Hey, just letting people know to be aware if you are getting a licence conversion... half the officials (especially Abu Dhabi) don't know what they are talking about. There are certain countries that can get a straight conversion without having any driving lessons or sitting tests, these countries are listed on their website.
New Zealand is one of those countries but one of my friends got told to go to the driving school and ended up doing unnecessary lessons. Another friend was given a learners licence instead of a conversion! My husband went last weekend and he was told to go to driving school, they wouldn't listen to him but thankfully it was close to lunch break and the ladies on the desk swapped over so he went to a different person and was given it.
So basically make sure you check the website first, try and reason with them if you don't get it (good luck!) or keep trying different people until you do get it!... it will save alot of hassle in the long run.