Complaint Handling Mechanism

1. Receipt of the Complaint:

The (Customer Voice Section) receives complaints through the administration's direct means (Complaint submission mechanisms) through the following channels:

• The Website - Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship - General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai.
• Customer complaints link (smart application).
• Toll Free Number (AMER Service): 8005111.
• Submitting the complaint through social media channels.
• Attending personally to the department (The main building).
• Various media means: Official newspapers and radio programs.
• AMER email: amer@gdrfad.gov.ae
• Director General email.

2. Classifying the Complaint and Determining The Jurisdiction:

The complaint is classified upon receipt based on the following:

• Urgent Complaint: The complaint related to the work of the entity and requires immediate action, such as cases related to the renewal of passports for citizens travelling with a validity of less than 6 months, and departure procedures for deaths (Cancellation of death).
• Confidential Complaint: It is related to the government entity, which cannot be followed up through the complaints portal or received by the Director General.
• Ordinary Complaint: Complaints related to a general issue that can be dealt with by one of the concerned departments in one public administration, including the quality of service information, speed of service delivery, ease of access to service, professionalism of front-line staff, ease of service completion, customer privacy, environment appearance of the service delivery and certain administrative or financial errors related to the transactions and interests of customers.
• Then the competent party for the complaint is determined and sent through the electronic complaints system to the complaints officer in the concerned party.
• At the beginning of each year, the director of each department identifies the complaints official in the department, with an alternative to him in case of his absence.
• Complaints are received through the system by the complaints officer in the concerned party, and the responsibility for resolving or denying the complaint is confirmed

• The complaints officer studies the complaint received in coordination with the director of the department concerned with the complaint and records the draft response and corrective and preventive measures in the electronic system.
• The competent party (Customer Voice Section) studies the draft response and reviews it with the concerned complaints officer if the need arises to approve the response. After approving the response, the concerned coordinator in the Customer Information Center section will notify the complainant of the solution, specifying a time limit for the complainant’s comments and providing any additional evidence, if required.
• In the event of receiving positive feedback from the complainant or not receiving any feedback within the specified period, (The system will automatically close the complaint after exceeding the time limit.)
• In the event of receiving non-positive comments and additional evidence from the complainant that calls for a re-examination of the complaint, the competent party (Customer Voice Department) shall transfer the complaint again to the concerned party, discuss the matter again with the concerned complaints officer, and inform the complainant of the results, while setting a time limit for the complainant’s comments.
• In the event of receiving negative comments that do not require a re-examination of the complaint, the competent party (Customer Information Center Section) informs the complainant of the possibility of raising the complaint as a grievance to the Director General (Director General of the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai) if he so desires, with a time limit for response. In the event that he does not wish to raise the grievance, the competent party (Information Center Section / Customer’s Voice Section) fills out the questionnaire and the complaint file is closed by the Customer’s Voice Section.

4. Revision and improvement of the system:

• The complaints officer in each department follows up the application of corrective and preventive measures and ensures that application within the specific time limit frame.
• The competent authority (Internal audit) ensures that departments implement corrective and preventive measures within the specific time limit frame.
• The competent party (Customer Voice Section) prepares quarterly reports on the received complaints, in addition to preparing quarterly reports on corrective and preventive measures and benefiting from their results.

5. Motivation

• At the end of each year, the competent party (Customer Voice Section) assigns the names of the complaints officials and the departments that were more committed to the performance indicators of the complaints system and the application of the system to the senior leadership in the administration.
• The competent party (Customer Voice Section) submits recommendations for honouring mechanisms to the higher leadership for approval, and the honour can be:

• Morally: Through certificates of thanks and appreciation.
• Financial: Providing symbolic gifts or cash.

6. Protection and Confidentiality:

• The department finds all necessary measures and precautions to ensure the confidentiality of the submitted complaints, documents and information related to them (Paper, electronic and recorded).
• Various access permissions are specified to access the electronic system.
• The confidentiality of the complainant's information and data and the appointed entity must be ensured by not allowing access to it except by authorized and competent employees whose jobs requires that.
• It must be ensured that the provision and quality of services to the complainant is not affected as a result of submitting the complaint.
• All employees concerned with the complaints system in the GDRFA shall sign a declaration of commitment to protect the information confidentiality.

7. Extent of benefit from the sent complaints:

• Creating communication channels between the customer and the department.
• The ability to communicate with the department around the clock (24/7).
• Establishing preventive and corrective measures to ensure that the issue will not occur again.
• Achieving the highest levels of customer happiness.
• Minimizing the obstacles facing the customer.
• Raising the level of management in improving its services by knowing the gaps and knowing the operational and organizational barriers that impede work and prolong the time required to provide the service.