Dubai
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Visas & Permits
Before leaving to come to Dubai, make sure you understand your legal situation. Depending on your nationality, you might need a visa, residence permit and/or work permit. Read our guide to legal requirements for coming to Dubai or use the Just Landed forums to ask other members for help.

Documentation required to enter Dubai 

The movement of foreigners is tightly controlled in Dubai, and issuing of visas and other permits is subject to strict bureaucratic procedures.

Those who are denied access therefore have little opportunity for appeal. Fortunately, the average expatriate doesn’t need to deal with much of the bureaucracy. Most companies and institutions, large or small, have a ‘fixer’, whose job is to wade through the red tape generated by the various ministerial departments in order to obtain work and residence visas for foreign workers and their families. The fixer will also act as your guide whenever your presence is required.

Documents you may be required to have to enter Dubai include the following:

• a passport valid for at least three months from the date of entry for tourist purposes, six months for business travellers (it’s useful to have at least three or four photocopies);
• at least six passport-size photographs;
• a marriage certificate (if applicable);
• birth certificates for all family members;
• workers might need a copy of the labour/ tenancy contract - check with your sponsor/ employer;

Note that you will probably not be able to enter the UAE if you hold an Israeli passport. In addition, if your passport has entry/exit stamps from Israel you may find you have problems getting a visa or entry. In this case, you should check with the UAE embassy in your home country and it may be necessary to get a new passport.





While you’re in Dubai, you’re required to carry identification documents, e.g. passport or national identity card and appropriate entry and residence visas. Note that it’s common for labour officials to carry out spot checks on businesses in search of workers employed illegally and to inspect passports in the possession of the employer.

This isn’t to suggest that the region’s countries are repressive regimes: expatriates have little to worry about if they conduct themselves in a reasonable way, obey the laws and observe the rules of the culture. Indeed, you will usually be treated with kindness and generosity.

VisasHow to obtain a visa 

Visas are required by most visitors to Dubai, whether on holiday or business trips or intending to live and work there.



Visa requirements for Dubai change frequently. Sometimes government websites are not even up to date. The saftest thing to do is to check with the UAE embassy in your home country before leaving.

If your are taking up work in Dubai, your sponsor, which is normally your employer, will arrange the necessary visas and permits for you and can help you with the required documents.

Most visas and permits consist of passport stamps, so that immigration authorities can easily check that you have the necessary authorisation when you enter or leave the country. There are costs associated with the various visas and permits, but in the case of foreign workers these are normally met by your employer. Note that the prices quoted below should be taken as a guide only, as they’re subject to change, as are the conditions and requirements; the relevant state’s embassy or consulate can provide you with the current information.

Visa Types
Visit Visa
The Visit Visa applies to everyone staying longer than 14 days. All visitors will need to show evidence of medical insurance. Specific visa requirements vary for different nationalities:

GCC nationals may enter Dubai without a visa.

Citizens of specific countries can obtain their visa upon arrival at the airport: France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Finland, Malta, Spain, Monaco, Vatican, Iceland, Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. It is valid for 30 days, costs AED100 ($30). It is payable on entry and non-renewable. UK citizens do not need a visa in advance, do not have to pay on entry and the visa is valid for a visit for up to 60 days; this visa can be renewed for a further 30 days for a AED500 ($130) fee.

Citizens of other countries can obtain a non-renewable visit visa through a sponsor for either 30 or 90 days. Since August 2008 expatriate workers can no longer act as sponsors for visting family members.

Transit Visa

Valid for 96 hours, transit visas are intended for those travelling within the Emirates and for short-stay business trips. They can be arranged by a sponsor or hotel.

Labour Card & Residence Visa

All foreign workers require a residence visa and ‘labour card’. To obtain these, you must first undergo a medical examination. Non-westerners generally require a more extensive examination than westerners. In due course, a residence visa is issued and eventually a labour card, which is a kind of identity card to be carried at all times, your passport having been surrendered to your employer.

