Job Discussion Forums

[veiledsentiments]

I found this article reprinted on another board. It appears to be from the Khaleej Times. Can anyone say if this is being enforced or not? ...or did an outcry get it stopped? ... or was it just one of those trial balloons that appear regularly and disappear without a whimper?

Has anyone been able to get a driving license with the usual paperwork and payment since January? Has any Westerner been forced to take their ridiculous lessons and institutionalized failure system? (ie... everyone fails the first time or two... a true cash cow for someone...)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Expats with GCC licences to take fresh driving test
By Asma Ali Zain

6 April 2007

DUBAI � Expatriate driving licence holders of 36 countries, including the GCC states, will now have to pass a test to acquire a UAE driving licence, a senior official of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has said.

Earlier, driving licence holders of these countries could exchange their foreign licences for a UAE licence.

Speaking to Khaleej Times yesterday, Shihab Hamad Bu Shihab, Manager of Driving Licences at the RTA, said the step had been taken to unify the driving styles of these drivers with those in the UAE to make the country's roads safer for motorists.

Bu Shihab said the new rule was implemented on January 15 this year. The official did not explain why passport holders of these countries, including Oman and Kuwait, would still be allowed to convert their licences to the UAE's, after paying Dh100. "Licence holders from these 36 countries will have to attend a minimum of 21 classes before qualifying for a driving test conducted by the RTA," the official noted. The 36 countries include Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the US.

[helenl]

mostly from Australia who have not had to take the test and they arrived after January 15.

[Longton]

The following is taken from the Official Portal of the Dubai Government :

Transfer of Existing Driving License

You may be eligible to transfer your existing driving license, without having to take a driving test or going to a driving school, if you have a valid driving license from any of the following 36 countries: (Note: You have to be a citizen of the same country and a resident in Dubai)
Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

I don't know about the other Emirates.

[veiledsentiments]

And has the 'portal' been updated in the last few months? Note that the article above is dated 4/7. What you have printed has been the policy for years. The article would presume a change in the law.

All licenses are UAE licenses under one legal system. There are not different rules for various Emirates in areas like this.

We will probably have to wait and see what happens in August/September when all the new teachers start to arrive.

VS

[helenl]

I know of at least one UK driver who had to pass the road test (no driving lesson requirement) in Sharjah because her residence visa was issued as Sharjah. This would be on a par with liquour permits, also issued by the individual emirate. Otherwise, we'd all get a UAE driver's license as opposed to a UAQ or Ajman driver's license. Or, we'd get a UAE residency visa as opposed to a residency visa for Dubai or Abu Dhabi or be able to register our cars as UAE etc.

According to Emirati Law, all traffic related issues (including driver's licenses. speeding, registration, etc. ) are governed by the individual Emirate, not at a federal level - unless this has changed since January.

[kiefer]

I came here nearly two years ago, and got in under the wire. I only had to pay the 100 AED and show my valid US license. If I'm still here eight years from now, and if the law is still in effect, I'll have to go through the testing process including classes.

My wife came here earlier this year with a valid Kuwait license. We had to pay about 800 AED; she sat through the classes and passed the paper test first go around. She did not have to take a road test.

The number one cause of deaths for people under forty in the UAE is road accidents, more than fifty percent of that statistic is ex-pats. While the fee for ex-pats is dear, I can appreciate that the government is attempting to troubleshoot the problem.

However, while that fee represents a single digit percentage of my monthly net, it is practically equal to the monthly take home for taxi and lorry drivers. That's a shame.

Nationals, by the way, have to undergo the same classes and take the same test. Their fee, however is substantially less.

[Longton]

The page about driving licenses on dubai.ae portal was last up dated on 24 June 2007 so I think it is safe to ignore anything written in the Khaleej Times or elsewhere about new rules.

Regulations governing the issuance of licenses CAN and DO vary between Emirates.

[veiledsentiments]

Interesting because my old license says "united arab emirates' in English though somewhere it might say Abu Dhabi in Arabic. It is not a very good xerox copy and I can't decipher it.

So, if you transfer jobs to another Emirate... say with HCT or ZU... do you have to get a new license?

VS

[Longton]

I think that once you have a license you keep that license for all the time you are in UAE, even if you move jobs and emirates. I will shortly be working for a company based in Ras Al Khaimah and living in either Sharjah or Ajman. I'm told I have to get my license in RAK and have the car registered in RAK, even though I can buy the car from Sharjah or elsewhere in UAE.

I will let you have first hand experience of the licensing procedures in a couple of weeks.

[Afra]

One license for all Emirates but you must now register your car in the Emirate in which you live.

[Longton]

I am told you need to register the car in the Emirate where your company or sponsor is registered and not where you live. In my case I must register in RAK even though I won't be living in RAK.

[helenl]

change your license technically if your residency visa changed say from Abu Dhabi to Dubai - in reality - most people just keep the originally issued license unless and until it expires.

[Bin Shafted]

So where does that leave me?

I have a Saudi and a Czech licence but I am a UK passport holder and citizen (no UK licence).

I have permanent residence/green card or whatever for the Czech Republic, will this make it easier for me to transfer my Czech licence to a UAE one?

I'll be arriving in Al Ain in a couple of weeks, I'll at least have to hire a car to get around and buy furniture etc.

How do I go about doing that?

Should I get an international driving licence?

Any thoughts on the above?

[helenl]

Your license is issued by the emirate your visa is issued in - not your sponsor. Many people who live in and work for Sharjah HCT, for example, have Dubai licenses because that's where their residency visa was issued.

It is not required for you to live in the emirate for which your residency has been issued. If you want an alcohol permit - same as for the driver's license - it must be issued by the emirate that issued your residency visa.

[Manny2]

You need to have an International Driving licence to rent a car here and then your employer should provide the necessary documentaion ie letter of sponsorship etc so that you can get a UAE Licence.