How to get a driving licence in Dubai

You open a traffic file with a registered driving institute, pass an eye test, take the required lessons and then sit the tests set by the traffic department. Pass them and the licence is issued. A new licence is valid for one year if you are under 21 and for two years if you are 21 or older.

Some residents skip most of this. If your home country licence qualifies for exchange, you swap it instead of training, and for that route the minimum age is 18.

1. Open a traffic file at a registered driving centre in the emirate.
2. Take an eye test at a centre approved by the traffic department.
3. Complete the driving classes required for your category.
4. Pass all the tests the traffic department sets.
5. Collect the licence from the traffic authority.

To open the file you need a copy of your passport, your Emirates ID card and a copy of it, two photographs, the eye test report, and a letter of no objection from your sponsor if the department asks for one.

What this does not mean

A UAE licence is not an international permit, and it is not automatically accepted abroad. It also is not permanent: renewal runs to 10 years for citizens, 5 years for residents over 21 and 1 year for residents under 21, and you cannot renew until your traffic fines are settled.

Driving in another country is a separate document, covered in how to get an international driving licence.

Sources: u.ae, Getting a driving licence (ages, validity, documents, the process, renewal terms and the fines condition).