Friday, October 28, 2011

Working in the UAE


In order to live the UAE, you must obtain a residency visa or be a dependent of someone who has a residency visa. As a result, most people who live here will have jobs or be able to stay on an investor visa (I will cover this at some point).

As a side note, women who are unmarried can stay in the country on their parents’ visas, which is quite useful; men can only do this until the age of 18.

Depending on which sector you work in, the benefits you receive with each job will differ. However, there are some things that apply nationwide and to every employee. This is a fairly wide topic and I expect I will have to add to it intermittently.

We’re quite lucky in the emirates, since your employer is duty-bound by law to provide you with health insurance and a ticket back home.  If you have a family, the employer will usually also cover their visas, medical insurance and tickets back home.

Visa and medical test
To get a residency visa, everyone is obligated to take a tuberculosis X-Ray and a blood test for HIV and AIDS, Hepatitis, leprosy and in some cases pregnancy. Except for pregnancy, please note positive results of any of the others will result in immediate deportation. In the case of pregnancy of a woman applying for a job, it is up to your employer to decide whether you should still be employed. If you are unmarried and pregnant, it will be treated as a criminal offense here.

Leaving before your contract Ends
This can be tricky, but things are getting better here. According to UAE Labour law, you aren’t allowed to move from one employer to a competitor-unless you receive a NOC (No Objection Certificate-learn this, you will need one for a lot of things) Usually employers aren’t so kind as to provide you with an NOC, which means you will either have to work in a completely different industry-which for obvious reasons can be impossible-or be banned from working in the UAE for at least a year. The UAE is working to change this rule. This article may help you to understand it better.


Things to be aware of
·      Some private companies try to keep hold of your passport when you start working with them. This is illegal, and usually an HR department will back off if you bring this to their attention. They may compromise and take your labour card instead. The Ministry of Labour works very hard to ensure that contracts are adhered and will penalise companies that try to rip you off. The worker's rights are taken quite seriously and your complaint will be taken seriously.

·      During Ramadan every employee, Muslim or not, should work 2 hours less in the day. In government companies, it's an 8 hour work day and usually the timings are from 7.30 to 3.30- but 7.30 to 1.30 in Ramadan. In private companies the timings are usually 8am-5pm and in Ramadan 8am to 3pm. However,  some private employers don’t follow this rule and will go through extreme measures to ensure their employees work the regular 9 hours. If you do work a 9-hour day during Ramadan you are entitled to 2 hours in lieu per day. Ministry of labour inspectors go round to ensure companies are sticking to the Ramadan hours, and you can contact them to organise a 'spot' inspection at your office if your company is not abiding by the law.

·      If you work on public holidays like Eid, National Day etc, you are entitled to the days off. Eid holidays fall on a different date each year since Muslims work according to a lunar calendar. You should get 30 days of annual leave

·      When you sign a contract, your company may offer you a ‘furniture allowance’ of around 8-10,000 dihams. You will have to pay this back if you work for the company for less than 2 years. You also have the option of an interest free loan from your company to pay your rent if your landlord is asking for the full yearly amount in one cheque. Try not to do this though, and instead look for a place to stay where the landlord asks for 4 or more cheques. 

·      Your company medical insurance doesn’t usually cover dental, maternity or optical. You may want to think about an additional medical plan for these things

·      Most companies will work through the working week (Sunday to Thursday) with Fridays and Saturdays off. However there are a few businesses that work 6 day weeks (Saturday to Thursday) but the Saturday will be a shorter working day than the rest of the week

This is the link from Gulf Talent, which has a translated version of the UAE labour law for more information.


If you have any questions at all, feel free to comment or email me and I will be happy to answer them. Similarly, if you feel I have left anything out, please let me know. I would love to have positive or negative feedback.


Friday, October 21, 2011

Renting in the UAE


This post is going to give quite a broad overview, or it will never end, because this is a HUGE subject. I’ll start with a background before moving on to where to live.

It’s advisable to use an estate agent to find your property, because all the paperwork will get done in half the time. This costs a commission of around 2,500 dirhams, and is usually worth it. Also, the agent usually knows someone who can sign up to the water and electricity department for you (for about 200 dirhams more) which means you don’t have to sit in the queue for hours. Make sure your agent is reputable, use one that has either been recommended to you or from a big company, as this could save you problems later. 

When you sign on to a property, make sure you read the tenancy contract and your landlord signs it before you do. Also make sure you have his details, because a lot of times, he will live in another country and you will probably not see him during the entire transaction>and because they have the agent’s details, people tend to forget about the landlord.

