Moving to Dubai
Contents of this article
If you’ve got a contract for job in Dubai, visited Dubai to see it, your spouse likes the city, then you have nothing to do but move.
Dubai Visa
To enter the UAE you will need to either stamp a visa upon arrival or ask your employer to apply for a visa for you.
Read more about the visa in Dubai Visa post.
Shipping your stuff to Dubai
Check your contract if it includes shipping your stuff. It is quite expensive, and if it is covered by your employer, you would definitely save some money.
The shipping company you would choose to move your stuff to Dubai will depend on where you are going from. If you are moving from Europe, better to try using one of the major international moving companies. Check Crown Relocations and Interdean.
If you don’t want to be disappointed, I would trust professionals.
Fly Dubai
Some employers provide fly-in tickets with the contract. Check yours.
How you arrive in Dubai surely depends on where you are flying from. The most comfortable options out of EU are of course Lufthansa, Emirates, KLM and (I personally adore for a stunning service) Qatar Airways. However, if you are going to buy a one-way ticket, these may not be the most optimal.
As I wrote in Dubai visa post, it is better to fly to the city your visa issued by (shouldn’t really matter if you can buy a visa upon arrival).
Qatar Airways Plane
Temporary accommodation in Dubai
Check your contract if you’ve got a temporary accommodation for the period you will be securing a place to live.
While you are looking for an apartment, you will have to stay somewhere.
- If you have to pay yourself, then it can be a good idea to stay with friends if there are any, or to try to rent an apartment for a month.
- If the company pays for you, I would stay in a serviced apartment. There are a lot of such in Dubai. Just google them.
My move to Dubai
The company I work for uses Crown Relocations and Interdean, whatever is cheaper in a particular case, to ship employees’ personal stuff overseas. I had to collect quotations from both companies and provide them to HR.
- Crown sounded very professionally on the phone, they followed up everything, and I really liked the attitude.
- Interdean sent a lady to my home to assess the amount of stuff to move. I requested an appointment after working hours and they did it. It was very convenient; I really appreciate when service companies stick to your schedule not theirs. She came on time, had a look at the stuff, took notes and calculated approximate volume. It was almost precisely correct at the end.
At the end, Interdean quotation was cheaper, so they were chosen.
Three movers came to my apartment 5 minutes earlier than the booking time and finished in less than an hour with about 10 boxes. They packed everything themselves, including all the kitchen ware, dishes, electronics and even the washing machine using bubble wrap, paper and their own boxes as I didn’t have the stock package. After that I signed an invoice and they disappeared.
The stuff was shipped by sea-freight. The container had arrived a couple of days before I moved in my apartment in Dubai. Interdean hasn’t got a branch in Dubai, so another company called Writer Relocations delivered the shipment. They arrived on time and brought all the stuff into the apartment. Unpacking was also a part of the deal but I refused. Instead I checked a couple of boxes with the most fragile things (dishes and electronics). Nothing had been broken! That part of move was simply perfect.
I moved from Brussels and the only one-way option that was cheap enough was Turkish Airways via Istanbul. Can’t say that I really liked the journey, but that mostly relates to the fact that the plane was full. Service was fairly good.
With my contract, I was entitled with 1 month stay in an Angsana serviced apartment which was quite nice – a fourty something floors brand new building on Sheikh Zayed Road with a pool on the roof and free shuttle buses to Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates. We weren’t bored there. Although, Angsana was nice, it has gone bankrupt recently. So, you will have to find another place to stay at.
Angsana Living Room
Angsana Bedroom
Angsana Kitchen
November 18th, 2009
Do you have any views about whether Dubai or Qatar is better for an expat family to move to? we have three daughters and two of them are teenagers.
Thanks
Hi Gabrielle. Dubai definitely offers much more attractions for a teenager. It is actually the most exciting city among GCC ‘pearls’.
Thank you so much for this website! Our family may be moving to Dubai. I have been reading everything I can and have some background in the Islamic culture as I grew up on an oil compound in Dhahran in the 1980s. We have three daughters, two of whom are pre-teens. My husband has always held their hands, given hugs, and kisses on the cheek. He is concerned that this might be against the law in Dubai. Do you know the extent of the law regarding public affection? Does it apply to parents and their children at a certain age?
Thank you so much!
Holly
Hi Holly,
Indeed public affection is not allowed. Not sure if father-daughter relations are also regulated by that. Keep in mind that rules in Dubai may be very applied inconsistently. If I were you, I would try not to do such things that may be considered inappropriate.