Residence visas are valid for three years and are easy to renew. There’s an age limit of 50 years, but this can occasionally be overcome, if appropriate reasons are presented. New residents should remain in the Emirates for the first six months of their stay.


IntroductionEmployment prospects 

Dubai allows plenty of foreign workers into its territory, but almost exclusively on a temporary basis.

Expatriates aren’t generally allowed to become part of the permanent population. Foreign workers are dealt with in a fair but controlled way, paid and treated well, and at the end of their time in the region, thanked and rewarded for their efforts. On the other hand, the government is conscious of the need to provide decent jobs with career paths for their own young people, who are increasingly educated and aware of the attractions of the outside world – many attend universities in the USA or UK. Having made major investments in education and social welfare, they hope that eventually Dubai will become almost self-sufficient in terms of labour.

A majority of outside observers, however, believe that expatriates will have a substantial role to play for many years to come, and it seems likely that expatriates will continue to be important for the next two or three decades, although there will undoubtedly be changes in the number of people employed and the type of skills required. For example, the vast construction projects currently found throughout the region (e.g. road systems, airports, ports and trading zones) will become less numerous, with a resulting decline in the number of manual workers required. Commercial development, however, will lead to further building programmes as Dubai’s economy continues to grow. Managerial, professional and particularly technological experience will still be in strong demand for many years to come. But there will be none of the mass immigration and resulting demands for citizenship that have been experienced in western societies, or the current trend of economic refugees looking for a better way of life. Dubai will simply not allow it. Foreigners cannot become citizens or own land and property, although there appears to be some lessening of the restrictions, certainly as regards owning one’s own business.

There are other general issues to consider: you’re contemplating a move to a culture that’s almost certainly different to your own; will the way of life, and particularly the restrictions imposed on you, suit you? Will the relocation benefit your long-term career prospects? Will your family (especially any children) cope with and benefit from the move? What impact will it have on their education and employment prospects? If you aspire to be your own boss, as many people do, be aware that starting a business in the region can prove difficult and that you will almost always be required to have a local partner who has a majority holding. Is that acceptable to you?

The Middle East has been the scene of considerable conflict and unrest in recent decades, although the Gulf states are generally safe places to live and work. However, before travelling anywhere in the Middle East, it’s wise to obtain advice from your country’s foreign office. Note also that homosexuality is regarded as a criminal offence throughout the region.

You should ideally have a firm offer of employment before travelling to Dubai. Speculative visits are occasionally successful, but you need to be notably lucky and have high-grade qualifications and experience to stand any chance. In addition, you will almost certainly need knowledgeable local contacts and have done some research into the types of company which would most value your experience.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE)Dubai is part of the UAE, which is a confederation of Emirates comprising as well Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al-Quwain. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the two main partners and subsidise the other Emirates. As with the other Gulf states, oil and gas underpin the Emirates’ economy. The Emirates, as the confederation is usually called, is the third-largest oil producer in the Middle East, with a reported daily output of around 2.5 million barrels, and it claims to have the world’s third-largest known reserves of oil. (Oil reserve projections estimate that Abu Dhabi has enough oil in the ground to last 100 years or more at the current rate of extraction.) The UAE’s natural gas resources are also abundant, and shrewd overseas investments by the International Petroleum Company (IPIC), particularly in the area of oil refining and petrochemicals, have added value to the energy resources of the UAE.

As elsewhere in the Gulf, economic diversification has been encouraged, to the extent that non-oil business now accounts for over half of gross domestic product. Major projects include petrochemicals, downstream oil refining, telecommunications, aviation and tourism. The UAE has the highest per capita income in the Arab world.

