Dubai to offer free 30-day alcohol licence for tourists

The Emirate of Dubai is now offering a free 30-day alcohol licence for tourists, a move that ensures visitors will not be penalised for breaking the law.

Alcohol retail outlet Maritime and Mercantile International (MMI), a subsidiary of the Emirates Group, has a separate segment on its website instructing tourists on the process of applying for the license. The free alcohol tourist licence is valid only to visitors who are non-Muslim and 21 years and over.

Tourists are instructed to visit any MMI store with your original passport and complete and sign a form confirming that the buyer is a tourist.  Furthermore, the store will take a copy of the passport as well as the entry stamp and each visitor will be issued guidelines to responsible in Dubai.

The site instructed, "Please ensure that you read this to ensure you are respectful of the country, its rules and its people that you are visiting." The tourist code of conduct includes a list of five instructions, including no consumption in public places, no drinking and driving, do not be intoxicated in public, and alcohol in public places.

Presently, Dubai resident visa holders are eligible for a two-year licence that allows them to buy alcohol from shops and store it at home. Also, anyone drinking in the city's bars and restaurants should technically have a licence, though they do not ask to see one.

Khaleej Times