Time
GMT plus four hours
Language
Arabic is the official language, however English and Urdu are widely spoken.
Currency
Dirhams notes: 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5
Coins: 1 dirham, 50 fils and 25 fils
- 1 US Dollar (USD) = approximately 3.67 United Arab Emir. Dirham (AED)
- 1 Canadian Dollar = 3.46 United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED)
- 1 Euro = 4.98 United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED)
Working Week
Private sector companies based in the UAE tend to work a Sunday to Thursday week.
Working Hours:
08.00 – 13.00 and 16.00 – 19.00. However, increasingly many companies are introducing the Western hours of 09.00 – 18.00. The public sector and the banking industry works Saturday to Wednesday. Some companies have a half day on Thursday.
- Government hours 07.00 – 14.00
- Banking hours 08.00 – 13.00
- All businesses are closed on Fridays
- Shopping hours 09.00 – 13.00 and 16.30 – 22.00
- Shopping mall hours 10.00 – 22.00
Money Exchange
It can be found in most major malls in the country. Opening hours vary, however the best option is to head towards a shopping mall after 16.00 on a weekday.
Visas
Residents of the following countries will receive a visa upon arrival in the UAE:
Americas: USA
Asia: Japan, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and South Korea
GCC Countries: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait
Oceania: Australia and New Zealand
Western Europe: France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Spain, Monaco, Vatican City, Iceland, Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein and the UK.
Please ensure that your passport has at least two months (in some cases six) before its expiry date to be granted admission into the UAE.
Public Holidays
The UAE has two different kinds of public holiday, those that are fixed on the calendar and religious holidays that are determined by the lunar calendar.
Fixed Holidays
- New Year’s Day: 1st January
- UAE National Day: 2nd December
- Variable Holidays
- Eid Al Adha: A four day feast to mark the end of the Haj pilgrImage to Mecca
- Ras Al Sana: The start of the Islamic (Hijra) New Year
- Mawlid Al Nabi: The celebration of Prophet Mohammed’s birthday
- Lailat Al Mir’raj: The Ascension of Prophet Mohammed
- Eid Al Fitr: Three day holiday marking the end of Ramadan