to amend an entry permit issued by the authority”. Documents are the passport and a personal photo, plus, for categories other than visitors, a letter specifying the type of amendment (or an employment certificate for free zones, or the amended permit for the private sector). Fees: application AED 50 and smart application AED 100. Completion: 2 days. The passport must be valid for more than six months.

For a Dubai entry permit, ask GDRFA or an Amer centre to amend it before the status change. Once the residence is issued, only the residence amendment applies.

The service people choose by mistake: ICP’s AED 50 Data Update

ICP runs a service called Data Update, service code 377-004-001-008. It costs AED 50, needs no documents and sounds exactly like an Emirates ID data correction. For an Emirates ID name change it is the wrong service.

ICP describes it as a service whereby “non-essential data, namely phone number, email and address” is updated. Its conditions say at least one of mobile number, address or email must change, updates happen through the personal account with UAE PASS, and family members’ details are updated through the sponsor’s or head of family’s account. Names, date of birth, nationality and sex are not non-essential data.

It is still worth doing, just for its own purpose: ICP sends approval notices, return requests and courier messages to the phone and email on file. Update those first, then file the real correction. If you paid for Data Update believing it fixed your name, treat the Emirates ID name correction as still outstanding.

The Arabic name on Emirates ID: why it goes wrong and how to fix it

Every Emirates ID shows the holder’s name twice: in English, and in Arabic. For most expatriates the English name is copied from the passport, while the Arabic name on Emirates ID is not in the passport at all. It is a transliteration, produced in the UAE when the entry permit or residence application is first typed. That single fact explains most complaints about the Arabic name on Emirates ID.

How the Arabic name is produced

Neither ICP nor GDRFA publishes a transliteration standard for the Arabic name on Emirates ID. From filing these applications, we see the Arabic spelling entered, or suggested by the system and accepted, by whoever types the application: a typing centre, an Amer centre, an employer’s PRO, or the applicant online. Once the residence is issued, that Arabic name on Emirates ID is carried forward into every renewal unless someone corrects it. Treat this description as our practical reading, not an official rule.

For applicants whose passports already carry an Arabic-script name, as many passports issued by Arab countries do, the Arabic field should normally follow the passport’s own script. Where the passport has no Arabic script, the transliteration is a judgement call, and two different offices can reasonably produce two different spellings of the same name.

Common errors in the Arabic name on Emirates ID

How to correct the Arabic name on Emirates ID

There is no separate public service card called “Arabic name correction” for residents. Correcting the Arabic name on Emirates ID goes through the same residence data amendment described above: GDRFA in Dubai, then the ICP data-update card; ICP’s Amendment of Residency Permit Data in the other emirates. In the “review and adjust the data” step, the Arabic field is corrected, and the evidence explains why. The strongest evidence, in our experience, is:

• the passport’s own Arabic or Arabic-script page, where it has one;
• an earlier UAE document that already shows the correct Arabic spelling, such as an older residence, a UAE marriage contract or a court document;
• a legal translation of your passport name by a translator licensed by the UAE Ministry of Justice, which you can check in the Ministry’s translator search;
• for the family, the sponsor’s corrected card, so that the dependants’ Arabic surnames can be aligned to it.

Whether a purely cosmetic change to the Arabic name on Emirates ID will be accepted is at the authority’s discretion. We have no official statement either way. A request that fixes a genuine mismatch with the passport, another UAE document or the rest of the family is much easier to justify than one that simply prefers another spelling.

Emirates ID name change after marriage or divorce

An Emirates ID name change after marriage or divorce is really a passport-led change. The UAE record follows your passport, so the sequence is: new passport in the new name first, then the UAE amendment. Filing the UAE amendment with a marriage certificate while your passport still shows your maiden name will not work, because the card cannot show a name that your passport does not.

