Having nothing better to do during Ramadan, I decided to clean up some loose ends. Ever since I got my UAE residency visa, I've been needing to get a UAE driver's license. My Pennsylvania license was all I needed to drive legally when I was here on a tourist visa, but that's not the case any more. I kept putting it off, dreading the hassle and taking the risk of getting caught. Not knowing what would happen if I got caught combined with the increased risk of accidents during Ramadan (see prior post), got me thinking it was time to get legal. My husband's office gave me explicit instructions and paperwork to get started, so I headed off yesterday to get this done.
Long story short, I got my UAE driver's license, good for 10 years. Hooray! It put me out a few hours and a pretty penny, and it was all bureaucracy and paperwork--nothing substantive involved whatsoever. I could be the worst driver in the world for all they know. First off, I got some passport-size photos at the Kodak store, minimum of 8. Then I got my eye test, requiring one photo and my reading a line of letters on an eye chart, which I actually had trouble with, but they passed me anyway. Then I found the window for the driver's license, pulling out everything I needed--eye test, passport, UAE residency visa, Pennsylvania driver's license, no objection letter from my husband, my husband's passport and UAE residency visa--which was all fine, except for one thing. I did not have an Emirates ID card. This is a relatively new requirement, put in place a few years ago, whereby all UAE residents are required to get an ID card. I never bothered, not understanding the need for it, even though there were well-publicized deadlines. Now it came back to bite, as they said I had to have the ID to get the driver's license. Chicken and egg sort of thing.
The good news was, I could apply for an Emirates ID that day in the same building, and the application would suffice to get the driver's license. The bad news was, I would have to pay a fine of 1,000 dirhams ($272) and go to the Emirates ID authority elsewhere to complete the application. They didn't seem to think I was going to pay the fine, but I coughed it up and they prepared the application, which enabled me to get my UAE license with only an hour's extra wait. They didn't ask for a photo, taking a new one there.
Emboldened by my success with the driver's license, I decided I might as well finish up with the ID. I took a cab to the nearest Emirates ID Authority, in the middle of nowhere in Al Barsha. I could have gone to the one in Al Satwa, like my husband's office suggested, but the people at the municipal building told me to go to Al Barsha, so that's what I did. When I got there, I was pretty surprised to be told that I needed to get fingerprinted somewhere else, and I told them so, vociferously. They then directed me to the almost empty ladies reception area, where I got fingerprinted. (Why they didn't just do this in the first place, I have no idea.) They took a new photo as well (leaving me with 7 unused photos), certainly the worst of the day since I was kind of fed up by then. I did not have the satisfaction of leaving with my Emirates ID, however. They told me I would be notified to pick it up at the nearest post office at a later date. Nearest to what and when, I have no idea. Not sure I'll ever need the actual ID card, but you never know.
All told, the requirements cost me AED 35 (photos) + 25 (eye test) + 1,000 (fine) + 410 (driver's license) + 270 (ID card plus application), for a grand total of 1,740 dirhams, which is around $474!!! A Pennsylvania driver's license seems very cheap by comparison.
When people say Dubai has no taxes, it's worth noting that the fees here are pretty high. When you add up the high cost of speeding tickets (automated to catch you everywhere and impossible to contest), tolls (also automated), and the various fees for leases, utilities, licenses, visas, and ID's, it's a hefty bundle.
My husband still has me beat on UAE ID's, since he also has the "alcoholic license" needed to buy alcoholic beverages in Dubai. It expired and he's trying to renew it, but it could be a while before that happens, especially considering it's Ramadan.
One loose end I did not manage to clean up: getting my husband's car fixed. It suffered some minor damage months ago in the parking garage--passenger side mirror cracked, bumper gashed, after someone nicked a column (not me!). The dealership says they can't fix it without a police report, even though there was no "accident" the way I think of it. I offered to pay the cost, but that didn't work. (They said it would be very expensive, so probably best to have insurance cover it anyway.) I tried going to the police station and asking them for a police report, but they refused despite my taking it to a higher level. They insist that my husband have the police come to the parking garage to fill out the report. Seems ridiculous, and I told them so, but that's the way they do it here in Dubai.
