I am writing with regard to the article "5-year resident identity card for expatriates in October" (June 19). It is a great move to extend the validity of the residence permit as it will eliminate the annual renewal which requires people to continually be involved with the Passport Department. If the authorities are really serious about reducing the wastage of both natural and human resources, the actual validity of the permit should be five years without any need to renew annually. This will save human resources and eliminate the unnecessary wastage of time. Thajudeen M Abdu, Online response This will result in a better and more systematic service to expats through the simplification of the residence permit process, eliminating the possibility of fraud and doing away with the hassle of visiting the Passport Department. The more the process is digitalized and automated through electronics and IT, the greater will be the accuracy and the more control the ministry will have on the process. The ministry will also be better equipped to deal with the identity validation of the growing number of expats. Mahesh Jha, Online response This would be a much better utilization of the online system. However, I hope that they keep the online system user friendly. It would also be better if the resident identity card was issued for five years without the need for annual renewal. This would decrease the burden on government staff as well as on expatriate employees. Kamran, Online response