1. Change the passport. Apply to your country’s embassy, consulate or passport office for a passport in your married or restored name, following that country’s rules.
2. Prepare the certificate. A marriage or divorce certificate issued outside the UAE normally needs attestation in the issuing country, by the UAE mission there, and then by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by a legal translation into Arabic. Our marriage certificate attestation service handles that chain, and our guide on the attestation process order explains each stage. A certificate issued in the UAE is already a UAE document.
3. File the passport amendment and the Emirates ID name change together. Tell the typing centre or officer at the start that the name has changed as well as the passport. The mechanics of the passport part are in our guide to transfer UAE visa to new passport.
4. Get the replacement card and check the English and Arabic names.
5. Update the family files. If you sponsor your children, their records show you as sponsor; if your spouse sponsors you, the sponsor files for you.

Some countries allow only an “also known as” or spouse’s name endorsement on an inner page. The UAE record follows the passport’s name fields, so if you need an Emirates ID name change to your married name, in our experience you need it in those fields.

After a divorce, the same logic applies in reverse. If your passport returns to your earlier name, the UAE record follows it, with the divorce document as evidence. A divorced woman whose residence was sponsored by her former husband also has a residence status question to settle; our guide to the UAE residence visa grace period covers the time allowed.

Date of birth, nationality, sex and other Emirates ID data correction

The name is the most common Emirates ID data correction, but not the only one. The same principle applies to every field: the passport decides, and the residence amendment carries the change to the card.

Children: Emirates ID name correction starts with the birth certificate

For children born in the UAE, the chain has one more link. The birth certificate is issued by the UAE health authority, the child’s passport is issued from it by the embassy, and the residence and card follow the passport. A spelling error that starts on the birth certificate travels all the way down.

1. Correct the birth certificate with the authority that issued it. The Ministry of Health and Prevention publishes a “Modification of Birth Certificate Details” service for its facilities; its service guide lists original passports, Emirates IDs and residence documents, the original birth certificate, an attested marriage certificate if the marriage took place outside the UAE and, for name changes of expatriates, letters from the consulate and the relevant court. Dubai births are registered with the Dubai Health Authority, which runs its own birth certificate services.
2. Update the child’s passport at the embassy using the corrected certificate.
3. Complete the child’s Emirates ID name correction, filed by the sponsor, with the corrected passport. Attested and translated birth certificates for children born abroad are handled by our birth certificate attestation service.

For a newborn, correct everything before applying. Our newborn baby visa service checks the certificate and passport against each other first. Children under 15 do not give fingerprints for the replacement card; ICP requires them from age 15.

Name mismatch with bank, MOHRE labour card and other records

Sometimes the card is right and something else is wrong, so no Emirates ID data correction is needed. That is a downstream correction, not an Emirates ID name correction, and it is handled by the organisation that holds the wrong record.

• MOHRE labour card and work permit. For private-sector workers, MOHRE’s records are opened by the employer. MOHRE’s “Modification of Work Permits / Employment Contracts” service is filed by the establishment’s authorised signatory, published at 2 working days, with federal fees of AED 50 and a business centre commission capped at AED 72 (no charge on MOHRE’s website and app apart from the federal charges). The service card describes it as modifying work permit and contract details; it does not list a name correction specifically, so ask your employer’s PRO to check with MOHRE which transaction applies to your case. Our MOHRE labour card guide explains the card itself.
• Bank. Banks match your name for account opening, salary transfers through WPS and international transfers. Give the bank the corrected card and passport; a WPS salary file that shows a different name from the bank account can be rejected.
• Ejari and tenancy. The tenancy contract should show the name on your card and passport; landlords and management companies update it on renewal or by amendment.

A mismatch between your card and your bank or labour records does not change the card. Do not file an Emirates ID name correction to match them. Correct them to match the card, once the card matches your passport.

Emirates ID name correction when the typing centre made the error

Many errors we see were typed, not issued: a dropped letter, swapped given names, a surname entered as a middle name. The authority printed exactly what it was sent, so the Emirates ID name correction starts with your application copy.

