UK citizens looking to live in Dubai

[PinkBubblesxx]

Me and my partner are thinking of the possibility of relocating to Dubai for a better standard of living. We have a 7 month baby too. We are thinking of selling our property and using the funds from the sale to purchase a property in Dubai. I believe this grants you a 2 year visa which you have to renew every 2 years. We have visited Dubai lots, so are familiar with the culture and country. Does anyone have any advice or has lived in Dubai themselves? My partner can most likely work remotely over there but I think I would struggle to find a job as I work in as Office Support / Admin. I believe for education we will most likely need to fund for a private school ( which isn't as expensive as what it is in the UK.

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This thread is a few months old now. If you've found this page in search of information about moving to Dubai, you might find our guide on moving to Dubai with kids useful. Hope this helps! MNHQ

I used to live there and while it genuinely baffles me that anyone would consider it a better standard of living, or give that as their reason for moving there, your issue is that you can’t work on a residency visa, as far as I’m aware. If your DH needs to work, he will have to switch visas to a working one, and you can’t work. As that’s the case, why not just get a job and then he can sponsor you?

Really?

Be aware that if your marriage broke down you potentially wouldn't be able to leave alone with your child.

How much does your DH earn? Living expenses are really high and to get that standard of living you see out there on holiday you need to earn a lot. My sister lives out there and saw a lot of expats coming out thinking they were going to have a great standard of living on 100k but out there, and especially when you have children, that gets eaten up really quickly and they couldn't afford the lifestyle they thought they would have. And the benefits of working out there are that it's tax free which if your husband is wfh in a UK job you wouldn't have. Decent property is also more expensive and the ME is volatile. You could find yourself suddenly having to move back with all your money tied up in a property over there. It doesn't sound like you've given it much thought. Have you been over there in the summer when it's 130 degrees? How would you and your child cope with that? There's a website called dubai expats. You'd probably be better asking questions on there.

I'm pretty sure schools aren't cheaper than uk as well and you will have health care to consider as well. Your DH would be better looking for a job out there with a package included. You're looking at 200k plus to be comfortable

You need to be a earning good UAE salary with benefits (accommodation + school fees) to really get the better standard of living.

Unless of course you are earning an absolute fortune in the UK (£200/300k and upwards) and you're purely going there for the sun.

But that causes issues with visas as others have stated.

You also might want somewhere to come back to in the high, high summer. I personally don't mind it, it's the equivalent of a rainy horrible winter in the UK where you just don't go out much (I'm not in Dubai but still GCC).

Partner or husband? Take a look at women's rights and how they are actually treated there before you commit.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56065527

I've lived in Dubai for the last 16 years, feel free to message me any questions. There's also lots of useful Facebook groups which will really help.

Your residency visa is usually provided by your employer, your husband would need to get a job here. He can then sponsor you and your child. Employers must by law provide you with private healthcare and it's of an incredible standard.

Private schooling is your only option and it is extremely inexpensive, as is life in general here. If you are both prepared to work you will earn enough and have a good standard of living.

You will get ALL the MN Dubai naysayers on here but I can tell you there's thousands of us living quiet happy calm ordinary lives here, who absolutely love the UAE.

Very few UK employers would even consider this. The tax and legal ramifications are huge and costly.

I used to live there. It has no redeeming features as far as I am concerned. The humidity, lack of nature, human rights abuses, arrogance of many of the citizens. Lack of women's rights ( a man in a dish dash masturbated in front of me...I couldn't report this to the police as I would have been arrested). A hell hole.

Well, I lived there too, and, bluntly, the Brits who lived ‘quiet, happy, calm, ordinary lives’ in Dubai were generally a couple of specific types in my experience.

Shirtdress interesting, what period did you live here for and which area?

I can only speak to my own experience of course and that of my circle of friends/contacts/colleagues.

I'm not the poster you were asking, but I agree that there's a certain type of British person attracted to living in Dubai (perhaps more than the rest of the UAE, though I only spent time living in AD out of the other emirates.) Overwhelmingly lower-middle-class, not generally very well-educated, fiscally and socially Conservative but generally apolitical.

how interesting! i don't fit that demographic at all and neither does anyone in my circle. i do see some of these types though. I've been here almost 20 years and those of us long timers do have a very deep appreciation and love for the place. how long were you in AUH for?

@soberfabulous did you mean that schooling is expensive, rather than inexpensive?

I am living a calm ordinary life in Dubai, but I’m working 48 hours a week (minimum) and usually more. We earn a lot here, but have no DC and are at the end of our careers.

It’s an easy place to live, but traffic and public transport are dreadful at the moment, the summer heat and humidity is a killer, and most things are eye-wateringly expensive. I wouldn’t come here unless you/your husband get offered a great package.

agentprovocateur yes absolutely I meant expensive sorry for typo 🤪 I once did the maths for how much our DD's schooling would cost in its entirety and immediately wished I hadn't 🤪

On the plus side she loves school and is getting such a wonderful cultural experience with class mates from all around the world.

Summer is a killer but this is my seventeenth and I am ok with them now.

48 hours a week is part time in Dubai isn't it?!? Yes they work us very hard. I'm in comma and 12 hour days are absolutely the norm.

I think from the OP that she is not married - refers to partner rather than husband.

I thought that sex outside marriage was illegal in Dubai? Wouldn't it therefore be impossible for OP to live there without getting married?

No of course it's not. We were married before we went there however how do you prove you are married. We have different last names; no one asks for "proof of marriage".

@PinkBubblesxx not sure about the type of visa you are talking about. However, you will have a lovely standard of living if you earn loads of money...... and you better fact check aboit your husband being able to work remotely there as it doesn't sound like you will be contributing anything

alketbilaw.com/news-insights/does-the-law-allow-unmarried-couple-to-live-together/

It would seem that there was some relaxation of the law in 2023 but previously was illegal for unmarried couples to live together. Still very restrictive for unmarried couples and a pretty hostile environment. Can't say I would be comfortable there.

housearch.com/amp/en/blog/post/unmarried-couples-living-together-in-uae/

Sorry link didn't work, try again

You couldn't get me there for a gold clock

A colleague of mine worked there for a few years but moved back. He had real problems bringing money out of the country when he left. They really don't seem to want you to do that.

ukku quite...in 16 years no one ever asked for my marriage certificate and it's never happened to anyone I've met over that period.

At one point when unmarried and signing on a villa with my now DH, then boyfriend, we nervously told the landlord we were engaged as we were so worried about it. He laughed and said no issue.

Anyway the law has now been changed and it's fine to live together without being married, so no worries there.

The main issue with being unmarried is that the working husband could sponsor OP if she wasn't working and she could be a resident that way. if the OP doesn't want to work (which would be unwise due to the cost of living but anyway) she can't be sponsored by him if unmarried. Her tourist visa is 30 days and can be renewed by doing a visa run each month, but it's a hassle. You need your visa for pretty much everything..bank account healthcare etc.

How dreadful