Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Currently my partner and i support our 4 year old child earning approx GBP70,000 pa plus cars/pensions etc.
i think i may have an offer of GBP50,000 to GBP60,00 + £12,500 living allowance + benefits/car etc= + relocation allowance.
If we take it, my partner won't work for at least 6 months and would then have to work part time, if at all, so our joint income will drop.

Will we have a good standard of living on the pay and benefits offered?

Can anyone tell me what the working week is and whether this is in line with school days; which i understand to be Sat - Wed.

I can categorically state that you will be much better off taking the job in dubai. When you take into account the amount of tax you pay in the UK, your net income will be considerably higher.

The only chink in your package is the accomodation allowance. To rent a villa you need to be looking at 120k Dhs mimimum that equates to about £18500.

Someone on here i know on a similar salary, has used part of his wage to top up the rent allowance from his company. Even if you were to do the same, you would still have the same net income level as you currently have in the UK.

But taking into account the low cost of living in DXB compared to the UK, you further gain on net income.

For school info do a search on user "Gabs". she is the school info guru on here or pm her. Also use the search funtion there is a lot of info regarding schools/costs/times etc here.

The working week is either Sat - Weds or Sund - Thurs, it just depends on the company.

Good luck

Arnie ...

you missed this bit ...

"Currently my partner and i support our 4 year old child ... "

i'm assuming unmarried parents living as common law husband and wife - but may be wrong

another very common occurance that seems to come through the forum along with all the associated queries and problems - it may be worth putting some of the issues related to the topic into a sticky????

dbxsoul wrote:it may be worth putting some of the issues related to the topic into a sticky????

Volunteering???

If you do so and inform me, I will lock your sticky so that it remains there intact.

Just advise me

mmmm okay, youv'e twisted my rubber arm... let me put things in a logical sequence and spell check them

dbxsoul wrote:mmmm okay, youv'e twisted my rubber arm... let me put things in a logical sequence and spell check them

Cool

Unmarried – Brining partners and dependants to Dubai

1. Living together when unmarried is a practice that is not condoned by moral Muslim principles or Sharia Law, upon which the UAE legal system is based.
2. Under Sharia Law it is illegal for unmarried people (male and female or male and male as a matter of fact) to live together as a couple.
3. This obviously poses problems for expatriate “couples” moving to the UAE from abroad where they may have been living as common law husband and wife, or just living together without being legally married.

What are the practical problems faced in the UAE

Under normal circumstances a husband and wife will move to the UAE, with the husband being sponsored by his employer. In certain circumstances the wife may take the roll of primary sponsor – normally if she is employed in a field such as medicine.

Under normal circumstances the wife and any children are in turn sponsored to stay in the UAE by the husband (according to the criteria laid out in the labour law) and they reside together as a family.

However, if the couple is not married the following problems are normally experienced when moving:

• The “wife” cannot be sponsored by the “husband” as you need to submit your marriage certificate as part of the sponsorship documentation.
• Any children normally considered legal dependants (in most other countries) are not recognized (as the marriage is not legal by Sharia definition) and cannot either be sponsored.

What steps can be taken to circumvent this?

• In short the easiest, method is to get married (even if this is just a legality); this then removes the sponsorship issues described above.
• The second method is the “wife” to enter the UAE and find legitimate employment which would then afford her sponsorship by her employer.
• Thirdly, depending on the nationality the “wife” could enter and exit the country on a regular basis to extend what would then be a “visitor” status (on a Visitors Visa). There are differences in the status and entitlements afforded to different nationalities, so the last option may not always be a feasible solution.

Living together while unmarried is illegal in the UAE and you could face criminal action which varies from imprisonment, fines, deportation and forced marriage (or a combination). However, due to the liberal attitudes in Dubai, this is hardly ever enforced unless a formal complaint is made to the Police, in which case they are obliged to take action (bare in mind ex-wives, mistresses, and jilted lovers!). Also note that this is in Dubai - other Emirates have a much stricter/ othadox interpretation and implementation of the situation.

