# Driving License in UAE



## russian ruletka (Dec 1, 2010)

Hey guys,

I am a Turkmenistan citizen, but i have studied in US. I have an american driving license, but unfortunately it expired before i left for Dubai. Do you think I could get my license renewed by the consulate or embassy of USA? after could i get a uae license transferred from my american license?


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Your DL is based on your passport, not the DL you have.


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## russian ruletka (Dec 1, 2010)

Jynxgirl said:


> Your DL is based on your passport, not the DL you have.


so in other words it's a lost chance?


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## russian ruletka (Dec 1, 2010)

it's really tedious trying to obtain a uae license...i don't understand why they can't just transfer mine. i have 8 years of driving experience, and i've driven in usa for 3 years, 5 years at home. this is total BL.


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## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

if you expect to transfer your license to a UAE one then there is no chance unless you do the proper courses and exams. Only citizens of those countries whose licenses are directly converted can get a license without exams.


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## russian ruletka (Dec 1, 2010)

Moe78 said:


> if you expect to transfer your license to a UAE one then there is no chance unless you do the proper courses and exams. Only citizens of those countries whose licenses are directly converted can get a license without exams.


this is total BL. not from you, from the government side. they could just make a test and decide after. i still drive...but i'm getting tired of this.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Welcome to Dubai. 

It is just another hidden tax. People who need to go to driving school... well, some of them very well do (sorry Pammy and the rest of the indians, and Ari and his asians  ), but they pass them when they need ALOT more practise. They just collect the money and walla, license. Well, if they havent given out too many and dont think they need more money, then the company will pass you.


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## russian ruletka (Dec 1, 2010)

i'm ready to pay them. i just don't have the time and the will to go to their stupid classes. i'm willing to pay 4000-5000 dirhams. just give me the damn license.


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## Laowei (Nov 29, 2009)

it will cost around that ammount for the lessons test etc etc, not great but unfortunately thats Dubai.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Yep there is no hope, unless you are able to get the american citizenship along with the american passport and matching drivers license, you will have to undergo the driving lessons. Sorry for your predicament as it was mine 2 years ago so I know how horribly frustrating this is.


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## Saint Ari (Oct 1, 2010)

I was in the same boat ... my DMV license expired ... I had to take some classes just cuz of that ... I tell ya, you'll enjoyed every minute in that small car during yer lessons ...


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

russian ruletka said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I am a Turkmenistan citizen, but i have studied in US. I have an american driving license, but unfortunately it expired before i left for Dubai. Do you think I could get my license renewed by the consulate or embassy of USA? after could i get a uae license transferred from my american license?


Negative. Licenses are given out by States, not the Federal Government. As such, the US Embassy or Consulate would have nothing to do with this process, at least that I know of. In fact, if I have an expired California license and move to Florida lets say, Florida has no jurisdiction over just granting me a new one based on the old one from a different state. I could be wrong about all of this... there might be some wacky loophole I dont know about, but I doubt it. 

If I were you Id call the consulate or embassy anyway, just in case.


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

dizzyizzy said:


> Yep there is no hope, unless you are able to get the american citizenship along with the american passport and matching drivers license, you will have to undergo the driving lessons. Sorry for your predicament as it was mine 2 years ago so I know how horribly frustrating this is.


Hi, Izzy. Ive always meant to ask you, what part of Mexico are you from? I think youre the only Mexican that I know of here in Dubai. Im sure there are others, but youre the only one I am aware of so far. 

My family is from Morelia on my mother's side. 

Sorry to go off topic, i replied to original poster above somewhere...


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Isn't there somewhere in AD where you can pay to do all your lessons and test in 2 days?


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## russian ruletka (Dec 1, 2010)

Nightshadow said:


> Negative. Licenses are given out by States, not the Federal Government. As such, the US Embassy or Consulate would have nothing to do with this process, at least that I know of. In fact, if I have an expired California license and move to Florida lets say, Florida has no jurisdiction over just granting me a new one based on the old one from a different state. I could be wrong about all of this... there might be some wacky loophole I dont know about, but I doubt it.
> 
> If I were you Id call the consulate or embassy anyway, just in case.


