ICP Customer Happiness Centre - Al Ghubaiba (Sharjah)

The co-location is deliberate. A first-time UAE residence visa requires a medical-fitness test (blood and chest X-ray) and an Emirates ID biometric capture. By housing both services in the same compound, ICP shortens the cycle for new arrivals and reduces transport time for PROs handling multiple workers. The medical-fitness result is uploaded directly into the ICP system, so by the time the applicant has reached the biometric counter the medical clearance is already linked to the file.

Walk-ins are accepted and a digital queue is in operation, with screens displaying counter numbers in Arabic and English. For larger PRO batches and for specialised matters such as golden visa biometrics, you can reserve a time slot via the ICP Smart Services app; this typically cuts waiting time in half. The Friday evening session 14:30-18:30 is walk-in only and is comfortably the most relaxed window of the working week.

Yes, provided the medical-fitness step has been completed at the Preventive Medicine Centre in the same compound. The counter will accept the visa-renewal e-form, verify documents, capture biometrics where required (every five years for adults), process payment and update the residence file in the federal system. The new Emirates ID is couriered to the address on file, or printed within 24 hours under the Fawri urgent service for an additional AED 150.

Your residency file follows the sponsor's licensing emirate, not your residential address. If your sponsor holds a Dubai trade licence, your file sits with GDRFA Dubai and must be processed at Amer typing centres in Dubai - Al Ghubaiba cannot serve it. If your sponsor is licensed in any of the northern emirates (Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah or Fujairah) or in Abu Dhabi, your file is with ICP and Al Ghubaiba is a valid touchpoint. The counter staff verify the file location during initial query and redirect if necessary.

Yes. Bring the original birth certificate (attested if issued outside the UAE), both parents' passports and Emirates IDs, the marriage certificate (attested for foreign marriages) and the primary sponsor's salary certificate. The centre will complete entry permit, residence visa stamping and Emirates ID issuance for the newborn in a single bundled transaction. The 120-day registration window starts from the date of birth; missing the window triggers AED 100 per day in fines, which accrue and must be cleared before the file is closed.

Yes. After biometric capture and document verification, you can pay the AED 150 Fawri surcharge on top of the standard issuance fee and the Emirates ID card is printed within 24 hours. Collection is from the customer service desk at the centre on the next working day. Fawri is the standard option for residents who need verified ID before international travel or before completing other transactions that require the new card.

Payment is digital through the ICP payment gateway at the counter, which accepts debit and credit cards. Cash is not the preferred method and only small fees are accepted in cash. You can also pre-pay through the ICP Smart Services app or at the icp.gov.ae portal before attending, in which case the in-person step is purely document verification and biometrics. FTA-compliant VAT invoices are auto-emailed to the address on the file.

Peak hours run Sunday and Monday between 11:00 and 13:00 when PROs file weekend batches, with waits at the biometric booths reaching up to an hour. The quietest periods are weekday mornings 07:00-09:00, late afternoons after 14:00, and the Friday evening shift 14:30-18:30. The Friday morning slot 07:30-12:00 is steady but well-managed. Avoid Sunday morning if you have any flexibility - the queues at both the medical clinic and the biometric counters peak together.

Yes for many services. The ICP Smart Services app and icp.gov.ae now handle renewal initiation, fee payment, status check, address change and travel-ban enquiry. What still requires a physical visit is the biometric capture itself (every five years for adults), first-time issuance for new arrivals and any case flagged for in-person verification. For routine renewals where your biometrics are still within the five-year window, the new card can be couriered to the address on file without you visiting Al Ghubaiba at all.

Walk-in is the default and works well outside the Sunday-Monday 11:00-13:00 peak, with combined medical and biometric flow taking 60-90 minutes end-to-end for new arrivals and 30-40 minutes for renewals. Fawri urgent is an add-on rather than a separate queue: you still go through the standard biometric and verification flow but pay an AED 150 surcharge so the printed Emirates ID is ready within 24 hours instead of the standard 5-10 working-day courier cycle. For international travel from Sharjah or Dubai airports or for completing transactions that require the new card, Fawri is the right choice. Fawri is not available for first-issue newborn cards or files held under security review.

The split is set by the sponsor's licensing emirate, not residential address. Sharjah-licensed sponsors (mainland Sharjah Economic Development, SAIF Zone, Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah Media City) sit with federal ICP and Al Ghubaiba is the right destination. Dubai-licensed sponsors (DET, DMCC, JAFZA, DAFZA, IFZA) sit with GDRFA Dubai and must be processed through Amer typing centres such as Amer Al Quoz, Amer Al Barsha or Amer Karama. Al Ghubaiba cannot serve a Dubai file even if the applicant lives in Al Nahda Sharjah, and Amer cannot serve a Sharjah file. The establishment immigration card states the licensing emirate; always confirm before travelling.

Original passport with at least six months' validity; the existing Emirates ID (even if expired); the sponsor's Emirates ID and trade licence; the establishment immigration card for employment files; a current Sharjah Preventive Medicine fitness certificate (mandatory before stamping for new visas and renewals in occupational categories); the tenancy contract for family residence cases; an active UAE PASS account on your phone for digital signature; an attested marriage certificate (spouse files); attested birth certificate (children); and a salary certificate where the family-sponsorship threshold applies. All documents must be originals; the counter routinely rejects photocopies for first-issue and high-risk renewal cases.

The biometric booths run 07:00 to 17:00 Sunday to Thursday and split shifts 07:30-12:00 plus 14:30-18:30 on Friday. The shortest queues are weekday mornings 07:00-09:00, late afternoons after 14:00 and the entire Friday evening session 14:30-18:30. The longest queues are Sunday and Monday 11:00-13:00 when the lunchtime crush combines new-arrival batches with renewals. The Dhuhr prayer rotation around 12:30 pauses the booths for 15-20 minutes and the Asr rotation around 15:15 adds another short pause. Children under 15 are exempt from fingerprinting but require a facial-image capture. During Ramadan the schedule compresses to a single 09:00-15:00 shift.