Brazil to the UAE: Can You Drive on a Brazilian Licence? — IDP Required

For Brazilian drivers the UAE is an easy adjustment in one key way — you already drive on the right and you are already used to a zero-alcohol culture. The roads are excellent and fast, which makes the camera enforcement the thing to respect.

The verdict for Brazilian licence holders

You can drive in the UAE on your Brazilian licence, but an International Driving Permit is required alongside it. Carry the IDP, your Brazilian licence and your passport together, and arrange the permit in Brazil before departure — it is not issued on arrival. This is the single paperwork step that catches visitors out, because everything else about the experience feels familiar.

No side switch, and a familiar alcohol rule

Both Brazil and the UAE drive on the right, so there is nothing to relearn at junctions or roundabouts. The alcohol rule is also one you already live by: the UAE enforces an absolute 0.0 limit, mirroring Brazil’s zero-tolerance Lei Seca. The difference is that in the UAE the penalties for any trace can include arrest, so the zero is enforced without exception. Treat it exactly as you would at home — no alcohol at all before driving.

Excellent roads, cameras everywhere

The UAE’s road network is wide, smooth and built for speed, with limits of 60 km/h in town, 100 km/h on rural roads and 120 km/h on motorways. Precisely because the roads encourage pace, speed cameras are everywhere, many of them hard to spot. A modest overspeed of around 10 km/h costs roughly AED 300 (about €75), and fines mount quickly. Keep to the posted number and watch for sudden limit drops on city approaches.

Before you collect the car

• Carry your IDP, Brazilian licence and passport on every drive.
• Fuel is inexpensive at about $0.75/litre; the emergency number is 999.
• Read the rules on our UAE driving guide, confirm paperwork with the Driving Permit Checker, and estimate fines with the Speeding Fine Calculator.