Different states have different licenses. They do transfer. I had a Georgia license, and when I moved to Virginia I had my license transferred to VA license w/o any problems.


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## russian ruletka (Dec 1, 2010)

wandabug said:


> Isn't there somewhere in AD where you can pay to do all your lessons and test in 2 days?


This is interesting... any info?


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

wandabug said:


> Isn't there somewhere in AD where you can pay to do all your lessons and test in 2 days?


I think Emirates Driving School has VIP lessons and if I recall correctly you can reduce the length of the sentence from 2 months to 1 week, inclusive of the actual license issuing. Very hefty fees though.


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

russian ruletka said:


> Different states have different licenses. They do transfer. I had a Georgia license, and when I moved to Virginia I had my license transferred to VA license w/o any problems.


Ah thats pretty neat! In the past you had to reapply or whatever from what I recall. I guess with everything being digital now its easy to see if you have a bad driving record quickly and accept / deny the new one in the new state.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Nightshadow said:


> Hi, Izzy. Ive always meant to ask you, what part of Mexico are you from? I think youre the only Mexican that I know of here in Dubai. Im sure there are others, but youre the only one I am aware of so far.
> 
> My family is from Morelia on my mother's side.


Hi there, I'm from Saltillo which is Northern Mexico  There's around 300 Mexicans here, according to the Consulate! Nice to hear your family are from Morelia, such a beautiful city, my cousin lives there. 

:focus:


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## russian ruletka (Dec 1, 2010)

everybody thought i was mexican in US, especially in GA. where i went to high school senior year is an ol' ******* place. i was shocked what i saw the first day. i walked into the school yard and the picture was like this: blacks on the left, whites on the right(they divided into their own groups), and mexicans in the middle.


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

dizzyizzy said:


> I think Emirates Driving School has VIP lessons and if I recall correctly you can reduce the length of the sentence from 2 months to 1 week, inclusive of the actual license issuing. Very hefty fees though.


That is probably what I was thinking of xx


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## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

only 300 Mexicans? wow that sounds like a small number. I wonder how many Kiwis are here? I would gather more than 300!

Funny enough I have been mistaken for a Mexican, Spaniard, Italian, Malaysian/Thailandi and even Indian once.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

I get mistaken for russian...


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

dizzyizzy said:


> Hi there, I'm from Saltillo which is Northern Mexico  There's around 300 Mexicans here, according to the Consulate! Nice to hear your family are from Morelia, such a beautiful city, my cousin lives there.
> 
> :focus:


Ah coolness. I PM'd you. Sorry about hijacking your thread Russian Roulette. :focus:


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

russian ruletka said:


> everybody thought i was mexican in US, especially in GA. where i went to high school senior year is an ol' ******* place. i was shocked what i saw the first day. i walked into the school yard and the picture was like this: blacks on the left, whites on the right(they divided into their own groups), and mexicans in the middle.


Oh, thats not racism. They were probably just practicing the color scale... black, brown, then purple, blue, green, etc... all the way down to white.


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## Merapi (Nov 24, 2010)

dizzyizzy said:


> I think Emirates Driving School has VIP lessons and if I recall correctly you can reduce the length of the sentence from 2 months to 1 week, inclusive of the actual license issuing. Very hefty fees though.


Any reference you can lead me to, please?


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

sorry merapi, don't have specific details as I went the normal route, but if you just look at the Emirates Driving School website, I'm sure they will list the information relevant to the VIP lessons there. I know someone who did this 2.5 years ago and at the time if I recall correctly it cost something around 8,000 dhs and took 1 week to complete.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Do Emirates Driving Institute have classes for AD licenses as well? I would think that EDI is Dubai specific. Best would be to call them up (i had talked to them about VIP classes, but ended up using the normal route as VIP is twice as expensive)


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

rsinner said:


> Do Emirates Driving Institute have classes for AD licenses as well? I would think that EDI is Dubai specific. Best would be to call them up (i had talked to them about VIP classes, but ended up using the normal route as VIP is twice as expensive)


The process in Abu Dhabi is slightly different and would only be applicable if you have an Abu Dhabi visa. The Service is provided by Emirates Driving School. There are independent driving instructors but you would need to have graduated the Emirates Driving School programme first or previously held a driving license (from any country) before you can use a private instructor.

