Smart Mission in Lisbon

The UAE Smart Mission is a flagship initiative by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that reimagines consular services through a modular, scalable, and mission-adaptable architecture. 

Built to adapt to each UAE mission’s needs and host-country requirements, it deploys advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, facial recognition, augmented reality, holograms, self-service kiosks, and fully automated workflows, to deliver minutes-fast, secure, and user-friendly services. 

In line with UAE Vision 2031 and the Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme, the Smart Mission reduces time, effort, and cost while upholding the highest standards of cybersecurity and service excellence.

UAE Smart Mission Technologies rolled out at the UAE Embassy in Lisbon 
In March 2025, at the UAE Embassy in Lisbon, MoFA launched one of the Smart Mission’s core technologies: the epod, a self-service unit that currently offers two services:

• Digital Attestation: End-to-end digital authentication of documents. The epod captures the document, runs automated validity checks, and issues an attested copy bearing both the UAE Embassy stamp, ready for download/collection within minutes.
• Return document issuance: Self-service issuance of an official Return Document for UAE nationals to facilitate travel back to the UAE. The epod verifies identity, processes the request, and produces the document within 30 minutes. 

As a modular component of the Smart Mission, the epod’s service menu will be expanded over time, demonstrating the initiative’s capacity to scale and adapt to evolving customer needs.