Dubai: Love exploring Dubai and introducing friends and family to different parts of the Emirate? How about turning your interest into a serious profession?
Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) issues tour guide licences to interested individuals, which allows them to work either part-time or full-time as tour guides in the Emirate.
Working part-time
If you wish to work part-time as a tour guide, it is important to know that the UAE’s Labour Law – Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 – allows employees to work part-time in the UAE, if the working hours are less than 20 hours per week. To know more about how you can work part-time in the UAE, read our detailed guide here.
But you may also be interested in turning your passion for culture and tourism into a full-time profession.
Either way, you will need to complete an online tour guide training programme that is offered by DET.
Here are all the details.
Eligibility criteria
According to DET, these are the criteria you need to fulfil to join the online tour guide training programme:
• Be at least 18 years old or above.
• Have at least graduated from high school.
• Have English communication skills
• Obtain a first aid certificate in the UAE
• Have a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from your sponsor
You will have the option to apply for the programme in English or Mandarin.
Application process
To apply, follow these steps:
1. Visit the website
www.tourguidetraining.ae and click on ‘Create new account’. You will be directed to an online form, where you will be required to enter your personal details, like your full name, date of birth, Emirates ID details and information like whether you have a driving licence and your language skills.
2. Once your account form is complete, click on ‘Create new account’. You will receive an activation link to your registered email address from trainingsolutions@dubaitourism.ae. Click on the activation link and re-visit www.tourguidetraining.ae to login by entering your username and password.
3. Next, you will be required to upload the required documents. Applicants are advised to arrange all the required documents in one PDF file.
2. Passport size photo with white background
3. First Aid training certificate
4. A valid Dubai Police clearance certificate
5. Academic certificate of high school 12th grade or higher (International certificates and certificates from all private schools/colleges must be attested even if the university is in the UAE)
6. No Objection Certificate (NOC) letter from sponsor for non-UAE Nationals.(The letter must state the following: “No objection for Mr/Ms … to attend the tour guide training course and obtain the Dubai Tour Guide Licence in order to work as a Tour Guide”)
7. English language certificate from any approved language center in the UAE (minimum score required is ‘Upper Intermediate’).
You will be notified if submitted documents are approved or not, in case of documents rejection, you need to upload all the documents again for verification. The verification process may take up to 48 hours.
4. After receiving the notification that the documents are verified, you would need to visit the website: www.tourguidetraining.ae once again and click ‘Dubai Tour Guide Programme (DTGP)’.
5. You will then be guided through the four-stages of the programme. According to DET, all stages must be completed within a maximum of 90 days from the day of registration. While the total cost of the programme is Dh7,520, your payment will be divided into three installments, based on the stages that you complete.
The system will enable you to make the payment when the previous stage is completed successfully.
6. Once you have successfully completed the programme, you will receive your tour guide licence.
Cost:
The total cost for the tour guide training programme is Dh7,520.
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