Are all western ExPats recruited abroad or is there somewhere in Dubai you can go to on spec?
Most are recruited from overseas, but there are a fair/large number of esp Brits that come with no job and can find work after a month or two. Plan on needing a rental car (AED 1500/mo) and renting a bedroom in a shared villa (AED 6500/mo), plus other expenses and you are looking at $3K/mo at least. I would have $10K ready before I tried this approach. If you have a Western passport, you can enter for 60 days with no visa, and when it is nearing expiration, just go to Oman for a weekend and come back.
Note that as a local hire, you may not get the housing and flight home benefits that are normal for overseas hires, but you will still get a competitive wage. If you are in the Financial Services sector, there is a good chance you’ll find something. For engineering positions, you’ll be competing with Indians unless you are very specialized.
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Great thread! Found it a couple of months later than I would have liked, but there you go - should have been paying more attention.
Question: If my partner get jobs in the gulf and tell people we are married (when in reality we are not) are we likely to be challenged?
Thanks
M
I hope **Desert Nomad ** comes back to this thread, given that it is slightly undead.
I wonder if you know anything about Doha vs. Al Ain. I have applied for jobs in both places. Teaching jobs, so I’d be able to leave during the summer (and the summers look pretty intolerable). What would you think about the prospects of living in one of these two places? Is one better than the other?
Question should read, “If my partner and I get jobs…”
What is your opinion on the situation sited over in This Thread about people getting really long prison sentences for having microscopic amounts of drug on them?
You will notice I am not in Dubai any longer… I’ll be up in Prague for most of this year… noting at all to do with this situation tho!
I think it is ridiculous to arrest someone for 0.003g of any drug… esp as it is invisible to the naked eye. I do think it is fair to uphold these sentences for actual, visible drugs however. Most people getting singled out at Dubai airport have paperwork/visa problems, but you do read about a couple drug arrests every week… most are significantly more quantity though.
If you are going to sponsor a visa for your “partner” you have to be married and produce a marriage license certified by your home country and the UAE Embassy in your home country.
Many landlords will ask for the same document, some won’t. It is illegal to live together and you will be arrested if you are caught. Lots of people do it - just don’t upset your neighbors.
I have been to both but never lived in either. Doha is really boring and getting more expensive. I would choose Al Ain… a friend here in Prague just got back from Al Ain and loved it.
It’s good to hear that the craziness isn’t non-stop.
Best of luck with your business in Prague.
No, but it is crazy. The legal system in Dubai generally depends on who you are. Clean cut Westerners benefit, folks from the subcontinent and fringe elements of Western society lose. I am not saying this is a good thing, but it is reality. I think if they tried, they could find 0.003g of anything on anyone.
There is not a lot of common sense in the Western sense in Dubai. It is a very reactionary mindset. I would not expect this to change quickly.
less pleasing news 
I don’t think it is bad overall… I would take a Dubai court over those in many other countries, but it is true that many people are marginalized and I think a lot of this comes from the way immigration works in Dubai. Everyone has to have a sponsor (usually an employer) and there is no possibility for permanent residence (no green card like the US). So the UAE sees most people as guest workers and not really a part of permanent society even tho those are the people who have built the country.
If people could get permanent residency, they would have more incentive to be a part of the place and the leaders would hopefully come to see them in a different light and make rules that were more beneficial to everyone.
All that said, I’ve never had a problem going through Dubai airport. Passport check, x-ray the bags, walk through the green customs line and out to the street in a few minutes. Most people that get caught are clearly in the wrong. I do think there should be notices of what exactly is illegal with bins to dump anything prior to the inspection - the way Singapore does it.
In Singapore you can get the death penalty for drugs. By comparison 4 years is mild.
In Singapore, you WILL get the death penalty for drugs. It’s mandatory upon conviction, with no possibility of commutation of sentence. Even if you’re only transiting through, as some have discovered the hard way.
Sure, but will Singapore prosecute you for 0.003g of pot found on the bottom of your shoe… a speck not even visible? I hardly think that counts as “drugs”.
No, I guess they won’t, but I thought I’d mention that it’s not just a possibility if they catch you with larger amounts, but rather a certainty.
Singapore states this clearly on signs at the airport and a notice on the immigration form… Dubai does not. I think it would be better if Dubai posted such notices (there is no form needed to be filled out in the UAE).
Thanks to Desert Nomad who has done an excellent job in answering questions on Dubai.
I have a job offer from Dubai paying 14000AED per month as a Project Manager in IT. Is that enough or is the recruiting agency shortchanging me?
As an aside here is another site that has some information on Dubai though I am not sure how recent and valid it is.
Thanks; this is helpful. But if you don’t mind a follow-up, what counts as ‘boring’? My wife and I are pretty boring. We don’t go to bars or nightclubs. We like living in a place that encourages frequent social interaction among one’s friends and neighbors (which the US doesn’t), and which offers opportunities for travel, and where our daughter would be able to continue doing things like soccer and gymnastics. That’s really the stuff we care about.
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