Moving to Dubai

[Pikaso]

Anyone know the practicalities of moving to Dubai? (Asking for a 22 year old man).

He wants to work in real estate over there. Currently has no experience so I’ve suggested he get a job here first in estate agency.

But moving on from there … how feasible is it for a UK national to move to Dubai?

First thing surely is to look at getting a visa. Has he done that yet?

Yeah he’s looked into that, you can get a 30 day visa for free then need to apply for another one once you’re there.

With no experience it will he will be unlikely to get a job in Dubai. All the British people I know who have lived in Dubai were recruited from the UK and offered visas that way.

there is a series currently on BBC iplayer about life in Dubai - second episode touches on estate agents - no salary, all commission but can lead to big bucks -- might be worth a watch

It's living the dream for young people. The reality is somewhat different! The visa he will get for 30 days is a tourist visa. He can extend that by paying or by leaving and re-entering the country. This visa does not allow you to work, or open a bank account, or rent property, or connect utilities, or buy a car. For 'life' you need a residency visa. For a residency visa (not always, but in this case) he'll need a job. Real estate can pay a huge amount or absolutely nothing. It usually totally on commission. Obviously once you have a track record of sales, jobs are more likely to be salaried, but as someone with no proven record, it's most likely to be commission only. Dubai is indeed a playground for the young, but it also an extremely expensive place to live, with many, many people chasing the 'dream'. If he was interested in real estate I would have thought he should have known all of this!

Yeah, it's totally doable for someone from the UK to move to Dubai. You just need to plan things out and do some research. Best of luck with your plans, and who knows, maybe we'll both end up in Dubai at the same time!