# Alcohol License rejected - Change of religion



## MrMM (Jan 15, 2015)

Hey,

Can anyone advise me... I know there's been posts on this in the past, but I can't seem to find any information on changing my visa.

I applied for my Alcohol License but it was rejected on the basis that although I put Christian on the application, my visa says No Religion. Now, I was stalking this forum long before my company applied for my Visa, and I was always aware I should put Christian on anything related to Dubai, so I know for a fact that I would have ticked Christian if it was written anywhere. I think my company ticked the No Religion box, or left it blank.

The alcohol company I applied through have said I can change this setting on my Visa.

Does anyone know how I do that?

Cheers!


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## Horus_88 (Mar 11, 2014)

Hi,

Something strange about this Liquor license application, I have two people in my company whom I've applied for visas myself online (as part of my previous job) stating religion as Christian and when the company PRO applied for the liquor license for them, it got rejected saying that system says their religion is stated "Muslim" ! And then we had to go into the change religion dilemma which our PRO sorted out by applying for some sort of forms at the immigration along with some letters from the company and, of course, some fees ....
So I guess it's not your mistake, its a common system error


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

Maybe if the "tick box" is left blank it automatically thinks Muslim?


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## sammylou (Oct 29, 2012)

that sucks. i think if you need to change anything on your visa the first stop is your company PRO?


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## shurik3n (Aug 27, 2019)

*Dubai Liquor License Rejected / Denied*



MrMM said:


> Hey,
> 
> Can anyone advise me... I know there's been posts on this in the past, but I can't seem to find any information on changing my visa.
> 
> ...


Hi! Although this post may be three years prior, for the benefit of everyone who may encounter the same scenario, I am posting the following steps I took to pull this through. This is still the issue for anyone getting their liquor license in Dubai getting rejected today in 2019.

1. You recieved a call from the team at MMI/A&E saying that your application is rejected and you need to go to Al Manara Government Center to change "religion" in your visa, because it does'nt say you're not a muslim in the CID System. I asked him which department to go to, but the guy does'nt know and mentioned just ask them once you get there. You ask for a refund, but they can't because the fee was taken by the CID/Dubai Police, but they can re-apply without additional charge, once you update it.

2. Don't go directly to Al Manara Center, instead go to the store where you applied. They will give you back your application papers, and along with a slip on the front page that says,"Religion should be rectified from Dept. of Naturalization & Residency. Applicant's religion is showing as Muslim/ No Religion in the CID system and cannot be approved unless changed." You may skip this step, but you might need the visa page for the reception and the officer who is going to assist you. If you applied online through the store page, go to the next step.

3. Go to Al Manara Center, park on the unpaved surface infront of the metro exit or on the paid parking slots infront of the building if you're lucky. The parking they have on the side are for employees only. They are open until 8pm weekdays so you can do this after work. Proceed to the center reception desk and fall in line. The person handling the queue numbers will ask for your concern and will ask for your mobile number to send your queue number. It will display at the screens telling you which counter to go to if your queue is up. You inform him you need to go to Department of Naturalization and Emiratization (which is a part of DNRD) because you want to update your religion information to be granted a liquor license.

4. You recieve a queue number through SMS from "D.M", and it will say "Dear customer your request for service DNRD E-vision has been booked. Please go to counter number 1 to 11. Your ticket number is XXXXX."

5. Wait for your turn, approach the designated desk for your number and tell the officer you wanted to update your Religion. He will ask for your visa page, and pull up your information in the system. He will ask for your religion, and type it in your data. He will print the page he updated to confirm with you, everything is in Arabic but your picture will be there. It doesnt cost anything, no payment needed and your done. Thank the officer and go.

6. Go back to the liquor store, with your papers and the printout of from DNRD. I was told they will re-apply it and wait again like last time (may take up to a month again). 

Such a hassle, but there you go. Here I am the next day on the forum to tell everyone the very next day. I'll update you if they finally grant me my liquor license.


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