1. Get your application copy. Every typed application produces a form or receipt with the data submitted. Compare it with your passport. If the form shows the error, the error was in the submission.
2. Go back to the centre quickly. If the application has not been approved, the centre may be able to amend or withdraw it. After approval, only an amendment service fixes it.
3. Ask who pays. No official rule we found obliges a typing centre to pay for correcting its own keying error. Many will cover their own charges; government fees are a separate matter. Raise it politely, with the form in hand.
4. Complain if needed. Amer centres operate under GDRFA Dubai and ICP-approved typing centres under ICP; both authorities publish complaint channels (GDRFA 8005111; ICP 600522222 and its customer voice platform).
5. File the Emirates ID name correction on the correct service as described above, with the evidence.

If you filed it yourself on the ICP app, the system recorded what you entered. The differences between Amer, Tasheel and ICP typing centres are explained in our guide to Amer vs Tasheel.

Documents checklist for Emirates ID data correction

ICP and GDRFA list only the core documents for an Emirates ID name correction on their cards. The situational documents below are what the officer will reasonably ask for when the data you enter differs from the data on file. Prepare them before filing any Emirates ID data correction, not after a return.

A foreign document is not accepted in the UAE just because it is genuine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs attests documents issued outside the UAE only after they have been attested in the issuing country and by the UAE mission there, and the attested document is then translated into Arabic by a legal translator. Our document attestation team and our guide to attestation cost in the UAE cover the chain and its fees.

Emirates ID name correction fees: every published figure

The old version of this guide quoted “AED 150 to 300” for a modification fee and AED 30 to 70 for typing, without a source. Here are the Emirates ID name correction figures actually published by the authorities on 24 September 2026. Typing and service centre charges are extra and are not government fees.

What the Dubai total looks like. GDRFA does not publish a single total, and the Amer centre’s own charges vary. Gulf News reported in August 2022 that the online Dubai amendment cost “AED 260 total, which includes courier charges”; that figure is a four-year-old press report and does not include the ICP card. On the published lines alone, a Dubai correction is AED 110 at GDRFA (AED 210 if filed through a ZAJEL courier centre) plus AED 150 for the ICP data-update card, before centre charges. We show you the receipt lines before you pay.

Earlier press figures. Khaleej Times (August 2023) reported AED 200 for the ICP online amendment, and Bayut (undated) quotes AED 200 online and AED 340 in person, apparently from older fee structures. Rely on the ICP card. See also our UAE government fees 2026 list.

How long an Emirates ID name correction takes

The real clock is usually set by documents: a corrected passport or an attestation chain abroad takes far longer than any UAE stage. For card timelines see how long an Emirates ID takes, and if the card does not arrive, Emirates ID delayed after biometrics.

Emirates ID data correction from outside the UAE

Both GDRFA’s website and ICP’s smart services are open 24/7 with UAE PASS, so the application can be filed from abroad. Two limits apply: ICP lists the Dubai data-update card at its service centres, and a replacement card for anyone aged 15 or over needs fingerprints and signature, normally taken in person unless already on file. The card is delivered to a UAE address.

A sponsor can file for dependants, and a representative can act under a power of attorney; the Ministry of Justice offers a digital power of attorney, and one made abroad needs attestation. Mind the 180-day rule: see our guide to the re-entry permit after six months.

UAE nationals: Family Book name corrections

This guide is written for residents. For UAE nationals, the card data comes from the family book record rather than a residence file. ICP’s FAQ lists “correcting a name” among the Family Data modification transactions, alongside adding a newborn or a wife. Emiratis should apply through ICP’s family data service, after which the card is updated.

What goes wrong with an Emirates ID data correction, and how to avoid it

• Paying for Data Update. AED 50 for phone, email and address only. It does not change a name.
• Correcting the card before the passport. The application will be rejected, or worse, approved with data your passport does not support.
• Doing half the Dubai route. GDRFA’s amendment is done, the card still shows the old name. File the ICP data-update replacement.
• Not raising the name change at the start. An application that changes a name without explanation is likely to be returned.
• Missing the 30-day window for a GDRFA document request, or ICP’s specified period for returned applications. Both lead to cancellation.
• Forgetting the Arabic name on Emirates ID. The English is fixed, the Arabic still differs. Check both on the review screen.
• Stopping at the card. The bank, MOHRE record and tenancy still show the old name, and the next WPS salary or Ejari renewal fails.

