# Effort into taking a drivers license in Dubai?



## HannuK (Sep 17, 2010)

Hello all,

I am a Swedish national with a UK driver´s license, and as far as I understand it this will be a problem in UAE and I can not convert it.

Now my Missus has a drivers license which matches her nationality, but I cant really see myself being dropped off at the office by the missus on a daily basis.

So I read up a bit on what it takes to take a UAE drivers license and was gobsmacked by the fact that you need to take 40!! lessons.

So my questions around that are the following:

1. What is the fastest possible time frame to get an UAE DL? I have been driving for 12 years or so 

2. Can you take the Drivers school teacher with you and drive to Abu Dhabi and back a couple of times during a weekend to chew off a bit of these 20 hours? Or are the "classes" specific to certain maneuvers or environments?


/x


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## queenc (Sep 11, 2010)

As far as I know you can actually use the UK license to get a Dubai license without taking any lessons/test here. I have a friend at work who got her Dubai license over the weekend, all it takes is an eye test.

Will find out more from her, but pretty sure it's easy to do.


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## bonk (Jun 13, 2008)

HannuK said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I am a Swedish national with a UK driver´s license, and as far as I understand it this will be a problem in UAE and I can not convert it.
> 
> ...


What happened to your Swedish licence? Try and get one before you come to UAE.

Otherwise, try and exchange licence in UAE anyway. I know of licence exchange done when there's a mismatch between licence and passport countries, a while ago, but the authorities are probably more strict now.

I think there's some sort of VIP or express service for more money. Check with one of the larger driving schools (Belhasa, Emirates, Galadari) or the Dubai RTA.

Dubai driving schools


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

queenc said:


> As far as I know you can actually use the UK license to get a Dubai license without taking any lessons/test here. I have a friend at work who got her Dubai license over the weekend, all it takes is an eye test.
> 
> Will find out more from her, but pretty sure it's easy to do.


Your license has to match your passport for you to be able to convert it. Otherwise, you have to take the mandatory 40 classes. I also have a UK license but had to take a test because I carry a different passport. I can't really explain this logic! There are times, depending on who you meet when you go down to RTA, they may let you convert it but you have to be lucky enough to meet someone who either is not familiar with RTA's policy or is willing to bend the rules!

I don't know if you can swap a Swedish driving license but if you can, then it may be easier to convert the UK one to a Swedish license and then go from there. I took my test in Abu Dhabi where it seems that you need very limited driving skills to pass (and no need for the ridiculous 40 classes!). In Dubai, based on other people's experience, you need a lot of luck - driving skills is optional!


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## HannuK (Sep 17, 2010)

bonk said:


> What happened to your Swedish licence? Try and get one before you come to UAE.
> 
> Otherwise, try and exchange licence in UAE anyway. I know of licence exchange done when there's a mismatch between licence and passport countries, a while ago, but the authorities are probably more strict now.
> 
> ...


Thanks buddy will have a look once I get there in a couple of weeks. 

I never had a Swedish License so no option there I am afraid.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

HannuK said:


> Thanks buddy will have a look once I get there in a couple of weeks.
> 
> I never had a Swedish License so no option there I am afraid.


Almost (if not all) countries in the world accepts the UK license and will swap it for a local one. I would just check that out if I were you (unless you already have!) - the hassles of taking classes is really not worth it if you can avoid it. I had to sit through 8 hours of theory classes in Abu Dhabi - it was patronising and I really would not recommend some of the things they teach - unless of course you have a death wish! The classes are just a money-making scheme - what could they possibly teach you after 12 years of driving (unless you count dangerous driving and death-defying maneouevres).

Good luck


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## HannuK (Sep 17, 2010)

Maz25 said:


> Almost (if not all) countries in the world accepts the UK license and will swap it for a local one. I would just check that out if I were you (unless you already have!) - the hassles of taking classes is really not worth it if you can avoid it. I had to sit through 8 hours of theory classes in Abu Dhabi - it was patronising and I really would not recommend some of the things they teach - unless of course you have a death wish! The classes are just a money-making scheme - what could they possibly teach you after 12 years of driving (unless you count dangerous driving and death-defying maneouevres).
> 
> Good luck



Hehe will do, thanks


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## Midos (Jun 25, 2010)

bonk said:


> What happened to your Swedish licence? Try and get one before you come to UAE.
> 
> Otherwise, try and exchange licence in UAE anyway. I know of licence exchange done when there's a mismatch between licence and passport countries, a while ago, but the authorities are probably more strict now.
> 
> ...


