Culture & emergencies · All travellers
The Dubai fines tourists actually get caught by
The short answer
The fines that catch tourists in Dubai are jaywalking, eating on the Metro and photographing people. Jaywalking costs AED 400, but crossing a road with a speed limit of 80 km/h or more carries at least three months in jail and a fine of at least AED 10,000 under the 2024 traffic law. Photographing people without consent starts at AED 150,000.
Dubai is a very safe city with a low tolerance for a specific set of things, and the list does not match what a visitor expects. The expensive mistakes here are crossing a road, taking a photograph and finishing a bottle of water on the Metro.
Jaywalking is now a criminal offence
This changed, and most of what is written about it online predates the change. Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2024 came into force on 29 March 2025 and moved pedestrian offences out of the administrative fine book.
By the numbers
Three tiers, and the gap between them is the whole point.
- Crossing away from a crossingTicketable
- Crossing a road with a limit of 80 km/h or moreCriminal
- Causing an accident while crossingCriminal
Sheikh Zayed Road is not a road you cross
The tier that carries jail is defined by the speed limit, not by how wide the road looks or how far away the traffic is. Dubai’s arterial roads run at 80 km/h and above, and the crossings are footbridges and underpasses that are sometimes a few hundred metres apart. Walking that extra distance is the whole of the compliance here.
Photographing people in Dubai
The single most expensive thing a tourist can do casually. Article 44 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021, the cybercrimes law, covers photographing people and keeping or sharing those images.
One nuance is worth stating plainly, because the scare version of this circulates widely and is wrong. The offence requires criminal intent. A stranger walking through the background of your skyline photograph is not what the article is aimed at. Pointing a camera at people, especially women and families, and keeping or posting the result, is.
Separately, and with no intent argument available: do not photograph government buildings, embassies, police stations, military sites, airport security areas or road accidents.
Dubai Metro fines
RTA operates a schedule of public transport fines running from AED 100 to AED 2,000, and inspectors do check. The Metro is spotless for a reason. One caveat on the figures below: RTA’s own fines page currently redirects to its home page, so these are its published amounts as reported rather than something you can open and check yourself. Treat them as the right order of magnitude and the right list of offences.
- Eating or drinking
- Sleeping in an undesignated place
- Sitting in an area designated for a specific category
- Misusing the emergency button
There is also a two-bag rule, which is a boarding matter rather than a fine: one large case and one small one per passenger, stored in the luggage area. Arriving at a station with three suitcases means taking a taxi instead.
Public behaviour and alcohol
Less codified than the above, and more about where you are in the city than about a published number.
Alcohol is legal to buy from licensed retailers and to drink in licensed venues and in private. Drinking in the street or on a beach is not permitted, and public drunkenness is an offence. Swearing and obscene gestures are treated seriously rather than as rudeness. Public displays of affection sit under public decency, which in practice means Marina and Downtown are relaxed and Deira, Bur Dubai and Karama are not.
What to do next
Three habits cover almost all of this. Use the footbridge even when it is inconvenient. Keep the camera pointed at buildings rather than at people. Finish the coffee before you tap in.
If you are driving rather than walking, the traffic side of the same 2024 law is stricter than India’s in ways worth reading before you rent anything.
Common questions
How much is the fine for jaywalking in Dubai?
AED 400 for crossing from a place that is not designated for it. The figure changes entirely on a fast road. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2024, in force since 29 March 2025, a pedestrian who crosses a road with a speed limit of 80 km/h or more faces at least three months in jail, a fine of at least AED 10,000, or both. Causing an accident by jaywalking carries imprisonment and a fine of AED 5,000 to AED 10,000.
Can you take photos of people in Dubai?
Not without their consent. Article 44 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 makes photographing people, and keeping or sharing those photographs, an offence carrying at least six months imprisonment and a fine between AED 150,000 and AED 500,000. The law requires criminal intent, so an accidental face in a skyline shot is not the target. Deliberately photographing strangers, particularly women and families, is.
What is the fine for eating on the Dubai Metro?
AED 100 for eating or drinking where it is not allowed, and that includes chewing gum and drinking water. RTA publishes a schedule of public transport fines running from AED 100 to AED 2,000. Sleeping in undesignated places is AED 300 and misusing the emergency button is AED 2,000. The Metro is clean because these are enforced by inspectors rather than ignored.
Can tourists drink alcohol in Dubai?
In licensed venues and in private, yes. Drinking in the street, on a beach or in any public place is not permitted, and being drunk in public is an offence. Tourists can buy alcohol from licensed retailers, and the relevant point for a visitor is not whether alcohol exists in Dubai but where it may be consumed.
Is holding hands or kissing illegal in Dubai?
Public displays of affection are treated under public decency rules rather than as a single named fine. Holding hands is unremarkable in the tourist areas. Kissing in public is not, and can draw a warning or worse depending on where you are and who is watching. The practical rule is that Marina and Downtown are relaxed and the older parts of the city are not.
Related guides
Before you fly
The rules are the easy part. The visa is the file.
We file UAE visit visas from India every week, and we will tell you plainly if your case is one we would not take. Licence R710507 is Canadian and does not cover the UAE, so nothing on these pages is UAE legal advice.
Three fields · about 30 seconds