By the end of 2020, the United Arab Emirates had made significant legal reforms to its laws on alcohol consumption. The country is overcoming its Islamic personal laws and is slowly adopting a more progressive approach to such matters.
That is why it is important for tourists to know where alcohol is prohibited in the Emirates and not to abuse the original Russian traditions.
Previously, people needed to have a license to drink, buy, sell or transport alcohol, even if they were over the age of majority. This is warned by every real estate agency in the United Arab Emirates, which is worried about people who want to acquire apartments in the UAE. Although in practice, a bar, restaurant or hotel rarely asks customers to present an alcohol license.
The federal law
Article 313 states: “A person is not punished for the consumption, possession or sale of alcoholic beverages in situations and places permitted in accordance with applicable law.” That is, hotels, restaurants, the best penthouses in Dubai allow you to get addicted to a glass from time to time.
It should be noted that only those over the age of 21 are legally allowed to drink, and selling to minors is still a crime. Driving in the UAE, like in most countries, is supervised and the blood alcohol limit is 0.00. In addition, alcohol prices are higher than the average in the UAE than in other countries, so this remains a barrier for those who want to cheap to get drunk. Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 was further amended because the law previously strictly forbade Muslims from drinking alcohol. This was changed two years ago.
The pitfalls of drinking alcohol
When answering the question in which emirates alcohol is allowed, it is worth remembering that the requirement for a license for alcohol has been abolished by law in the UAE, but it has not yet entered into full force. The country’s two largest liquor retail chains, Maritime and Mercantile International and African & Eastern, still state on their website that a customer must have an alcohol license and even describe the process for obtaining one.
