chipie

OK, so I'll be arriving Dubai early March and looking to organise a vehicle as soon as is practicable, and will be hiring initially.

I have a full UK drivers licence and I'm aware that if I was on a tourist visa I could hire straight away, however as I will be on a resident visa, do I have to wait until I have obtained a UAE licence to hire and if so, can this be circumvented initially by having an international drivers permit?

Many thanks

psychopomp1

You can use your UK licence to rent whilst your residence visa is being processed - at least that's what I did a few years ago after my company made it clear that i couldn't get a company car until i got my residency & licence ( i made them pay for the car hire tho). However to drive a private vehicle (eg friends or your companys) you will need a temporary or full UAE licence, you can only apply for the latter once you've got your residency.

jam25mack

Getting a licence is easy once you have your residency. Just go in with your UK one. They will make you do an eye test and then give you a UAE one. Easy.

Prior to getting your residency you can drive on a UK one.

Have had an International one here previously and no one has ever taken any notice of it. In fact once in Kuwait a Police man grabbed it out of my hand and through it across the car shouting 'shit'..... He was quite angry tho.

mission

this must be the umpteenth frigging thread on 'car hire'

chipie

Many thanks for that, great help.

Out of interest is the eye test the usual 'read that number plate' or a little more stringent?

Millhouse

if it was possible, it is actually less stringent... or was when I did mine years ago.

jam25mack

Yeah. One of my eyes is rubbish at those tests. Failed massively. The dude asked me if I wore glasses, I replied no. He said maybe you should and signed it off.

They don't care!

Millhouse

When Mrs Millhouse did the test, she couldn't answer any of them. I answered on her behalf as I was in the room. He asked if she wore glasses... No, I had lasik was her reply. "That is very good" was his reply, and signed it off.

jam25mack

Sometimes this place is hilarious.

scrubbedexpat141

I 'failed' mine, got the slip of paper for driving licence and went to another opticians the following week and got specs....for driving.