If anything, getting a driving license in Abu Dhabi is quicker and cheaper.


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## sean21686 (Dec 4, 2010)

Getting a license in Dubai has been a nightmare for years now. At first we had thousands of tiny driving schools run by private individuals. During these days Police gave a tough time by not giving the license easily. The lessons were decided by the student and the instructor depending on the requirements.

These tiny driving schools were replaced by a few big boys government or government official owned. These guys got the minimum lessons fixed so that whether you pass or fail they would get their money.

Well never mind all these. I think the best and quickest thing to do would be to sign up for your driving lessons, give test and grab your license.


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## Frimps (Dec 7, 2010)

I saw this quote below from a thread that is more than 2 years old. Anyone know if this was ever the case and if it's still true?

"If the license is still valid and has completed 7 years, they need not take any classes. They can register with a driving institute and apply for the signal and the road test. If their licenses are less than 7 years, then they have to attend 20 classes"


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Frimps said:


> I saw this quote below from a thread that is more than 2 years old. Anyone know if this was ever the case and if it's still true?
> 
> "If the license is still valid and has completed 7 years, they need not take any classes. They can register with a driving institute and apply for the signal and the road test. If their licenses are less than 7 years, then they have to attend 20 classes"


I believe that this has since changed. If you are planning to obtain a driving license, I would advise that you contact one of the driving schools as they will be able to provide you with current information. There are five main driving schools that you can use. 

I do remember DizzyIzzy posting some information about her experience in one of the threads. May be worth doing another search to see if you can locate the thread.


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## Frimps (Dec 7, 2010)

Maz25 said:


> I believe that this has since changed. If you are planning to obtain a driving license, I would advise that you contact one of the driving schools as they will be able to provide you with current information. There are five main driving schools that you can use.
> 
> I do remember DizzyIzzy posting some information about her experience in one of the threads. May be worth doing another search to see if you can locate the thread.


Thanks Maz25

I believe I have read all the drivers license threads in the forum and it wasn't very encouraging . Even though I have licenses from Ghana, US and Brazil looks like my Ghanaian passport dictates the rules 

I have read DizzyIzzy's painful experience but when I saw that quote it got my hopes up. Will ask for more information from the driving schools and see what happens.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Frimps said:


> Thanks Maz25
> 
> I believe I have read all the drivers license threads in the forum and it wasn't very encouraging . Even though I have licenses from Ghana, US and Brazil looks like my Ghanaian passport dictates the rules
> 
> I have read DizzyIzzy's painful experience but when I saw that quote it got my hopes up. Will ask for more information from the driving schools and see what happens.


I feel your pain. I have a UK license but also had to go through this painful process, albeit in Abu Dhabi. I had to sit through about 8 hours of theory listening to someone patronise me! I can remember one painful class when the lecturer went 'This is the brake, you use it to stop the car!' and I felt like saying 'Really, no s*** Sherlock!'

Good luck.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Hi Frimps,

Give them a call, or even better, go to the actual school and try to do some convincing! You never know, this is Dubai after all. But yes, unless you have a matching passport, a UK or USA license is usually not enough  

Very true what Maz says, I think the most frustrating thing is having to go through the actual 'lessons'. Paying the money is not that bad compared to that!!


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

All this effort for a license no country in Europe would exchange either.


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## Frimps (Dec 7, 2010)

dizzyizzy said:


> Hi Frimps,
> 
> Give them a call, or even better, go to the actual school and try to do some convincing! You never know, this is Dubai after all. But yes, unless you have a matching passport, a UK or USA license is usually not enough
> 
> Very true what Maz says, I think the most frustrating thing is having to go through the actual 'lessons'. Paying the money is not that bad compared to that!!


Thanks, I'll try the face to face approach and see if I get lucky


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