# Moving to Dubai -Dentist and C.A.



## themariel1 (Apr 5, 2014)

Hi,
I want to ask you what should I expect if
I'll move to Dubai with my husband.

I' m a Canadian dentist with 5 years of experience, I speak three languages fluently and I started the DHA license application and waiting for the exam.

In Canada:
I earn around 150k USD per year (80k after tax), my husband ( who is a chartered accountant) earn 65k (36k after taxes). Our rent is 17k per year and our cars location fee are around 7000$ per year
We don't have children and not planning to have soon.

In UAE:

What would we expect as a salary?
Is it easy to find a job for both of us?
Is it worthing the move?
I know that rent is the most expensive expense there but is there any suggestion about nice and not that expensive neighborhoods.
Should I start looking for a job or I should wait my DHA license?
What's the best method to find a job? (Internet, head hunters, sending CVs to clinics...)?


Can You please help me answering those questions?

Thank you so much.,,


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## mehranR (Jul 27, 2013)

themariel1 said:


> Hi, I want to ask you what should I expect if I'll move to Dubai with my husband. I' m a Canadian dentist with 5 years of experience, I speak three languages fluently and I started the DHA license application and waiting for the exam. In Canada: I earn around 150k USD per year (80k after tax), my husband ( who is a chartered accountant) earn 65k (36k after taxes). Our rent is 17k per year and our cars location fee are around 7000$ per year We don't have children and not planning to have soon. In UAE: What would we expect as a salary? Is it easy to find a job for both of us? Is it worthing the move? I know that rent is the most expensive expense there but is there any suggestion about nice and not that expensive neighborhoods. Should I start looking for a job or I should wait my DHA license? What's the best method to find a job? (Internet, head hunters, sending CVs to clinics...)? Can You please help me answering those questions? Thank you so much.,,


There are two authorities in Dubai that can issue a dental license. DHA which allows you to practice in Dubai, DHCC which allows you to practice in healthcare city. DHCC is a fairly simple process and you can obtain your degree within 60 days, however DHA is very unpredictable and I know of people that have been waiting close to a year (including myself) and no one knows/ tells you what the hold up is. This is something you should get used to here, sometimes things don't make sense and it is what it is. 
Expecting salary is $5k-10K. For American/ Canadian trained and passport holder dentists it will be 8-10k. Finding a job is not very easy and recommendations from friends in UAE always helps.
Definitely wait for your license first as you never know how long it will take, also they are changing rules and regulation to make one license for the whole country and it should become effective soon, you could apply for your DHA license in DHA.gov.ae
I personally don't think you will make more money here since the cost f living is very high and increasing as I am typing this post. Unfortunately most apartments will charge the whole year rent in 1-2 checks which could put a strain on bank accounts. 
You could be more profitable in US/canada. 
My reason for making the move was to be closer to family and it cost me a huge paycut, about 1/4 of what I was making in US as I owned my own practice.
You will not need to pay taxes for Canada if you don't use Canadian benefits, but that doesn't mean that you will be saving a ton of money.

With all this said, I still like Dubai because it is a safe place to live. 

Good luck with the decision 
You could PM me if you have specific questions.


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## themariel1 (Apr 5, 2014)

mehranR said:


> There are two authorities in Dubai that can issue a dental license. DHA which allows you to practice in Dubai, DHCC which allows you to practice in healthcare city. DHCC is a fairly simple process and you can obtain your degree within 60 days, however DHA is very unpredictable and I know of people that have been waiting close to a year (including myself) and no one knows/ tells you what the hold up is. This is something you should get used to here, sometimes things don't make sense and it is what it is.
> Expecting salary is $5k-10K. For American/ Canadian trained and passport holder dentists it will be 8-10k. Finding a job is not very easy and recommendations from friends in UAE always helps.
> Definitely wait for your license first as you never know how long it will take, also they are changing rules and regulation to make one license for the whole country and it should become effective soon, you could apply for your DHA license in DHA.gov.ae
> I personally don't think you will make more money here since the cost f living is very high and increasing as I am typing this post. Unfortunately most apartments will charge the whole year rent in 1-2 checks which could put a strain on bank accounts.
> ...


Thank you so much for your answers.
I will wait for my DHA license and I will take my decision after.
Do you have any idea what's the kind of their examination?
Is it like canadian/american board? NBDE 1 or 2 or both?
Thank you again


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## mehranR (Jul 27, 2013)

I didn't have to take any exams as I already had DHCC license, however you will need to complete an assessment with DHA and I was told that it is just about general dentistry.


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## JJEFFERY (Jul 31, 2013)

Can't speak about the dentist, but I am also a CA. Competition here is very high, with a lot of people applying for the same job. It depends on his specific experience, but it might take him a while to find a job. It took me about 3 months, and I did take a pay cut. However, if your husband is willing to wait it out, then he could probably expect around the same salary as in Canada, depending on the industry (but it might take a while to find something, so that could be financially constraining). 
As MehranR said, even though you don't have to pay taxes if you emigrate from Canada and are non-resident, the cost of living here is relatively high. Cost of accommodation is higher than I paid in Canada (it's around $36k CAD per year for a furnished one bed, nothing fancy, but in a nice area). Also, consumer goods are often more expensive. So financially, it's my opinion that it might not be worth it for you. But there are other reasons to live here. It is safe. Also, there are plenty of places to travel within an 8 hour flight, which is nice. 
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions!


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## themariel1 (Apr 5, 2014)

Thanks both of you.
It's really appreciated.
It's harder than what I thought.
I wanted to move to try something new before having kids.
I loved Dubai as a tourist and wanted to live there for few years. But it doesn't seem easy.

So We'll both keep our jobs in Canada and see what's going to happen with Dubai.


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