More and more families want to emigrate to Dubai and the metropolis on the Arabian Gulf has become increasingly family-friendly in recent years. This can also be seen in the construction projects. More and more houses and terraced houses are being built.
But how do you emigrate to Dubai as a family? Everything about the requirements, the exact process, the costs and more in this comprehensive guide.
Prerequisites
The UAE is one of the easiest countries to emigrate to. The requirements and prerequisites are relatively simple and straightforward. Below is an overview of the most important points.
Residence permit
The first and most important point is the residence permit, also known as a visa. There are numerous ways to obtain a visa for yourself and your family. The most common options are Founding a company in Dubai, employment through an employer or purchase of a property for the maintenance of the Golden VISA.
Employment VISA must be renewed every 2 years and the process is relatively straightforward. The Golden VISA via Investment, on the other hand, lasts for 10 years. Depending on whether you are an entrepreneur or purely an investor, you can decide which route is more suitable. In most cases, however, many choose to set up a company.
Financial resources
The second point is, of course, the financial means required to live as a family in the UAE. The Cost of living in Dubai are definitely higher than in Germany, Austria or other European countries. Basically, it only makes sense to emigrate to Dubai with your family if you have an income of €7,000 - €8,000 or more. This is because school, insurance and all other amenities have to be paid for privately.
No problem for high earners, of course, because they still don't pay any tax on income. Taxes in Dubai.
English
A logical point to mention, however, is a solid base of English. Only those who speak the language will really be able to live in Dubai. Arabic, on the other hand, is not necessary. There are over 80% expats living in Dubai and most of them do not speak Arabic.
Procedure
The procedure for emigrating to Dubai with your family must be followed, otherwise there may be problems obtaining the VISA or Emirates ID. The following is a step-by-step guide for successful emigration to Dubai.
Deregistration
The step is the clean deregistration in the home country. This affects many aspects, including the rental agreement, registration office, tax office via tax advisor, car, insurance and more. One of the most important points for entrepreneurs and investors is also the exit tax that may apply to hidden reserves. This must be taken into account or planned in advance with a local tax advisor.
Health insurance
Once you have canceled your previous health insurance policies for yourself and your family, you need to take out new ones. This is not only recommended but also mandatory. Because if you live in the UAE, you are obliged to pay for your private health insurance. Basically, you can choose between local health insurance and international health insurance. Depending on whether or how much you are traveling, you should decide which makes more sense.
A comprehensive guide to the Health insurance in Dubai is here.
Residence visa
The most important point, as mentioned above in the requirements, is the visa. Depending on the type of visa, the first part of the process is slightly different. Briefly mentioned are the most important individual points:
- Golden VISA: For this, you need confirmation of a prepaid, financed or fully paid property via a so-called Onooq or DLD statement to confirm ownership. You can then submit this via the website dldcube.com. When you receive the confirmation, you can proceed to part 2.
- Company formation: If you opt for the popular option of setting up a company in Dubai, you must first incorporate the company. After successful incorporation, you can apply for employment through your own company and once this is approved, you move on to part 2.
Now to the second part, which is the same for everyone, regardless of which visa type you have chosen. This must take place on site in Dubai and usually takes 1 week.
- Medical Check: The medical test in Dubai is mandatory, takes only 30 minutes in the express procedure including waiting time. This involves a short lung X-ray and a blood test to check for highly infectious diseases such as polio. This is not a problem for most people from Europe.
- Emirates ID Application: You then go to a typing center with the "FIT" test result that you received after the medical test. This is where you apply for your Emirates ID.
- Biometrics: With the Emirates ID application form and the test result, you now have to go to another official biometrics facility. Here, biometric fingerprints are taken and stored on the Emirates ID.
Depending on how well the process is planned, the second part can be completed in 3 working days. We naturally support our customers in this.
Emirates ID
Subsequently, the Emirates IDthe most important identification document in Dubai. With this document you can open accounts, rent real estate or buy cars. More on this in a moment.
Visa Sponsoring
Only once you have received the Emirates ID yourself can you sponsor your family or enable them to obtain a residence visa. The following documents must be submitted and certified at the embassy in your home country and at the MOFA (foreign affairs authority).
- Birth certificate for children
- Marriage certificate for spouses
After the documents have been certified by the respective authorities, they must be translated into Arabic.
Part 2 is then repeated here as above with Medical Check, Emirates ID Application and Biometrics. Only children do not have to do a medical check and biometrics. However, Emirates ID is always issued.
Account opening
As soon as you have received your Emirates ID, you are fully eligible to do business and travel in the UAE. This means that you can also Open an account locally in Dubai. Depending on your requirements, banks such as Mashreq, FAB, ENBD or the fintech WIO are generally recommended for this.
Real estate
Of course, you also need the right property to emigrate to or live in Dubai. There are several things to consider when looking for one. Both in terms of buying and renting.
The first point is that you should always make sure that the right residential area in Dubai to choose for yourself. If you are unsure, you should generally spend the first few weeks or months in an airbnb and change from time to time to get to know different areas.
Then you have to find the right broker. In general, everything in Dubai runs through brokers, so you can't get past them. But that's a good thing, because ideally they ensure that everything runs smoothly. To ensure that this is the case, you should only work with reputable agencies. These include, among others:
- Fäm Properties
- house&house
- DrivenProperties
- Union Square House
This gives you the certainty that you will really receive a professional service and clean processing.
School
If you come to Dubai with children and do not teach them privately at home, you will have to find a school accordingly. There are many Schools in Dubaisome of which are public, but most are private. Public schools are generally only free for Emirates and are taught in Arabic. As an expat, you will therefore usually end up at a private school.
However, Dubai offers very good internationally recognized private schools that provide an excellent education. These include, among others:
- Swiss International School
- GEMS Wellington
- German International School
- Repton School
- American Academy
The topic is of course individual and you should look at the schools individually and weigh them up. You can also use the KHDA rating to help you decide. This can be found at: https://web.khda.gov.ae/en/Education-Directory/schools.
Costs
The cost of emigrating to Dubai as a family basically depends on two aspects.
First: logistics and transportation. How much do you want to take with you from your home country?
Secondly, the number of visas. How big is the family and how many visas do you need and what type of visa (gold VISA, company, employment...) do you apply for yourself. This question must always be weighed up individually.
Summary
More and more families are emigrating to Dubai and for good reason. The city has become increasingly family-friendly in recent years and offers excellent educational opportunities and infrastructure for expats.
If you want to emigrate with your family, you have several options. First of all, however, you need a visa or an Emirates ID for yourself. Without this, you cannot sponsor a visa for family members. The requirements for this are a job, company foundation or investment. As well as the official process on site with medical test, Emirates ID and biometrics.
The costs are highly individual and depend on how much you take with you and how many visas you actually need.
