Trapt777

Hi all

I am new here from London. Looking to move to Dubai but in a very complex situation. So logged in here to get some advice on stuff. In a nutshell:

I am from London. Fiance is from Saudi. We want to move to Dubai as it is the only place we can stay together easily and supposedly get good jobs and a home.

However - I have been looking for work since January and so has he. I am in IT tech support and his field is financial and we cannot get anything! I keep reading it is best to apply for a job first and then go - but I cannot seem to find anything so am at my wits end.

Also I work for a large intl firm that has offices in Dubai. I have been to see them and they have not yet offered a job as he says he has nothing for me but has given me a quote of AED2.5 - 4K as a salary for PC support. Is this a right Seems awfully less to me. What are they like about women in IT out there anyway?

I mean to be honest I would be OK not working in IT but I guess for Admin roles and such they would want you to have Admin experience as such

As you can imagine us maintaining a long distance relationship like this is driving us mad. Ideally all we want is to live comfortably. There are many big name firms out there - is it pointless applying over the internet and just going there to live first?

Seems to me that the main people who make it big there are CEO's, lawyers - basically middle management upwards. So how does everyone else live?!

Housing is another issue but I really have gone on enough for the moment. Any replies/help would be gratefully read!

Oh I guess I should add that we would get married before going out there but does anyone know how long it takes for a visa to be processed for me as a spouse? Then again if we buy a place I would get a residents visa anyway...

Thanks for reading

Bob

It's tough getting a job in IT and finance...if you've read any of the threads you'll see that they can import the Asian contingent for the job with more experience and qualifications that'll work double the hours and be prepared for 1/4 the salary....

Have a look through the faq's, there's plenty of info there on places to get work and all that...it'll probably be easier for him to get a job in Blighty....and you'll probably have to be married to come to UAE unless you both get jobs first really...

Jeeper

Sounds like a tough situation to be in.
I'm sorry I can't help but wish you the best of luck.

shiva

Hi and welcome to the forum,
To answer some of your questions, yes 2.5-4k is standard for IT support, you have to remember that companies here can attract and employ people from the sub continent at this level of salary and they will see it as very attractive and a considerable increase on what they can earn at home. These people have a very high level of skills and qualifications and were they to get the same job in Europe would be paid several times this.

Unless you are at mid to senior management level or get very very lucky this is the sort of salary you will be offered.
Incedentillay these salarys have nothing to do with gender, although it is not uncommon for a married woman to get offered a lower salary as companies will assume that your husbands package will cover your housing etc.

As for admin roles, why not, if you can use all microsoft packages and are well presented its worth a shot, although again there is a lot of competition and those with exerience are likely to get offered positions first.

regarding visa's, if you are married your husband can sponsor you if he has his residenvy, this is an easy process and will only take a couple of weeks, if you buy somewhere you will have to be married as i do not think that as an unmarried couple you could be joint owners and therefore one of you would not automatically get residence. (i am not certain regarding the exact regulations re buying and residency so check)

you mentioned that your fiance is in saudi, if so have you considered livinhg there, if he is a national he will find it easy to get work there.

hope that helps

shiva

Trapt777

Wow thanks so much for those replies. So we have experience in the two sectors it is hard to find employment in. Great.

Shiva he is a Saudi national. I could not possibly survive in Saudi. It is too much of a closed environment. Perhaps I could do a year or so but that is it. Being used to the freedom in Britain means I would feel very restricted in Saudi. That was why Dubai was so attractive to us as it appears to offer a good quality of life. Something we could not achieve in London... but it seems we may be stuck in London then.

Trouble with property is the large amounts of deposit they require as non GCC residents.

I guess we just don't have a hope at all.

Zannie

Hi there and welcome to the site.

Don't give up, if both of you are determined to live here, then the best approach now is to book up a week or two week holiday and let employment agencies know when you are out here and arrange a meeting with them. Recruitment/employment agencies receive thousands of CV's per day and as you can imagine, many of them don't even get looked at! We were lucky, my husbands works in TV and is well known in his field and was appoached by a company to come out here. But there are many expats here that come out here for a look/see and are lucky to get a job. In otherwords if agencies can see you are committed to coming out here, this will help you hopefully securing a job. There are various places that specialise in IT positions, and I assume you ahve heard of Internet City, they also have their own recruitment agency (look up Internet City on the web).

Also, why buy a villa at the moment, why not rent? This will give you a year or so to settle down and eventually you'll be able to chose an area whre you'd like to buy.

Good Luck and don't give up.

Zannie x

Trapt777

Aww thanks Zannie. I did go out there 3 weeks ago but I did not see any recruitment agencies. We were mainly looking for property. It seems no one takes internet applications seriously for so perhaps you are right we do just need to go there and see what happens. Not on a holiday... just drop everything and go. Bit risky though.....