Dubai has had a more urgent need to diversify than the other Emirates and it has responded by developing a wide portfolio of industrial, manufacturing, construction and service interests. DUBAL is a major aluminium smelting operation, with increasing capacity and a progressive export programme to the countries of the European Union and others. The Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) port has contributed greatly to the economy, highly preferential trading conditions attracting many international manufacturing and distribution companies, who are allowed 100 per cent ownership. A second free zone, Um Al-Qain, is situated around 50km (30mi) north of Dubai within the Ahmed Bin Rashid port, where Dubai Drydocks is one of the world’s largest ship repair yards and competes with Bahrain’s ASRY yard.


Sponsorship
What is a sponsor? 

All foreigners require a local sponsor in order to visit Dubai (whether on holiday or business) or live and work there.

Whereas in the west the word ‘sponsor’ is commonly used of individuals or businesses paying to have their names associated with an artistic or sporting event, in the Gulf it has a quite different meaning: a sponsor acts as a sort of guardian as well as guarantor and must undertake all administrative work (i.e. paperwork) on behalf of the foreigner, including applying for a work and residence visa, opening a bank account and signing a rental accommodation contract. A sponsor can be an individual, a company or an institution. In the case of employees, your employer usually also acts as your sponsor; visitors may be sponsored by a business partner or associate or by the hotel in which they’re staying. Those aiming to do business or set up a business in Dubai should research the local business environment, establish contacts and find an individual or company with a good reputation and experience in the relevant field to act as your sponsor, who will expect remuneration for his services.

The sponsorship system is an effective form of immigration control. As your sponsor is responsible for you and ‘takes the rap’ if you misbehave or contravene any regulations (which will also involve him in loss of ‘face’ in the community), he automatically checks that you’re reliable and trustworthy, as well as ensuring that you don’t inadvertently step out of line. For this reason, your sponsor is an important source of help and advice and a valuable ‘ally’. Note that there is talk of the sponsorship requirement being waived in some states, particularly for foreigners wanting to set up businesses in the free trade zones, but this hadn’t happened at the time of publication.

Recruitment Agencies
How they operate 

Recruitment consultants or agents play a major role in the placement of workers in a host of occupations in Dubai.

In view of the distance between Dubai and the countries that supply many of the region’s employees, it’s necessary for agents to act as middlemen. Private recruitment consultants and headhunters in western countries (and particularly in London and New York) deal with most managerial jobs in Dubai, while agencies in India (particularly Bombay), Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Korea, the Philippines (Manila) and Thailand (Bangkok) supply most of the enormous number of manual labourers employed in Dubai’s numerous construction projects.

Agencies tend to specialise in particular areas of work, e.g. medical and nursing staff, computer personnel, accountants, construction managers, executive and office staff, engineering and the technical trades. Agency and consultancy fees are paid by the employer, with no charge to staff. Fees are usually a percentage of the annual salary, ranging from 10 to 20 per cent for most jobs but lower for those with high salaries. Regular customers are often offered preferential rates.

Recruitment agencies in Dubai itself are sometimes used for placing expatriates in temporary work or for expatriate wives wishing to take up local employment. There are numerous regulations controlling the employment of spouses, and separate work visas are needed; the agent handles the details. Local agents are also used if expatriates change jobs. This, however, is uncommon, as expatriates are normally sent to Dubai under contract and job changes are restricted by their employers. You might under certain circumstances be allowed to break your contract, in which case a local agency might be of use. Otherwise, at the conclusion of your contract, a local agency might find you another job.

Government Employment ServiceDubai has no equivalent of the nationally-organised job centres found in western countries, and it’s the responsibility of the Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs to deal with employment (Department of Economic Development, PO Box 13223, Dubai (Tel. 971-4-222 9922)).

Dubai is trying to balance the need to import foreign labour with the interests of the local population, and companies are strongly encouraged to take on local nationals where possible. This ‘encouragement’ can be quite robust, and the Ministry is able to restrict the number of work visas issued or renewed to a company in order to comply with a quota of local intake.


Freelancing and Temping
What you should expect 

There are plenty of contract and freelance jobs in Dubai, many in the construction industry, shipbuilding and ship repairs, and the oil industry, including offshore installations.