Usually, on top of agent’s commission, you will have to pay a deposit for the flat of 5 percent of the rent. Sometimes, there is also a cooling deposit (for air-conditioning), which means you will pay for AC every month on top of the water and electricity bill- though sometimes the landlord takes care of this. When you sign up for water and electricity, you will need to put a deposit down of around 1,000 dirhams, depending on your emirate. All of these funds will have to be paid by cash or cheque.

Pets are not welcome in some apartment buildings, it seems to be a fairly new concept here and while it isn’t a hostile environment to pets, it can seem so sometimes. Pet owners that don’t use leads in public places could be fined and the government are planning pet parks, but for the time being, if you have a pet, find out the situation at the apartment building you’re moving into.

Where to live?

The most populated emirates in the UAE are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman. The last two because they are incredibly cheap to live in-and while they aren’t far (in UAE terms) there is so much traffic in the mornings and evenings heading in and out of them; that they may as well be in another country. People who do take this route usually have a big family and tend to carpool, or carpool to the Rashidiya metro station and I presume, stock up on podcasts.

Traffic is a problem generally across the Emirates because of many of the road structures being incomplete or not updated. The increasing population also makes things a bit congested (as I write the population of the UAE is at just over 8.2 million) but you’ll soon learn routes that will take you where you want to go without traffic. Just like you will learn all about how the road signs, roundabouts, four way lanes have the potential become something completely different overnight, without warning. You'll also learn that road signs end before they've directed you to where you want to go, and sometimes they are placed at the start of the exit you were supposed to turn into, which means you miss it. I have heard the relevant road authorities are looking into these issues.

Every new apartment block in the ‘new’ areas of Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi usually have communal gyms and pools, many of them have 24 hour security (which is completely unnecessary but comforting nonetheless) I'll put the prices in dirhams per year.


Renting in Abu Dhabi:

Even though the emirate of Abu Dhabi is biggest in the country according to its landmass, the city itself is crowded and expensive to rent in. Prices have dropped by over 30 percent in the last 3 years but in Dubai they’re dropped by more than 60 percent. Many people prefer to commute the hour-long journey from Dubai where the rents are much cheaper. However there are cost-effective options out of the main city but still within the Municipality of Abu Dhabi, like Khalifa City.

Working on a two bedroom apartment in dirhams, I’ll just give you a broad idea of how much the rents are in some of the newer areas of Abu Dhabi.

Al Reem Island- 140-160,000

Al Reef- 100-120,000

Al Raha Beach 140-160,000

Danat Abu Dhabi – 100-130,000

Ras Al Khadr – 150-180,000

Khalidiya- 150- 180,000

Khalifa City A 60-90,000

Khalifa City B 80-120,000

Except for Khalidiya, many of these places are in quite inconvenient (in my opinion) locations. It’s difficult to get to the main road, schools are few and far between and supermarkets or corner-shops are not within walking distance. However, it’s all changing pretty rapidly and some shops deliver.

Renting in Dubai

Having lived and rented in Dubai myself, I feel most comfortable talking about this emirate, also having house-hunted here A LOT, I know so much more about it more from personal experience than the research I had to do for this post.

There are many places to rent in Dubai, and I can’t go through all of them so this is just a very, very broad overview.

Undoubtedly, the cheapest places to rent in Dubai are International City and Discovery Gardens. However, they come with their own problems such as over-crowding and not always the best type of clientele, but there are little grocery stores close by and lots of restaurants around. Discovery Gardens has my favourite mall across the road from it (Ibn Battuta) Rents in these areas start from 30,000 for a studio apartment and 38,000 for a 1-Bed. There is metro access here.

Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) and Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR)- the last two are not in Jumeirah, I mention this because everyone who comes to visit me assumes they are. I presume they were given this name exactly because Jumeirah is a famous area. Rents in these places have gone down to half in some parts.  They are close to the beach, have metro access, in reasonably convenient locations and close to shops and supermarkets. If you pay for a school bus, most stop by these areas. JLT is the cheapest option with a 1 bedroom starting at 52,000. In the Marina area there are a bunch of new buildings that have opened and the starting price for renting is around 55,000 for a 1-Bed. It’s more advisable to walk around the different buildings you want to look at and speak to the guards at the front desk, they usually have keys to view certain apartments, know the prices and can put you in touch with the owner directly-which also means no commission fees. In JBR it’s ever so slightly more expensive than the marina, but prices here are dropping too.