I have heard of internet city but couldn't see any jobs there that were suitable.

The reason for not renting is because of the high deposit they require. I don't see how we can put that kind of money down in a years time when we will both be taking a cut in wages. It makes no sense to me.

Where are most of you all from and how did you get to Dubai and why?

Zannie

We're from the UK, Upminster in Essex to be exact.

With regard to a deposit, we had to pay 5% refundable of the yearly rental value to the landlord (which was just over 4000 dhs) and another 5% to the real estate company who found us the property, however you can always bypass the real estate commission as there are lots of villas and apartments advertised in the Gulf News and you'll see a few being advertised for rent on the advertising boards in Supermarkets such as Spinneys. It is annoying that it's the norm out here to pay a year's rental up front, however many companies offer a rent loan (they deduct a percentage each month out of your monthly salary over a year), or many of the banks offer rent loans (which are very easy to get - as long as you have a job). Also you can find short rentals around - handy when you are looking for something more permanent. And if you are really lucky, your company will pay your rental costs!!

We wasn't sure about coming here at first, it happened very quickly, but so glad we took the opportunity. Dubai is a great place to spend a few years making some money! Everything did sound quite scary before we got here, but now we are here, we really didn't have to worry.

Don't forget even if you do take a slight cut in wages, the standard of living out here is cheaper and you don't pay any income tax, plus petrol is cheaper than water!

If you can take the risk, go for it. The worst that can happen is you cut your losses and go home, but at least you gave it a go.

Zannie x

MJC

also have a look at http://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/ register for interest, then wait (seriously) that's what I did and now I'm here - working in IT!!

Trapt777

I should have mentioned that i meant buying not renting heh heh. Renting is not a problem for now but as we want to make Dubai a perm home for us it is better we buy first as that's what I meant about deposits. But the problem with buying is the huge amount of deposit (30%) you have to come up with if you are non UAE National. Even though my fiance is a GCC resident that counts for nothing


Everyone does say it is a great place to make money but I am really not so sure about that. Taking a cut in salary is ok - I understand the cost of living being cheaper (anywhere is cheaper than London lol) but right now I am seeing jobs at AED 4k - AED6k which I think is a little low. Forgive me if I am wrong but surely we would need to bring in a total income of AED15k a month to be living an average lifestyle and being able to save? Or have I got it all wrong?

MJC - I had a look on that site but it seems they are very particular about what they want. Perhaps I need to lie about my background and get some fake referrals! Good God!

Thanks again for all your replies and do keep them coming in. Any ideas on what I can do would be appreciated

Sid2

Hi.

The job market here is segregated. If a Company wants a Westerner, then this will be clearly indicated in the job ad through the use of words such as: "UK/USA/SA educated". For jobs targeted to Westerners, the pay will definitely not be in the 4-6k range, but will be sufficiently high for a person to get "Western-quality" accommodation in a good area; live a Western-quality life-style & also save some money.

For example, today's Gulf News gives the following positions:
Job 1: "Personal Assistant/ Office Manager (UK/USA/SAF/AUST Educated) - AED 12,000-15,000"
Job 2: "Secretary - Female - AED 3000-3500"

For job 1, the Company wants a Westerner, while for job 2, they will be OK with an Asian.

You are, of course, free to apply to a non-Western job, but if the Company's budget is only 4-6k for position X, then they are unlikely to easily increase this to 15k after having a look at your CV.

In terms of places to look for jobs, the print edition of Gulf News is *the* source for job listings for the UAE. Your fiance would be easily able to get a copy in Saudi. In the UK, it should hopefully be available at newsagents operating in London areas with large Arab populations.

P.S. If your fiance is a Saudi national, then this would automatically open up a number of jobs for him, which are restricted to Arabs or GCC Nationals. Again, this preference will be clearly indicated in the job ads.

Zannie

You can also get an online version of the Gulf News and up to date job vacancies:

www.gulfnews.com/Classifieds/default.asp

Zannie

Bob

You considered Bahrain or Qatar as other alternatives to the UAE?

Truth Speak

Welcome T 777, If u want a bit more in depth advice it would be a good idea to PM Shiva.

Hope the job hunting goes well

Hope ur sure about buying

Take it easy

TS

Sid2

Actually, the link won't be of much help to T777 ...

From the Gulf News website: "Please note that at present the Appointments supplement which accompanies the print edition of the Gulf news is not available online."

The jobs listed in the classifieds section of Gulf News (as opposed to the Appointments supplement) are for very low-paid staff & not the sort of positions that T777 is looking for.