Armenia and UAE to Mutual Recognize Each Other's Driving Licenses

At a session of the National Assembly, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan presented a draft on the ratification of the memorandum on the mutual recognition and exchange of driving licenses issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. According to the deputy minister, the memorandum was signed on September 30, 2025, in Abu Dhabi and pertains to two groups of individuals.

The first group concerns citizens traveling to one another's territory for non-residential purposes. In this case, the driving licenses of UAE citizens are mutually recognized based on the licenses for light passenger vehicles and the legal duration of stay, allowing them to freely drive in Armenia.

“In the case of our citizens, with a legal duration of stay, driving licenses of category B and subcategories of D1 in the UAE will allow them to freely navigate in the UAE. I would like to remind you that category B refers to light passenger vehicles, while category D1 pertains to small buses with a seating capacity of up to 16 passengers. The only condition is that the age of the holder of the driving license must meet the minimum age limit set by the national legislation of the host country for the respective subcategory driving license, which is 18 years for category B and 21 years for D1,” said the deputy minister.

“For residence purposes, that is, based on obtaining residency status, if individuals are in each other's territory, they may apply for and obtain a driving license without being subject to theoretical and practical examinations. They must also meet a number of validity conditions, including having a valid residency status, a valid driving license, as well as meeting the minimum requirements set for the respective subcategory. For other subcategories and categories, individuals must pass theoretical and practical exams,” added the deputy minister.