5herry

Hi All

Hope you had a great weekend.

I just wanted to see if anyone knows how long a residency visa takes to come through?

My work permit & employment visa has been approved and when I arrive I need to get my residency visa...BUT....from my research it seems I can't rent an apartment, open a bank a/c etc until I get this so was just trying to work out long I need in a hotel.

Also - normally what's the turnaround time for renting an apartment, so when I've seen one I like and negotiate an offer...how long does the Landlord / Estate Agent normally take to do all the paperwork and agree a move in date?

Thanks in advance and Happy St. Georges Day

NorthernLad

Hi,

It depends on how good the PRO is at your company, where I work it normally takes a week within arriving to get the residency. You do hear stories of some places taking months though.

Turnaround for apartments is very quick, you see one you like you then should be able to sign and move in as soon as you pay deposit, commission and first rent cheque. Some places will give you keys with just a deposit being paid.

I am not sure if the rules are the same, when we moved here we opened an Emirates Bank (now ENBD) account without residency, just had passport and letter from work. This allowed us to open a savings account (no credit card/cheque book) but meant salary and housing allowance could be transferred immediately. Once my residency came through I converted to a current account quite easily.

Hope that helps, good luck with the move!

5herry

Thanks NorthernLad

So I can start booking my flat viewings for as soon as I arrive - great!

Happy Easter