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Alcohol and Licences in Dubai & UAE  

Friday 19 March 2010 (UAE)   
 
   
      
 

Alcohol in Dubai and the UAE

Despite what some people may think, alcohol is relatively freely available in Dubai (a very stark contrast to Saudi Arabia). Almost all 4 and 5 star hotels have restaurants and or bars where alcohol is served, and many sports clubs have restaurant and bar facilities for example the Aviation Club, the Country Club.

Nightlife in Dubai

Restaurants, bars and nightclubs in Dubai have improved significantly since around 2000 and compare well to most big cities around the world although licensing laws mean that clubs close at 3 am. It's not quite Ibiza, London, Amsterdam, New York, or Berlin, but Gordon Ramsey now has a restaurant here and you'll find top DJs playing in Dubai on a regular basis - Paul Oakenfold did a New Year bash at the end of 2006 for example.

Duty Free

Arriving tourists (and expats) can buy alcohol at Dubai Duty Free after passport control. There are the usual limits but it seems that customs are relatively tolerant as long as what you bring is not excessive. Expat residents of Dubai and the UAE should probably have a licence but it seems it's never asked for at customs. Muslims are not supposed to bring alcohol in to the country.

Don't bring drugs, and check your medicine bag for banned substances (people have ended up in jail for bringing in codeine for example). Here's a more detailed list of Dubai duty free allowances. And on a similar topic, don't bring drugs to Dubai.

Where to buy alcohol in Dubai and the UAE

A&E (African & Eastern) and MMI (Maritime Mecantile International) are the two companies in Dubai with bottle shops. Usually next to Spinneys or Choithrams/Choitrams supermarkets. Window displays do not exist. You will have to present your alcohol license (or possibly one from your spouse - check with the shop first on the procedure for making that possible) to buy alcohol. Using a friend's license is no longer possible. The Dubai shops usually stay open during Ramadan but check with the shop for opening hours - may vary between branches.

  • A&E and MMI also have shops in other emirates including Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain.
  • Umm Al Quwain also has a couple more shops in town, next to hotels.
  • Ajman has a bottle shop / 'hole in the wall' near the Kempinksi Hotel where you can also make alcohol purchases. Closer to Dubai but range and prices not as good as Barracuda.
  • The Sharjah booze souk has been closed since 1996.
The Barracuda Umm Al Quwain

The Barracuda (not baracuda) Beach Resort next to Dreamland Water Park on the main coastal road to Ras Al Khaimah after the Um Al Quwain turnoff is a well known liquor store where you can purchase alcohol. It's possible, and common, but illegal to buy alcohol there without a license. Main shop is open 0800 to midnight, there is also a 24 hour window around the back. Closed during Ramadan (closes a day or two before Ramadan starts) - and is very busy in the week before Ramadan. Good range of wines and spirits including a fine selection of single malt whisky from Scotland. To get there, drive up the new Emirates Road towards RAK, take the Dreamland (signposted) exit, turn right when you get to the coast road T-junction, do a U-turn when you get to Dreamland (just after the Umm Al Quwain airstrip - a large white plane is permanently parked there).

If doing a booze run from Dubai, drive back on the 611 Road to avoid driving through Sharjah with a boot full of bootleg alcohol. The road still runs through Sharjah but is less congested than other routes.

Transporting alcohol in Dubai
  • Obviously if you buy alcohol at an A&E or MMI shop in Dubai, then you are going to have to trolley it home somehow. Your alcohol licence gives you permission to do that but it would be advisable to do so with your own private vehicle. The alcohol license only permits you to transport your purchase from the shop to your home.
  • Alcohol transport on the Dubai Metro is not permitted and you should probably assume that it's the same for other forms of public transport.
  • If going by Dubai taxi to a function which involves bringing alcohol, it's hardly likely that the taxi driver is going to ask you what you're carrying but on the assumption that you're not supposed to do so, don't make it obvious - put it in a bag.
  • Problems can occur if the taxi, or private car, is involved in an accident, and the alcohol in the vehicle becomes obvious.
Transporting alcohol in Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, and other emirates except Sharjah
  • Similar rules apply as for Dubai i.e. if you have an alcohol licence, then you are permitted to transport your purchase from the bottle shop in the emirate in which you live, to your home.
Transporting alcohol between emirates
  • As you are supposed to only buy alcohol in the emirate which issued you with a liquor licence, the question of transporting alcohol to a different emirate should be moot.
  • However, it is well known that many expats from Dubai and other emirates buy alcohol at the Barracuda in Umm Al Quwain and the booze shop in Ajman without a licence. Since the purchase is made without a licence, they'll be in trouble if caught with alcohol no matter where they are.
  • It is more likely to be a serious problem in Sharjah. You're unlikely to be stopped for a booze check but if you have an accident and the police happen to see alcohol in the car, it might result in fines and/or jail. Even if you have an alcohol licence from an emirate other than Sharjah.
Transporting alcohol for Sharjah residents
  • As Sharjah does not have any alcohol shops, Sharjah residents are permitted to buy alcohol in another emirate and transport it home, if they have an alcohol licence issued by the Sharjah authorities, as far as we know. But Sharjah rules can be flaky enough at the best of times so drive carefully.
Drinking and Being Drunk in Public