What circulates online that is not true

Emirates ID name correction: five cases, worked through

These cases are built from the situations we see most often. Names and identifying details are left out, and the figures are the published ones.

1. Dubai employee, one letter missing

Situation. The passport shows a four-part name; the card drops one letter from the second given name. Found when a bank’s automated check rejected an account opening.

Position. The passport is right; the error came from the original typed application, which the employee still had. Dubai residence, so GDRFA holds the file.

Route. The employer’s PRO filed GDRFA’s residence data amendment with the passport and the old application form as evidence (AED 100 + AED 10), then the ICP data-update card replacement (AED 150). The bank accepted the card after the Emirates ID name correction. Lesson: keep your application form; it shows where an error came from.

2. Sharjah wife with her husband’s surname in a new passport

Situation. Her new passport added her husband’s surname. Her residence and card still showed her maiden name and old passport number.

Position. A passport amendment and a name change at the same time, ICP route.

Route. Her husband, as sponsor, filed one Emirates ID name change through ICP’s Amendment of Residency Permit Data (AED 250), entering the new passport and the married name in English and Arabic and attaching the attested and translated marriage certificate. The replacement card kept the old expiry. Lesson: one filing for both changes, not two.

3. Abu Dhabi resident who paid for Data Update

Situation. Saw “Data Update” in the ICP app, paid AED 50, entered a corrected surname and believed it was done.

Position. Data Update only accepts phone, email and address; the name field was never changed.

Route. The correct ICP residence amendment (AED 250). The AED 50 was spent on an up-to-date phone number, which at least meant the approval SMS reached her. Lesson: the right service has “residency permit” in its name.

4. Family whose Arabic surnames did not match

Situation. The sponsor’s Arabic surname had been typed one way years ago; his children, sponsored later through a different centre, had another spelling. A school registration flagged it.

Position. The English names matched the passports. Only the Arabic name on Emirates ID differed within the family.

Route. We compared the spellings with an Arabic document the family already held and agreed which one was right. Only family members whose Arabic name on Emirates ID differed from it were amended, one residence amendment per person, with the correct family spelling as evidence. Lesson: pick one Arabic spelling for the family, then align everyone to it.

5. Newborn with a misspelt name

Situation. A baby’s given name was misspelt on the UAE birth certificate; the parents noticed before applying for the passport.

Position. Caught before any passport or residence was issued.

Route. Birth certificate modification with the health authority that issued it, then the passport, then the newborn residence in the correct name. No Emirates ID data correction fee at all. Lesson: check the birth certificate letter by letter on the day you receive it.

How to verify every figure in this guide

What we will and will not do

We will compare your passport, card and residence data with you, tell you honestly where the error sits and whether the fix belongs with your embassy, file the correct Emirates ID name correction service once with GDRFA or ICP, raise the name change with the right evidence, handle attestation and legal translation, follow the replacement card to your hand, and quote in writing before any paid work.

We will not enter a name or date of birth that your passport does not support, “adjust” a spelling to suit a bank or employer, sell you ICP’s Data Update as a name correction, promise a date only GDRFA or ICP can give, or ask for your UAE PASS password.

Related guides

• Transfer UAE visa to new passport: the passport amendment in full
• Emirates ID and visa linking: how the card and residence stay in step
• Emirates ID status check: following the replacement card
• How long does an Emirates ID take
• Emirates ID fine: late renewal fees and exemptions
• ICP vs GDRFA: which authority holds your file
• MOHRE labour card: the employment record behind your residence
• Emirates ID replacement, if your card is lost or damaged rather than wrong
• Emirates ID renewal in Dubai, if renewal is due at the same time

Getting a name, date or nationality right across GDRFA, ICP, MOHRE and every downstream record is what our PRO services in Dubai team handles every day.