Abu Dhabi:About 98 per cent of Emiratis have registered for Emirates ID cards with just three days remaining until the deadline, a senior official told Gulf News on Satur

Approximately 2 per cent of citizens may be left to register, according to the latest estimates, said Thamer Rashid Al Qasimi, planning director and project management director at the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA).

"EIDA look to the latest national census [in 2005, which has not been updated] for the current estimates so we don't want to announce exact figures now," said the official. "We can only finalise the numbers once the project is completed."

(According to the 2005 census, the number of Emiratis is about 825,000).

Al Qasimi said EIDA did not want to jump to conclusions before the project's completion. Once all government entities make ID cards mandatory for Emiratis to get services, those left will come forward. "Only then can we know the exact number."

Emiratis must have an ID card for government transactions from Wednesday. Al Qasimi said there was no plan to extend the deadline or exempt the fine of Dh1,000 for Emiratis who have not registered.

"They have to pay a Dh1,000 fine from April 1 onwards." Asked whether they have to pay when they turn up for registration, the official said the mode of fine collection would be announced tomorrow.

Al Qasimi said diplomats and students abroad may not constitute the majority of Emiratis who have not registered. "They never stay three years [since the population registry and ID card registration opened] continuously. Most of them have already registered. Most of the non-registered people are elderly or patients," he said.

The original deadline of last December 31 was extended to March 31 this year by a cabinet decision as about 190,000 Emiratis had not registered by December 28.