However, the majority of contract and freelance appointments are made outside Dubai, and it’s rarely possible to arrive in Dubai without a job and find one locally. Many expatriate workers in Dubai are contracted either on a fixed-term contract (usually a year) or for a particular project, but many sub-contracted workers have managed to stay in the region for a number of years, having first arrived on a single, one-off, short-term contract. Work visas are still required, and it’s often a matter of who you know rather than what you know. But you’re helped by the fact that the expatriate community is close-knit and newcomers are sometimes surprised by the amount of help they’re offered.

Temporary & Casual WorkOwing to the number of expatriate workers on short-term contracts, there isn’t much casual and temporary work available, and you shouldn’t travel to Dubai with the purpose of finding temporary or casual work.

Over the last few years, however, increasing numbers of young westerners on a gap-year have managed to find temporary work in Dubai before travelling on to south-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand. If this is your intention, bear in mind that you’re up against workers from Asia who might be prepared to work for lower wages than a westerner would expect. Temporary and casual work might be available in the following areas:

• office administration, secretarial work and work in recruitment agencies;
  
  
• retail work during the height of the tourist season;
  
  
• bar staff in restaurants and nightclubs*;
  
  
• various jobs in ports such as crewing or making deliveries;
  
  
• market research street interviewers;
  
  
• nursing, for those with the qualifications;
  
  
• courier services with international companies;
  
  
• driving for companies offering desert tours.
  * Note that there are also ‘vacancies’ for women to act as hostesses in nightclubs; this work involves talking to male customers and encouraging them to run up large bar bills.

Temporary jobs tend to be advertised in English-language newspapers, on club notice boards and occasionally with recruitment agencies.

Trainees & Work ExperienceThe Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is active in helping their people to find employment. As a result, expatriates trying to obtain access to traineeships or work experience are unlikely to be successful. A well placed individual in a company may be able to find you a temporary position, but in general it isn’t worth pursuing.

Working conditions
Salary & Working hours 

Salaries in Dubai are usually similar to or greater than those paid in western countries.

But because the region has no personal taxation, net income is usually much greater, which is one of the major attractions of working in Dubai. In the past, remuneration packages were split into various elements: basic salary, car provision or allowance, housing provision or allowance, medical cover, education for children and air tickets for home visits. Today, however, employers tend just to pay a salary, which covers all these expenses, although in some cases there are performance or other bonuses.

In addition to their salary, contract workers are awarded an ‘indemnity’ at the end of the contract period. The indemnity is usually based on basic salary excluding any bonuses. The indemnity can be a significant amount of money if you’ve been working in Dubai for a long time, and many people manage either to accumulate a reasonable financial cushion or to live the high life. If you’re clever and disciplined, you should be able to do some of both. The indemnity has nothing to do with insurance but is an end-of-contract bonus which is required by law to be paid to expatriate workers as a sort of ‘thank-you’ for being of service to the state. (It’s also known as ‘end of service benefits’.) Indemnity scales usually amount to 15 (in some cases 20) days of basic pay per year of employment for the first three years and thereafter a month’s salary per year of employment.

Note that some Arab companies regularly delay the payment of salaries, cash flow problems being passed on to their staff. In this event, you have little alternative but to wait.

Working Hours & OvertimeThe working week in Dubai tends to vary between 40 and 48 hours, depending on the particular company’s policy. Office hours are usually from 8.30 or 9.00 am to 5.30 or 6.00 pm. There are no differences in time keeping between summer and winter. In the month of Ramadan, the working day is reduced to six hours and legally this should apply to all staff, but many companies only apply it to Muslims, who fast during daylight hours.

Friday is the Muslim rest day and, if your company has a five-day working week, the other day off will probably be either Thursday or Saturday. Saturday is the more popular choice for international companies, as taking Thursday off would mean a reduction in the number of operational days in common with much of the rest of the world. Conversely, other companies insist on Thursday, as the school ‘weekend’ is Thursday and Friday.