Ministry of Interior smart-services app to go offline for scheduled upgrade in early hours of 27 September

The UAE Ministry of Interior (MoI) announced on 26 September that its smart-services mobile application—and linked web portals used for entry permits, residency visa renewals and police-clearance certificates—will be unavailable from 02:00 to 05:00 (UTC+4) on Sunday, 27 September. Gulf News reports that the downtime is required to deploy a new payment-gateway interface and strengthen cybersecurity protocols. The MoI said all emergency services will remain operational and that border-control systems at airports and land crossings will not be affected. Nonetheless, the blackout window overlaps with the red-eye arrival banks of several Asian and European flights, meaning travellers who normally finalise online entry extensions upon landing will need to wait until the system is restored. Corporate mobility teams have been advised to reschedule any automated status-change tasks—such as converting entry visas to residence permits—for later in the morning. HR departments processing electronic work-permit quotas via the MoI’s API should also expect brief service interruptions. The upgrade is the latest in a series of digital-government enhancements rolled out this quarter, including biometric two-factor authentication for high-value transactions and a unified wallet for federal fees. Once live, the new gateway will support Apple Pay and Google Wallet, streamlining payments for overstaying fines and traffic-violation settlements.