Thanks for that DBX. Blimey!
lf anything comes of this, we may have to bring forward the big day.
Does being engaged count for anything? She (the cats mother) was hoping to work after about 6 months, if we settle. Will there be any problem with this?

Thanks for your thoughts too Arnie re the possible package. Is the cost of living that much better, and can you tell me please what 85k Dhs will get us; or is 120k the minimum for something comfortable in the right area?

Is life as good as it sounds over there. In other words, if we end up quits on the package, will the quality of life make up for things as much as it seems?

Thanks for the info re schools. I have to say that, from what i've seen and read so far, the standard of schooling over there is helping to make my mind up.

Lastly (sorry about this) i believe it can get as hot as 50c over there. Is that right and apart from air-con etc how do kids (and working adults!)cope with that. I get the impression that it's by starting the day earlier.

Thanks again all.

it's a cool 42 degree c this morning
yes it does get up to 50, but only on the odd occasion. during summer it normally hovers between 42 and 46. ambient night temperature is about 35c during sumemr. the humidity is really the killer though - up to about 90% at times. much like singapore, but hotter.

during the summer months the schools close for almost 3 months (june/ july/ august). many expat (and local) familys leave for the summer. in previous years the place was almost like a ghost town over summer although it is changing and more people stay through summer.

last year (and presumably this year) the labour department imposed a work restriction on manual outdoor labour between 12 and 4. this lead to a lot of companies starting much earlier to make up the lost time. the construction industry works a lot at night as working with scalding hot pieces of steel in the mid-day sun is counter productive to say the least.

personally i hate summer here, but there are those that like it

d

i'm affraid 85k will just about get you a nice 1 bed appt in the Marina area. It all depends where you want to live though. Most expats will go for the free zone area being Marina, springs, gardens, meadows, lakes, AR etc . Even @ 120k you will struggle to get a 2 bed villa.

Really mate, you wont believe the cost of living here, its soooooooo cheap. Petrol 90p gallon, fags £1, tin of coke 15p, eating out at least 1/2 price of UK etc etc.

Air Con rules in Dubai D, everywhere is super cold in the summer, shops, malls, restaurants etc.

I am affraid Soul is correct, being unmarried with a 4 year old is going to be a problem for you. Also you wont be able to sponsor your partner, and she will have to leave every 60 days to renew her visit visa. She will NOT be able to work either.

thanks folks. we appreciate your help

It's coincidence, but we got the ring today;so if things work out package wise etc and if needs be...we can do the rapid marriage bit.

What do you two do for a living, how long have you been there and how
do you cope. Are either of you Brits?
You both seem more than happy. Is it the whole thing that makes it that way, or is it the financial stuff?

I am a Brit yes, but i dont live in DXB. I can if i want i have residency, i choose not too. I am just a frequent poolside visitor, as i have my own place out there.

Good luck

i work in retail and have lived here for just on 5 years.

a warning though... everything is not "roses" here, it is hard work and the streets are not paved with gold. but, if you work hard you can make a good go of things. about a quarter of the people i have met here have packed it in after about a year or eighteen months.

the shear fact that the region is "booming" economically attracts people from all over the world ... i could prehaps liken it to the "gold rush" days of old... this creates tremendous pressure, tension and rivalry - not to mention competition for work, in the work place and socially. sometimes i could liken it to an episode of "survivor" and you are happy to walk away at the end of the day without your torch being quashed!

"who dares wins"

Hi Liban, would you mind popping the post "Unmarried – Brining partners and dependants to Dubai " into sticky, unless anyone has anything to add ....

thanks

You done a great job as usual Soul - brill and thanks

Can anyone tell me please what if any uk tv sport you get over there, and whether UK children's tv is available via satelite etc. Or is this something you leave behind?

You get ooooooodles of channels!! Kids stuff like Disney, Boomerang, Nickelodeon and UK stuff etc etc.