Motor City, Mirdiff and Bur Dubai- I love Motor City and while it seems far out; it isn’t really, its about a 20 minute drive from the Marina and 10 minutes from Mall of the Emirates/ Al Barsha area and excellent access to Emirates Road, which has no salik and is more convenient to get to Bur Dubai than Sheikh Zayed Road in my opinion. It’s got great, facilities and lots of walking, it’s close to the Autodrome but not really noisy, unless you live right opposite the course I suppose. There isn't any metro access. 1-Bed rents start at 50,000. 
Mirdiff rents start at 40,000 for 1-Beds, there is a lot of walking areas here also, but it actually is far out. There is the Mirdiff City Centre mall close by, which is a good mall. 
Rents in Bur Dubai start at 45,000 for a 1-Bed, it’s a convenient area to live, has metro access, shops and schools close by, right next to the actual area of Jumeirah and great especially if you work here, there are pavements/ sidewalks, but the traffic is insane.

Jumeirah- Jumeirah Road, Al Wasl Road and Sheikh Zayed Road are all parallel to each other. There are mainly villa-sharing options in this area and this is illegal, unless you are part of the same family. There are some apartments in Jumeirah 1, which are highly over-priced in my opinion. However if you are moving with your family, you could rent a 4 bedroom villa for around 120,000 dirhams, sometimes less. There are a lot of ladies clubs, kids clubs, open and closed beaches, hotels, small malls. It’s very social, possibly because it is one of the oldest areas in Dubai. I loved living in Jumeirah, some Starbucks delivers-Oh! They deliver in Motorcity also.

Areas I haven’t included because of time constraints but may be worth a look, Al Barsha, the Greens, the Lakes the Springs, Downtown, Green Community (Jebel Ali)

Renting in Sharjah

Sharjah is a very convenient emirate to live in, except for the traffic. My friends who live here seem to have extremely cheap cleaners, everything gets delivered, cheaper food prices, all kinds of Indian and Arabic restaurants dotted about, and unlike Dubai, it feels like the Middle East. However, Sharjah residents do, sometimes for weeks, have to put up with power cuts during the height of summer. This causes a host of issues like having to walk up hundreds of flights of stairs because lifts don’t work, stewing in your own sweat because the air-conditioning can’t be turned on and all your food in the freezer going off. However, SEWA (the Sharjah electricity and water Authority) says it tries to anticipate the problem and this year, it was much better than last, and the year before that. I remember only a week of power cuts in 2011.

Sharjah residents have told me that Al Nahda and Taawun are the best areas in the emirate. From what I’ve seen, Al Nahda comes across as more crowded yet cheaper. A 1-Bed here starts at around 38,000. In Taawun it is much more expensive-1-Beds start at 48,000-but its also a ten minute drive (apparently) to Sheikh Zayed Road and therefore Dubai and close to the Sharjah Corniche area with some beautiful views.

Just an interesting note, in Sharjah, for some reason, I have heard that many buildings claim to offer a pool and gym, when they don’t. When this is questioned, the landlord usually replies that they mean to open them in a few weeks and will show tenants a room that is ready to hold gym gear and another area with a dug-out pool. The tenant is satisfied, moves in but the pool remains devoid of water and the gym remains empty. So, if you’re the kind that needs a pool and gym (who isn’t?) then make sure your building has them before you move in.


What to do in case of a dispute

The rules differ depending on the emirate you are living in. It is advisable to ensure you have a photocopy of all the cheques that you have given to the estate agent including the deposit cheque/ receipt, your tenancy agreement and your landlord’s passport copy.


Also, once you sign your tenancy contract, make sure you have registered on the RERA website as a tenant. If you do not, they may not be able to help you (http://rpdubai.ae/English/about_us/about_ld.aspx ; http://www.abudhabi.ae/egovPoolPortal_WAR/appmanager/ADeGP/Citizen?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=p1374&lang=en )

In most emirates, you can raise a dispute with your municipality rather than the land department. Usually the law is in the tenant’s favour because the government are aware of the unscrupulous nature of some estate agents.

Bringing a case forward however involves a lot of running around and document translation. This can be done at any typing centre, which are sometimes poky little offices dotted around the older areas of your emirate (Like Bur Dubai) where your documents will be translated according to government requirements for a small fee.

I hope this post has been useful for you, next week I plan to tackle working in the UAE and your working rights, and the week after that Emirates Identity cards.

As always, feel free to contact me if you think I have missed something out, have any questions about the blog, or if you think I should add anything. Happy house hunting!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Getting A Sim Card



Having been in the UK all of my adult life, I found it rather odd when I moved to the UAE that I couldn’t walk into a supermarket, pick up a sim card, buy some credit and make my first call.
Here in the Emirates, there are only two mobile phone providers, Etisalat and Du. Etisalat is older and more established as a provider, so can in some caes have a more refined service. Du, however, can have seemingly better and cheaper offers, in the name of ‘competition.’

