# Standard Expat Packages



## Ahithophel (Dec 10, 2013)

Hi folks,

Go easy on me, a newbe here. Have read here and in several places on what is standard expat packages. 

Would you consider the following as standard or am I missing something for a move to AD?

Base salary
Accommodation allowance
Transport allowance
Relocation allowance
Annual trip home (paid)
Tuition for kids (if moving with family)

I know there might be differences across industries, your thoughts and experience are warmly welcomed.

Thanks


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## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

Varies hugely from industry to industry. Try to work out the value of the whole package - or the bits of th package you would use. Eg many people with no kids here lose out as part of their package is school allowance and some employers won't convert this to something more useful...

Bear in mind too that the reason employers come up with these "allowances" is to reduce the level of end of service gratuity they are required to pay when you finish work. This is calculated as 1 month's basic salary for every year worked. There's no account taken for "allowances". It's in your interests therefore to get as much of the package as possible allocated for basic salary.

Most newbies miss this and think allowances are great..


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## Andy17 (May 30, 2013)

Ahithophel said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> Go easy on me, a newbe here. Have read here and in several places on what is standard expat packages.
> 
> ...


make sure you get good healthcare insurance for yourself and any dependents as part of the package


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## earthworm88 (Jun 14, 2013)

There are really no standard expat packages per se. As JJ mentioned, they are split into various allowances to reduce the amount of end of service gratuity when you finish your contract, so it should be viewed as a nice farewell bonus and nothing more. Where i come from, there is no such thing as end of service gratuity, so I personally won't be too hung up on the number in the basic pay unless it is ridiculously low because if something happens, they may start to mess around with the allowances (not legit, but known to happen). It is most crucial to compare the overall number you bring home to see if it makes sense to you.

Having said that, how allowances are paid can make a difference. For example, housing allowance - they could pay you one lump sum, monthly as part of your salary, pay directly to landlord (if company is signing the lease for you), or assign housing to you directly. Annual tickets - pay a standard sum (current market rate), a limited set amount, or issue you the tickets directly. If you have children or plan to have children, make sure you negotiate the education costs into the contract. 

Andy also mentioned health insurance. It is a bit tricky to know whether it is good or not until you are on it. Unless you are in a high level position where they tell you it is XXX VIP insurance package (don't be fooled by the names they come up with...they can be crap coverage too ) as there are so many different levels of coverage so it's hard to know right off unless they include an actual copy of the policy with the contract (rare!). 

If you are in the process of negotiating, besides knowing your own professional worth, you need to research how much the housing that you desire will cost you in AD so that you can factor that into your overall number. 

I guess at the end of the day, how well the negotiation goes depends on whether you are hunting or being hunted  

Best of luck. Cheers!


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## busybee2 (Aug 8, 2013)

Ahithophel said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> Go easy on me, a newbe here. Have read here and in several places on what is standard expat packages.
> 
> ...


there is no "standard" now, sometimes you get allowances sometimes all in... a lot of companies now dont give you sch fees as salaries have been cut, or costs here have gone up and salary hasnt. at the end of the day you need to work out how much money you have if that is enough to live on etc. they split the salary up because of the gratituty


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## busybee2 (Aug 8, 2013)

Andy17 said:


> make sure you get good healthcare insurance for yourself and any dependents as part of the package


company has to provide health cover on ad visa for family up to 3 children, also dxb are bringing that in too... but you have no control over this, they can swap and change all the time..... so you may have a good one one year but not the next etc.


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## Ahithophel (Dec 10, 2013)

Awesome feedback guys, the package came in this morning! Am gonna fine tune my negotiating skills.

Thanks


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