Maybe it's just me and the effects of Ramadan, but I don't think I'll be missing this place much.
Long story short, I got my UAE driver's license, good for 10 years. Hooray! It put me out a few hours and a pretty penny, and it was all bureaucracy and paperwork--nothing substantive involved whatsoever. I could be the worst driver in the world for all they know. First off, I got some passport-size photos at the Kodak store, minimum of 8. Then I got my eye test, requiring one photo and my reading a line of letters on an eye chart, which I actually had trouble with, but they passed me anyway. Then I found the window for the driver's license, pulling out everything I needed--eye test, passport, UAE residency visa, Pennsylvania driver's license, no objection letter from my husband, my husband's passport and UAE residency visa--which was all fine, except for one thing. I did not have an Emirates ID card. This is a relatively new requirement, put in place a few years ago, whereby all UAE residents are required to get an ID card. I never bothered, not understanding the need for it, even though there were well-publicized deadlines. Now it came back to bite, as they said I had to have the ID to get the driver's license. Chicken and egg sort of thing.
The good news was, I could apply for an Emirates ID that day in the same building, and the application would suffice to get the driver's license. The bad news was, I would have to pay a fine of 1,000 dirhams ($272) and go to the Emirates ID authority elsewhere to complete the application. They didn't seem to think I was going to pay the fine, but I coughed it up and they prepared the application, which enabled me to get my UAE license with only an hour's extra wait. They didn't ask for a photo, taking a new one there.
Emboldened by my success with the driver's license, I decided I might as well finish up with the ID. I took a cab to the nearest Emirates ID Authority, in the middle of nowhere in Al Barsha. I could have gone to the one in Al Satwa, like my husband's office suggested, but the people at the municipal building told me to go to Al Barsha, so that's what I did. When I got there, I was pretty surprised to be told that I needed to get fingerprinted somewhere else, and I told them so, vociferously. They then directed me to the almost empty ladies reception area, where I got fingerprinted. (Why they didn't just do this in the first place, I have no idea.) They took a new photo as well (leaving me with 7 unused photos), certainly the worst of the day since I was kind of fed up by then. I did not have the satisfaction of leaving with my Emirates ID, however. They told me I would be notified to pick it up at the nearest post office at a later date. Nearest to what and when, I have no idea. Not sure I'll ever need the actual ID card, but you never know.
All told, the requirements cost me AED 35 (photos) + 25 (eye test) + 1,000 (fine) + 410 (driver's license) + 270 (ID card plus application), for a grand total of 1,740 dirhams, which is around $474!!! A Pennsylvania driver's license seems very cheap by comparison.
When people say Dubai has no taxes, it's worth noting that the fees here are pretty high. When you add up the high cost of speeding tickets (automated to catch you everywhere and impossible to contest), tolls (also automated), and the various fees for leases, utilities, licenses, visas, and ID's, it's a hefty bundle.
My husband still has me beat on UAE ID's, since he also has the "alcoholic license" needed to buy alcoholic beverages in Dubai. It expired and he's trying to renew it, but it could be a while before that happens, especially considering it's Ramadan.
One loose end I did not manage to clean up: getting my husband's car fixed. It suffered some minor damage months ago in the parking garage--passenger side mirror cracked, bumper gashed, after someone nicked a column (not me!). The dealership says they can't fix it without a police report, even though there was no "accident" the way I think of it. I offered to pay the cost, but that didn't work. (They said it would be very expensive, so probably best to have insurance cover it anyway.) I tried going to the police station and asking them for a police report, but they refused despite my taking it to a higher level. They insist that my husband have the police come to the parking garage to fill out the report. Seems ridiculous, and I told them so, but that's the way they do it here in Dubai.
Maybe it's just me and the effects of Ramadan, but I don't think I'll be missing this place much.
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