Don't. It's illegal and if you get caught it's taken fairly seriously. Having said that, beer with your BBQ down on the beach seems to be ok if imbibed discretely. However, there are signs on most beaches saying that fires are not permitted - you may or may not get away with having a BBQ depending on how busy the beach is and how far out of Dubai you are.

People who are obviously drunk in public run the risk of being escorted to alternative accommodation for the rest of the evening by the local constabulary. It doesn't end there either. Prison sentences and deportation are available for those wobbling about under the influence in public. If you do get sloshed and pour yourself into a taxicab, be polite to your taxi driver - it has been known for argumentative passengers to find themselves ferried to the Police Station by understandably annoyed taxi drivers.

Even if you're not obviously drunk, don't hang around too much - there are stories around of people randomly being picked up by the police in the early hours outside bars/hotels for being drunk. One drink is probably enough to put you in that category under UAE laws.

Some press reports of people with alcohol related trouble in the UAE
  • 18 February 2008 report: A Briton was charged with consuming alcohol, and attempted rape of a Dutch woman. Police got called to her apartment where the two of them had gone after meeting by the pool (Gulf News).
  • 31 January 2008 report: The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced several people with jail and deportation for alcohol and sex related charges (Gulf News).
    • Saudi male 1 - 6 months in jail for having sex (against her will, while under the influence of alcohol?)
    • Egyptian female - 6 months in jail for having sex (unknown if there was an alcohol related conviction)
    • Saudi male 2 - 13 months in jail for beating and having sex with the woman against her will, while under the influence of alcohol (unknown if the alcohol meant a shorter or longer sentence)
    • Saudi male 3 - same as #2
  • November 2006: A Briton was acquitted by the Dubai Court of First Instance of the charge of drinking alcohol in a pub in Bur Dubai (name unknown). Police officer said permit only allowed him to drink at home. Court accepted the defense that permit allowed him to consume liquor in the pub (Gulf News).
  • July 2006: An Indian was fined 3000 dhs for drinking alcohol in public in Ras Al Khaimah. Police arrested him after a phoned in complaint (Gulf News).
  • July 2006: reports of conmen following people who bought alcohol in Ajman and stopping them in Sharjah, then demanding money (several thousand dhs) to avoid being reported to police. Ajman police said to the Gulf News that non-Muslims with a liquor license could buy alcohol in Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, UAQ, and transport it through other emirates to their home, if it was for personal use (Gulf News).
  • March 2006: An Estonian was arrested at Sharjah airport for consuming alcohol and harrassing a female police officer. He said he was in transit, got drunk, didn't know he wasn't allowed to drink during transit, was tired, went looking for the toilet, entered the wrong room by mistake. She said she was sleeping and woke up to find a man touching her. Outcome unknown (Khaleej Times 19 March 2006 ).
  • November 2005: An Indian was sentenced to jail for a month (followed by deportation) by the Dubai Court of First Instance for possesion of 95 bottles of whisky and 80 cans of beer. Police nabbed him because they were tipped off that he was selling bootleg booze.
Drinking and Driving

Don't. The limit is 0 (of whatever units you care to use) and the consequences of being caught are jail time, deportation, loss of driving licence, and no insurance if you've crashed your car. If you've injured a passenger or pedestrian then you probably won't be getting a sun tan for a long time.

During 2004-2006 there were rumours and press reports of the Dubai police introducing random breath testing and you'll sometimes hear stories of actual checkpoints appearing outside popular drinking establishments, but at present, a sentence seems to depend more usually on a blood test taken after an accident.

Penalties for drink driving were revised in March 2008 to driving licence confiscation for at least one year, jail sentence between 1 month and 3 years, and/or a fine of AED 20,000-30,000. Deportation (of non-UAE nationals) is a possibility, especially in serious accident cases.

