Information about mandatory services such as medical check-up and police verification, before applying for an employment visa in the UAE, can now be completed at the touch of a smartphone button.

The UAE Embassy in New Delhi launched a smartphone application on Tuesday aimed at providing consular services and travel advice to Emiratis visiting India as well as Indian nationals residing in or considering moving to the UAE.

The app will instruct users on the documents required for visa application, medical check-up, and police verification processes to be followed before applying for an employment visa in the UAE from India.

Furthermore, applicants can now complete medical check-up and police verification in their home country before arriving in the UAE.

 Ambassador to #India launched a Smartphone app for Indians seeking work visas during a press conference held at the @UAEembassyIndiahttps://t.co/WJmtEabAV4@MOFAUAE @Forsan_UAE pic.twitter.com/L389NBy3NW

UAE's Ambassador to India, Dr Ahmed Albanna, revealed to media persons that the mission will now offer various services electronically, and the new app also conforms to the Digital India Initiative. He was quoted speaking to IANS: "The app is dedicated to providing information and the information actually serves both UAE nationals visiting India and also Indians trying to gather information to visit the UAE and also those going to work in the UAE." The app is available for both Android as well as iOS platforms. Moreover, according to an official Embassy statement, the app is like a map providing information about key destinations and points along with proper guidance to help process and resolve issues. The app also provides address and coordinates to locations of the mission's embassy in New Delhi as well as the Consulate General's address in Kerala and Mumbai.

A report in the Indian daily Hindustan Times revealed that the UAE currently has three visa centres in India - Delhi, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram - and the one in the national capital alone issued about 50,000 work visas last year. A total of 1.6 million Indians visited the UAE last year, while Indian visitors to Dubai alone crossed the 1 million mark during January-September 2017.

For UAE nationals, it provides services such as 'Twajudi', a service aimed at helping any national return in case of emergency, and help in the case of loss of passport, children return document, UAE citizen presence abroad, escort treatment for medical cases, financial matters emergencies, etc. "For Indian nationals, the app provides visa and attestation information to help in bridging the gap information to smoothening the overall process," Albanna said.