Working and Living in Dubai

There are 3 ways I know that one can enter Dubai:

1. Transit Visa- 48 hours visa that is usually used by business travellers having a short stop in Dubai for a connecting flight.
2. Visit Visa- the most popular type of visa for tourists and job hunters alike. Usually is valid for two months and is renewable.
3. Resident visa- stamped to passports owned by people who are being sponsored either by a company (like me) or by husband/father (both are subject to salary range)
This type of visa is usually valid for three years and renewable.

The most common industry Filipinos here can be seen is the Hospitality industry- hotels, restaurants, clubs, golf courses, salons. Filipinos are very warm, friendly and always smiles...characteristics that even foreigners can testify.

We also have engineers, accountants, administrators who works in oil and gas, blue chip companies and we have a few designers, architects and teachers. Few are in the medical industry like ob-gynes, pediatricians but most are nurses.

Dubai is not America. One cannot come here to work in various establishments on part-time basis. If you are sponsored by a company, you can only work for them. If the company gets to know that you are having a "sideline" to another company, they can easily cancel your resident visa and put a ban on you. Then it is time to head back home.
We have here what we call sponsorship transfer. As I have experienced, if after serving a year or two, depending upon your contract, you can resign, receive gratuity and ask for NOC (No Objection Certificate) from your employer so that the new company you will be joining will be the one to process your visa under the new company's sponsorship.

If you are on husband's or father's visa, life is much easier because you can get work easily because the company does not need to spend money on your sponsorship. And if you are not happy, you do not need NOC from the employer. Drawbacks are, if your husband or father gets terminated or resigns from the company sponsoring them, your visa is the first to be cancelled. And the second is, this type of visa is under the condition of salary range as assigned by the UAE government.

Proliferation of Filipinos on visit visa today is really high. So high as their hopes of having a better life. But i guess, there is a wrong perception of Dubai in Philippines. The proof of increasing cases of sex slaves, abused domestic helpers, and "takas" ( Dubai's version of TNT).

Looking for a Job

I can say that I have been approached by so many kabayans on visit visa asking where the HR is located or where they can look for jobs. I directly reply to them that i suggest that they go back home and look for a job via a legit agency than waste time looking for a job here. Why???? Let me set a scenario.

"Baby is on a visit visa. She got here in Dubai out of the concerned help of a cousin. Baby bought the plane ticket and sent money to her cousin here in Dubai so that she can process her visit visa. Baby's cousin lives in Satwa, Dubai. She is a bedspacer that pays AED 800.00 inclusive of water and electricity per month and shares a room with 3 more girls. It is a double decker bed. Two of these will accommodate 4. Luckily, one space will be vacated. So Baby was informed that her accommodation will not be a problem. She just needs to budget AED 800.00 for two months ( the validity of her visit visa) and some extra for food, transport,and other essentials.
Baby arrives in Dubai. She was fetched by her cousin using a car lift (a privately owned car used to earn money by the owner, illegally). This is a cheaper option that get a cab from the airport.
Baby settles then in Satwa with her cousin occupying the upper bed. She places her clothes in a tiny square space inside a single cabinet and hangs some of her "office suits" in a zipped up plastic tokador. She rounds up the nearest vicinity within Satwa and learns bus routes ( basic is AED 1.50, the farther your trip, of course, additional fee), nearest supermarkets where she can buy instant noodles, coffee, bread and some occasional pork for that sinigang craving.
Baby started looking for a job.She looked in the ads, but was disappointed as the ads say: "Wanted Secretary, AED 10k + benefits Required: Native English Speaker". She browsed in the internet (AED 3.00 per hour) and she visited offices by using the bus.
Two months had passed and still no job. But there is an option. She can extend her visit visa for a fee (am not sure if it will be around AED 350.00) for another month.
After a month, still no job. Again, there is an option. She can exit Dubai and go anywhere and be back to Dubai. Cheapest, most popular option for this one is going to Kish( there is a package of plane ticket, accommodation and food while waiting for your visit visa to Dubai, another fee again). When Baby comes back from Kish, she will be having a visit visa again for two months. And in these two months, fingers crossed, hopefully, she will be able to find a job. And if her savings from Phils. be gone, she has a choice- to go home in Phils or to be a "takas".

If you are looking for a job in Dubai via a legit agency back in Phils. just calculate your expenses if you are still in the Phils. And I believe, the best thing that this situation contributes is that you are not forced to sign the contract and you will be able to have a good research if the salary being offered is reasonable enough for you to leave home. If you are earning quite good in Phils, calculate the taxes deducted, giving you a net income. Compare your expenses if you are living in the Phils and if you are living in Dubai. Calculate the savings, if there is any. If the difference is not that big, why would you settle for the first offer you're gonna get? Apply to other companies offered by the agency until you find a job that suits your goals.

This is the situation a visit visa holder on a job hunt purpose cannot afford to have. The first goal of a visit visa holder is to find a job in less than 2 months.
And employers here know that. Some were being promised that they will be sponsored by the company and after two months, the employer will say that they are no longer interested for your service due to poor performance.. etc. And there you are, expiring visa and a definite need to extend, exit or go home.

There are so many Babys in Dubai. Not only our kabayans but this also happens to Indians, Pakistans, Nepalese, Chinese.

Though there are some who are lucky enough to have a job and does not have to go through what Baby had experienced.

Sabi nga nila, "Ang kapalaran ni Pedro ay hindi kapalaran ni Juan."