Indeed there is a VIP service . It cost 50% but it will give you flexibility of times since you will decide on timings + you will be alone . Check the Dubai driving schools stands in MOE/IBn Battuta malls . They can provide you bettr answers than all of us.


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## HannuK (Sep 17, 2010)

Midos said:


> Indeed there is a VIP service . It cost 50% but it will give you flexibility of times since you will decide on timings + you will be alone . Check the Dubai driving schools stands in MOE/IBn Battuta malls . They can provide you bettr answers than all of us.


Thanks, I will ask for the VIP package.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Do speak to people (if the first person doesn't tell u what u want to hear, speak to another one) in the RTA and try to get it converted as probably both UK and Sweden are probably in the list of countries which have the privilege of a direct conversion

If you have to go through the classes route:
1) Assuming your license is more than 2 years old, you will need only 16 classes not 40 (at least thts what they did in Belhasa driving center)
2) a colleague (Indian passport + US license) paid for the 16 classes (again in Belhasa) but after speaking to a few people did not actually take the classes and directly took the test. So whicle this does not save you the money, it at least saves the time

In general driving centers complete 6-8 classes in a week, so in any case with 16 classes you are looking at a 2-3 week process. Even if you don't want the VIP service, I would recommend Emirates Driving Institute over Belhasa. Some of the other companies in Dubai are Al Ahli and Dubai Driving Center. 
The process for an Abu Dhabi license would be different


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## HannuK (Sep 17, 2010)

rsinner said:


> Do speak to people (if the first person doesn't tell u what u want to hear, speak to another one) in the RTA and try to get it converted as probably both UK and Sweden are probably in the list of countries which have the privilege of a direct conversion
> 
> If you have to go through the classes route:
> 1) Assuming your license is more than 2 years old, you will need only 16 classes not 40 (at least thts what they did in Belhasa driving center)
> ...


Thanks a bunch rsinner! I don´t care about the money (that much) I just want it quick and can not afford to wait a couple of weeks !

Would it be possible to get some more information around this? maybe in a PM?

thanks a bunch
:clap2:


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

rsinner said:


> The process for an Abu Dhabi license would be different


It's actually a lot simpler & does not involve a requirement for a ridiculous number of classes, which in all probability you do not need. In Abu Dhabi, you just need to sit through 8 (tortuous) hours of theory and for an extra AED 50, you can have the next available test date (otherwise, you have to wait one month). I had my license within 2 weeks of completing the theory classes! Driving test lasted one minute, which included 30 seconds stuck at the lights. I told the officer than in the UK, I would still have had 39 minutes of driving left and he nearly died of shock! "Too long, too long" was his reply!!


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## HannuK (Sep 17, 2010)

Maz25 said:


> It's actually a lot simpler & does not involve a requirement for a ridiculous number of classes, which in all probability you do not need. In Abu Dhabi, you just need to sit through 8 (tortuous) hours of theory and for an extra AED 50, you can have the next available test date (otherwise, you have to wait one month). I had my license within 2 weeks of completing the theory classes! Driving test lasted one minute, which included 30 seconds stuck at the lights. I told the officer than in the UK, I would still have had 39 minutes of driving left and he nearly died of shock! "Too long, too long" was his reply!!


Hehe this sounds fair to me, If you know how to get to the red lights to start with you are a proven driver!

In the UK I had to drive for 40 minutes and reverse around a corner and all that stuff.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

HannuK said:


> Hehe this sounds fair to me, If you know how to get to the red lights to start with you are a proven driver!
> 
> In the UK I had to drive for 40 minutes and reverse around a corner and all that stuff.


Same here - my UAE test makes the UK driving test sound like an impossible task!! My colleague asked me whether she would be able to pass the UK test - my reply was, 'not in a million years - it lasts for 40 minutes rather than the UAE's record 1 minute! She was genuinely shocked that a driving test would last that long but then again, I guess that's why it's called a driving test!

I think the requirement here is that you be able to move the car without crashing into anything! Considering that most cars are automatic, that you should not be a problem! You can imagine that I drove a grand total of about 200 - 300 metres at most!!


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

HannuK said:


> Thanks a bunch rsinner! I don´t care about the money (that much) I just want it quick and can not afford to wait a couple of weeks !
> 
> Would it be possible to get some more information around this? maybe in a PM?
> 
> ...


Would be happy to help mate... just drop me a PM or post your question here

And just for the record, my test was about 30 mins long!


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