The popularity of the emirate of Dubai is increasing with expatriate Britons, Americans and Europeans as the credit crunch continues to bite back home, and job opportunities dry up. Dubai is seen as something of an enigma in these current times as it continues to advance economically speaking, it continues to offer a low/no-tax lifestyle where the standard of living borders on the luxurious, and there are still plenty of employment opportunities.
We have received a greater intensity of interest in information about working in Dubai in recent months than at any other point in our history, and as a direct result we wanted to produce a comprehensive guide for our readers about how to find employment, take up a job and begin a new life living and working in Dubai in the UAE.
In this guide we will discuss ways to find work, the employment sectors that are currently recruiting, how to make the move, tax considerations and even taking your family with you to live in the United Arab Emirates.
How to Find Work in Dubai
Because Dubai is more than a short hop away for the vast majority of those expats who actually want to work in the emirate, for most people getting a job in Dubai is done remotely. There are numerous ways to go about this process – the first and perhaps most straightforward is through visiting one of the jobs expos that recruiters from the emirate attend in locations around the world such as London. There is just such an expo in London in March – called the Opportunities Dubai & Gulf States Expo, it will be at Olympia Two from the 7th to the 8th of March. Such an event will bring everyone from recruitment companies to firms actively seeking employees, from relocation experts to commentators on the region who can advise you.
You will be given the chance to submit your CV to recruitment companies, actively enquire about jobs, perhaps line up an interview and maybe even secure an offer of a job there and then. You will also be able to find out so much more about what it’s really like to live and work in Dubai, that such an event can be totally invaluable. Look at major events centres in your nation or region for a similar expo, or get online and search for one.
Your other alternatives when it comes to finding work in Dubai include contacting specialist recruitment companies and agencies. These usually charge the employer not the employee for finding candidates, and they specialise in one area of employment such as medical recruitment or management recruitment for example. Again, the best way to find such companies is through an intensive web search. Contact them via email or call them, find out all about the positions they may have to suit you, consider having your CV or resume professionally written, and then be proactive by regularly keeping in touch with the recruitment agents to see where your CV has been placed and the feedback it receives.
You could also consider looking online at the Gulf States’ newspapers and information portals where recruiters sometimes advertise jobs, or you could identify which companies exist in Dubai that might well benefit from your professional services. Contact such companies directly by telephone, find out who you need to speak to in personnel or recruitment and then personalise a letter of introduction with which you send your CV. Follow up this letter with regular communication and see whether this can assist you in your search for a suitable job in Dubai.
Popular Expatriate Employment Sectors in Dubai
To determine where there are likely to be jobs for expatriates living in Dubai why not look more closely at the Free Trade Zones – for within these economic zones the majority of international companies operate. You have Dubai Internet City where most jobs are ICT related, Dubai Media City which incorporates companies and therefore jobs in the broadcasting, advertising, publishing and production sectors. DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) is home to banking, finance and insurance type companies and jobs, Dubai Maritime City is a service centre for the maritime industry, the Airport Free Zone is where there’s everything from straight airline related jobs to companies specialising in import and export. Also, what about the Jebel Ali Free Zone which is the oldest of all the FTZs, the Biotechnology and Research Park, Healthcare City, Logistics City or Knowledge Village.
All of these free zones house companies employing expatriates in everything from management to engineering, construction to finance, education to healthcare, information technology to consultancy. There are even jobs in the tourism industry, there are opportunities for those who teach English as a foreign language, and if you set your mind to it and look more objectively at your own skill and experience set, you will probably find an employment sector that could benefit from your valuable self.
Making the Move to Dubai
Once you’ve found a job in Dubai you will be sponsored by your employer to go and live and work in the emirate. Your sponsored status will give you a temporary residency permit valid for the duration of your employment. If you wish to change employer, this may be a possibility, however you will have to make sure your current employer has no objections and that your new employer will take over your sponsorship. However, you can only change jobs so many times in Dubai as a foreign worker. See our article entitled How to Change Jobs in Dubai for more information, as well as the article Employer Sponsored Residence Visa/Permit in Dubai for help with making the move to the emirate.
Tax Implications of Working in Dubai
Whilst your salary will most likely be paid to you tax free in Dubai, you may still have a taxation obligation in your original home nation. You may take up official residence in Dubai within weeks of arriving when you finally have your residency permit, but unless you follow certain steps and fit various criteria, you may well be regarded as still tax resident in your old home nation.
For Brits going to live and work in Dubai who have a firm offer of employment before they leave, filling in form P85 may be sufficient proof that you are no longer resident for tax purposes in the UK from the day you leave. However, you must take expert advice about your tax position, and ideally you should begin this advice process before you leave. Contact your home tax government agency and enquire about the steps you have to take in order to de-register your taxable presence in that country. Once you are not considered tax resident in your old nation and you are instead considered a full resident in Dubai, then you can really begin to explore and enjoy your tax advantageous position.
Taking Your Family to Dubai
If you want to relocate your family to live with you in Dubai you have to sponsor them – we have written an article about the process entitled Sponsoring Your Family to Live in Dubai. It covers everything from getting them in to the nation on a temporary visa, to getting them through the required medical checks and paying for their residency visa. Please note that if you’re a woman going to work in the UAE and you will want to sponsor your husband and children, this is not always possible unless you are in a sufficiently high paying job in a specific employment sector such as education or healthcare. So do check in advance of your relocation that you will be able to sponsor them.
Finally, whilst the rest of the world seems to suffer from the global economic crisis, Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates, whilst not immune are certainly coping much better with the way things are progressing fiscally speaking. This can mean that there are more opportunities in Dubai and it can mean that for at least a fixed term contract, an offer of a job in Dubai could be just what you need to ride out the recession in comfort - if not style!