Signing the Job Contract

If you gained your job via a legit agency from Philippines or if you have successfully gained a job here in Dubai, there is always a stage for a contract to be signed.

Again, another advantage if you got a job via a legit agency in Phils. You will not feel hurried to decide.

What does a contract include:

Position/Job Title
Salary- is it all inclusive(meaning the food, transpo and accommodation is already included but not provided by the company), so you have to look for a place to live and settle and budget your salary accdg to your needs. e.g. AED6k per month all in
- or it will just state AED 6k per month

Transportation- e.g. AED 500.00 per month or it will state, included in the salary quote
Accommodation- to be provided by company. If it is provided, will it be sharing (how many people in a room) or solo / or included in salary quote
Food- to be provided/or included in salary quote
Medical- company provided
Annual leave- will the ticket(two way) be provided by the company? How many days?
Is it convertible to cash?
Duration of contract
Visa- who will provide? if provided by company, is it deductible to your monthly salary?
These are the basic concerns if you are considering a contract to be signed.
In addition, be aware of some inclusions or clauses like you cannot transfer to a competitor company.
Emergency leave/Maternity Leave

Living in Dubai

The cost of living in Dubai is high.

Accommodation:

Bedspace- approx AED 800.00 per month inclusive of utilities
Sharing room- good for couples, partitioned by either big cabinets or curtains, approx AED 1,500.00/per month + utilities cost divided by the number of occupants
Sharing a flat- AED 2,500 per month + utilities
Some flats are being rented by fellow kabayans. She will be your landlord. She can give post dated cheques to the real landlord and she is the one signing the tenancy contract. Now it is up to her, how much she will charge to her "tenants" per room.
Depends, meaning if she wants to earn by letting others rent the rooms or simply just to be able to have a room for "free". For example, Trina and her husband has rented a 3 bedroom flat with one sharing bathroom and 1 sharing kitchen for AED 60,000 per year. The couple signed the contract issued by the real landlord and at the same time pays via cheques post dated. AED 5000 per month (60000/12 months).
There are 3 bedrooms- AED 1666.67 per room per month (5000/3 rooms).Now if Trina and her husband just wants a decent place to live and be able to sustain it, they will just let their own tenants to pay AED 1666.67 per month for one room. But if they want to stay for "free", their room which cost AED 1666.67 will be divided to two (because there are only 2 rooms for occupation) and be added to the tenant's rent, thus AED 1666.67/2 tenants= AED 833.35. AED 833.35 + AED 1666.67 = AED 2500. Trina's own tenants should pay her AED 2500 per month each. This may increase if the couple decides to make a "business" out of the situation. Then the utilities will be divided to the number of occupants per month. With this scenario, I am sure the couple will chose their occupants to be couples as well for there is only 1 sharing bathroom, and that the couples must be both working so that the utilities will be low. So if you will be one of Trina's tenants, you have to budget at least AED 4000 per month for your living allowance.

Utilities expense depends on how your flatmates uses it. If they iron clothes just before wearing them, so it means they use the iron everyday. If your flatmates have a computer and kills himself playing games all night. And the most brutal is if your flatmates uses the A/C non stop esp. during summer months, and am sure you will too.

Of course, once you find a place to stay, you should buy your bed, cabinets, pillows, linens, toiletries and some form of entertainment if you cannot live without a radio cum CD player or TV. Here in Dubai, there are lots of second hand furnitures, particularly in Karama and Deira.

Or for a more sosyal option, IKEA is always there.

For your food, the cost of the gas will be shared by the occupants. The cost of LPG, the smallest is around AED 50.00 for refill + you have to buy the tank (AED 150.00).
Pork is approx AED 15.00 per kilo. Bangus,tilapia, gg, approx AED 10-12 per kilo.
Garlic, onions, tomatoes, approx AED 4.00 per kilo each, depending if you are just getting the locally produced ones.
Small bread, approx AED 1.50 - 2.00 each. Fresh milk, approx AED 3.00 per liter.

Depending on the location, you should consider traffic (Dubai is worst), how many buses to take to and from work, your 3 meals a day,and of course your "padala" every month to the Phils.

All the costs here mentioned are near approximates for year 2007.
With these costs laid out, you should have a rough estimate how much you have to earn to live decently and still be able to send money back home and save for your own.

This scenario becomes fully reversed when everything is provided by the company. This is common in most hotel employers. Do not be surprised if your salary is below AED 1000 per month for a room attendant. Why?

The company provides you a place to stay, fully furnished. They have a cafeteria in your accommodation and in the hotel, usually buffet style with unlimited coffee, softdrinks and water. And an option, if you want to cook, there is a kitchen provided with the oven, stove, microwave oven, fully airconditioned with exhaust fan.
Your uniform is being laundered by the company. And they will provide washing machine and dryers for your personal clothes. They also provide leisure facilities like swimming pools, billiards, internet facilities, gym, basketball courts complete with sport equipments for volleyball, cricket, basketball, tennis, badminton and they even provide playstation and videoke. Transportation to and from work is every hour, and city shuttles everyday on popular malls. Church shuttles every Sunday for Catholics and Muslims to mosques every Fridays. And most companies provide Cable TV so your TFC is free. And you can have your a/c turned on for 24 hrs, for all you care. No electricity and water costs to pay.

So, you are earning only less than AED 800.00 per month plus tip/ service charge.
Calculate and see if you can still save with this scenario. Remember, in Dubai, your salary is tax free. If you live simply and fully use these benefits, your whole AED 800.00 is for you to either save or spend. The tips/service charge are just extras.