  • In 2009, there were 1,188 traffic related incidents involving people driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Salah Bu Farousha, Head of Dubai Traffic Public Prosecution. About 0.5% of them were female drivers. Drunk drivers caused 422 accidents resulting in 147 injuries and 16 deaths. From an Xpress report 18 February 2010.
  • In 2007, 1,042 drinking drivers were prosecuted
  • In 2006, 934 drunken drivers were prosecuted
Safedrive / Saferdrive / Safedriver / Saferdriver chauffer service

Saferdriver is an organisation that will come and pick up you and your car if you've been out drinking, and bring both items home, for a fee of course, but cheaper than a fine and avoids the unpleasantness of jail. Safer Driver started operations in January 2007. You phone them after getting boozed up, a motorcycle comes with a spare driver who drives you home in your own car. The motorcycle then takes the chauffer to find another plastered expat.

  • Telephone +971-4-2688797 or mobile +971-50-4888181
  • Fees about 100-200 dhs in Dubai and Sharjah
  • Operating hours 9am-4am (might be 24 hours after May 2007)
  • Service can be utilised by non-drinkers also.

SaferDriver is the correct name of the Drive-the-Drinker-Home organisation, and is different from SafeDrive, which is an international organisation that promotes safe driving techniques. SafeDrive have an office in Dubai, tel +971-4-2045650, but as far as we know, they don't offer a chauffer service for drinkers.

Ramadan
  • During Ramadan, bars and restaurants are more subdued. In Dubai you can still drink alcohol but dancing, loud music and live music are forbidden so night clubs usually close and all the bands go on holiday.
  • If you're caught breaking any drink related laws, you may be thrown in jail until the end of Ramadan at which time it all gets sorted out. Expect stiffer punishments than for the same offence outside Ramadan.
Other Emirates - Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujeirah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain
  • Much the same applies in the other Emirates regarding drinking although expect less tolerance than in Dubai if you are skating close to the edge of the law with any drinking related activities, especially in Sharjah.
  • Alcohol availability might vary in other Emirates also - Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi will still serve alcohol mostly. And in RAK bands might even continue to play as usual.
Sharjah
  • Sharjah is a dry emirate meaning you cannot buy alcohol anywhere with two exceptions - the Sharjah Wanderers Club and Sharjah International Airport. The airport sells alcohol at Duty Free and also in a business class lounge after passport control on departure (not during Ramadan though). You are permitted to have alcohol at home if you have an alcohol licence - which allows you to buy alcohol in another emirate and transport it back to your house.
  • Anyone caught in violation of drinking laws (driving, drinking in public and/or without a license, etc) should expect to be treated more harshly than for the same offence in another emirate.

Alcohol Licence - obtaining one and why you should have one

An Alcohol Licence (or License) gives expats in Dubai and the UAE permission to drink alcohol - they need a residence visa before applying for an alcohol license. It is shown at off-licences or liquor stores in Dubai when making purchases. In theory it could be asked for at a bar or club but in practice it almost never is. Apparently the law says that only hotel guests may drink at hotel bars but it's unheard of for that to be enforced.

  • 14 Nov 2006 news. A court case acquitted a resident for drinking in a bar because he did have an alcohol license, although the police arrested him because they claimed the license only allowed residents to drink alcohol at home.
  • Tourists do not need an alcohol licence since they are not in Dubai on a resident's visa.
  • Muslims are not permitted to have an alcohol licence (the application form asks what religion the applicant is).

Alcohol purchases can be made without a licence (illegally) at several establishments in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain. Or you can present your license and buy alcohol legally. Where you're likely to get into trouble is if you have an accident between shop and home, and the alcohol is found in your car. Sharjah especially would be more risky as it is a dry emirate. Checkpoints with car searches are a possibility but very rare. If you do have a license then you are permitted to transport alcohol for personal use between shop and home. However, for those living in Dubai, you would be expected to buy alcohol in Dubai.

On 03 July 2006 there was a report in the Gulf News of alcohol purchasers being followed from Ajman into Sharjah by conmen, made to pull over and threatened with being reported to the police unless a ransom was paid. Figures were reported as being 2000 dhs to 10,000 dhs. An Ajman police official apparently told the reporter that non-Muslims were allowed to transport legally purchased alcohol through any emirate to their home. Note that you need to present your alcohol license in these 'hole-in-the-wall' establishments in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, etc to become a legal alcohol purchaser.

The licence shows a monthly limit for purchases which depends on the applicants salary. Usually the limit is somewhere between 500 dhs and 1500 dhs per month.

Tax on Alcohol

There is a 30% tax added to all alcohol purchases made when presenting an alcohol licence (last confirmed June 2006).

Procedure
  1. Your company obtains one for you. There'll be fees of around 200 dhs per year to pay, and you'll need the usual paperwork (passport with residence visa, photos).
  2. You apply for one yourself. The easiest way to do this is through one of the alcohol shops in Dubai - A & E or MMI. They have the forms and will obtain the license for you (about 200 dhs per year).
Last update Thursday 18-Feb-2010
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