Both are also providers for home broadband, home telephone line and television services.

Both providers are divided across the country more or less equally, which means certain areas have better signal with Etisalat and other areas have better signal with Du. This is apparently going to change very soon, we shall see. Most people I know tend to have two mobile phones for this purpose, one for each provider. I  have two phones too, except one provider is for work and the other is for family and friends. I chose Etisalat as my ‘work’ provider solely because it is more reliable and even in ‘non-etisalat areas’ you can still get a reasonable signal, and this isn’t always the case with du. Du is used for my family and friends because it has slightly cheaper rates and can be better value for money, if you get a signal.

PAY AS YOU GO VS DIRECT DEBIT
If you would like a pay as you go option, you will need to a Du or Etisalat stall either in a mall, or if you really can’t wait-there should be both at the airport when you land. You will need your passport and must fill in a form. A photocopy of your passport will be taken, and you can be on your way.  One of the issues with this is you cannot top up over the phone if you’re in a fix, and sometimes supermarkets or cornershops have run out of top-up. You can top up online, if the website is working, though both Etisalat and Du seem to have frequent issues. Friends can transfer credit to you using *100*yournumber*amount#

Direct debit is much easier, though it also comes with its issues. When you sign up to a contract, you do not get a free phone and the free minutes and sms are paltry when compared to overseas providers.  But at the same time you wont run out of credit, so it makes sense to go direct debit. To do this, you will need a UAE-issued debit or credit card and your passport and UAE visa. Copies of all will be taken, a form will be filled and you can go on your way.  It does involve standing in a long queue, so be prepared for this.

Once all the paperwork is done, it could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 hours for your sim to work. In a lot of cases, the pay as you go starts working quicker, but this isn’t a rule set in stone.

All of the above may seem quite negative but living in the UAE can be fun!  There’s constant sunshine, amazing food and restaurants from around the world, cleanliness everywhere you go, brilliant concerts, mosques in every mall, most weekends are infected with a holiday atmosphere and where else in the world is it totally normal for practically every woman who lives here to get manicures, pedicures and massages every week? Also, being a woman is advantageous because in most government offices, there is a separate queue for women which is much shorter and makes your life much easier. AND everyone delivers to your door! Pizza companies, supermarkets, even some branches of Starbucks!

The best part of the UAE, and one I will miss immensely when I go back to England is the safety. There is no violence to fear here- to illustrate that car theft is classified by the police as a ‘major crime’.

So while I’m sure a lot of my posts will probably sound quite aggravated, it’s not all that bad.

In my next post, I’ll cover rent prices and places to stay.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Moving to the UAE



Hello! 

This blog is intended to help people moving to the country or people who have just moved to the country go about your way with minimal difficulty. Most expats that arrive in the UAE have to go through motions blindly. This lack of understanding (mainly due to a hundred different and mostly incorrect reasons given for doing them ) makes everything more difficult than it needs to be. Having lived here and worked in an industry that allows me to become embroiled in the bureaucracy myself, I hope I can help you navigate through the maze of inconvenience.

So here, all in one place is a list of things you need to know before moving over.

Below, you will find list of some of the topics I plan to cover and after that a short write up on how to get a sim card, which is probably the first thing you should do when you land.

Other topics I plan to cover shortly are below.

Your Working Rights (Some of these laws like the maternity work law are changing so they are in limbo.)
Visa Medical Test
Using Public Transport Vs Car
Getting DEWA/ SEWA/ ADEWA (Water and Electricity)
Housing Fees (A sort of municipality tax)
Getting a home Du/ Etisalat account
Converting Your Driver’s license
Getting An Emirates ID card
E-Gate card (changed my life!)
What to do after a Car Crash- minor crashes happen here more often than you think
Living with your partner, Gay couples and Home-sharing
Paying Fines
Registering your car
Salik Toll
Organic Foods
Getting a PO Box
Maternity Leave-45 days including weekends, is it now 2 months?
Football Matches, concerts, things to do (Will be updated as and when)
Dealing with Customer Service People (Trust me, you will need to read this before coming here, if only to keep your sanity)



To start with, I’ll update this blog every Friday. I will also be happy to answer questions you may have or if I don’t have the answers, to find them out for you. 

I would also appreciate if you would let me know if there is something in here that you don’t understand or don’t agree with.  Also, if there is something you think should be included, please let me know and I’ll put it up.

Until then, welcome to the sun, sand and constant holiday atmosphere UAEans call home.



All views are my own as are any opinions I express on newspapers, companies, people etc.