# Unmarried and moving to Dubai



## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

Hello! I'm sure everyone is sick of reading about these types of posts, but after reading forums and articles all morning I'm still not sure about what is fact or fiction. My boyfriend and I are moving to Dubai August. He has a job with a very cool, liberal American company and I have a masters in teaching so I will be seeking employment at one of the many schools. I get it, it's illegal to live together there.That isn't my question. A forum I had accessed mentioned something about residence visas. His job will pay for his apartment and he will have no problem getting a residence visa. How does this affect me? Will it be a problem for me to get a residence visa? Is it ok for me to sign on to the apartment lease too? We will be wearing rings and acting "married" as it is our plan at a later date, but wouldn't have a marriage certificate. Help


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

You would need to be sponsored by whatever company/organisation you work for. Your 'boyfriend' will NOT be able to sponsor you.

You would not be entitled to co-sign a lease, as it would indicate illegal cohabitation and no landlord would wish to take that on. Signing a lease is also only allowed by those who have full residency here.

As an educator I would hope that at the very least you would learn the correct name of the Emirate you're hoping to come out to.


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

*Unmarried couple...*

I think my main concern was being sponsored by a school and have a residence but not be able to provide them with my lease since I wouldn't be signing it. Would they need this information from me? Thanks for the info!


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

A lot of educators here, by virtue of earning lower salaries, often share accommodation and would be unable to provide a copy of a lease in their name. Unless the school is paying the full housing allowance I would not expect them to insist upon seeing a lease in your name.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

As you are not married, your husbands employer is likely to get an allowance appropriate to a single person as well, so not so much money. His visa will be categorised as single and unaccompanied. his bank account will be only in his name and while you can get a credit card off his account, you won't get cheques or a debit card. You also won't get his company to provide insurance which is a big cost here as insurers would require residency. You may well find in your search for a job, the spouse of an existing residence holder will get priority over you in the job queue as they can be employed 'without accommodation allowance' whereas your unmarried status would necessarily assume the cost of accommodation.

And don't forget that a 'cool liberal American company' cuts no ice with the Emiratis. The law is the law regardless of how 'cool' your employer is about a given subject. You will not get residency unless you have a job or are married - and your certificate of marriage must be legally attested. Nobody cares about rings.

But don't sweat it - keep yourself to yourself, don;t ever get drunk etc or have noisy parties and you'll likely be fine. Lots do it that way.


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

Thank you! Great info! So how does that work? If I get an allowance for housing and so does he? Do they check that I spend it on housing?


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## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

Lillindy said:


> Thank you! Great info! So how does that work? If I get an allowance for housing and so does he? Do they check that I spend it on housing?


In this case some schools will only provide accommodation and not any allowance as an alternative, if a school do provide any housing allowance in cash they will probably want a lease as verification and for audit purposes.

It might make more sense to use your boyfriend's allowance to stay in a hotel apartment for a while until you are working then take a lease in your name if possible, his company likely won't have staff accommodation and might be more flexible about paying any accommodation allowance as cash..

I tried to get a supplementary credit card for my wife who isn't a uae resident now and it was refused as add. Cardholder has to also have residence visa..


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

If I am only offered cash for housing can I turn it down since I couldn't provide proof? Also, if I move into a place provided by the school, would he be able to move in with me?


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## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

If you tell them you don't need housing they would more likely withhold the housing allowance for a teacher's post - if you were in company accommodation you wouldn't be allowed to cohabit with a boyfriend, but depending on location and set up they might not find out.. if you're planning to get married anyway maybe consider a registry office/civil marriage before you move to uae, and have the 'wedding' celebration you want later, life here would be a lot easier.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

As a general rule as well, its best to learn how to spell the name of the place you are going to be living in.

You focused immediately on the housing allowance and missed the insurance bit ...... thats the biggest risk here.


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

The jobs I have been looking into provide insurance, this is why I haven't mentioned it in my posts. Thank you for the reply!


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Look basically what it boils down to, is that for all intense and purposes your BF and yourself are seen as single people, will get packages as single people and just live together, with him being the lease holder on an apartment - that's it.

Obviously should you be asked to provide a tenancy agreement for any paperwork, you're unable to provide one.


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## w_man (Apr 16, 2010)

I guess what everyone else is saying is ..... It's hard to guess what kind of a scenario you'll be hit with. Every employer is different and benefits are provided with different rules and requirements. It's not impossible - people do it. 

However, being in such a situation may limit you in several areas. It may limit a particular job you are offered and are unable to take because of company policy in regards to accommodations. It may limit you on your initial move in regards to banking, visa runs etc.

I think one of the suggestions someone gave was probably the best one in my opinion. Get a civil marriage done prior to coming. Get a marriage certificate for 'paperwork reasons', get the marriage certificate attested before leaving your home country. Come here and make your life easy. Not sure how that will work out with your boyfriend's employer though as they probably made him an offer considering he's single with no extra cost. Might be worth checking if you go down this route.

Good luck!


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

A lot of women do follow boyfriends out here. 

In your situation, you will be living with your boyfriend and living off your US bank accounts/credit cards/ATM cards until you find a job. I cannot tell you how easy it will be to find something. It depends on what kind of teacher you are and your qualifications. If asked during prospective interviews just say you're currently living with friends while looking for a job. The school doesn't need to know that you're living with a boyfriend. They will only care if your status is single or married and it will be single in your case. 

Once you are hired, you will be sponsored by your employer and that will come with health insurance and so forth. Most academic employers provide accommodation, or a less valuable housing allowance in lieu. You can take the housing allowance in lieu.


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

On to a new subject... I have a nose ring. Problem?


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

I've gone ahead and edited the thread title as well as your original post. The correct spelling is DUBAI

Are you planning on teaching in a school? If yes, then you would need to adhere to their dress code which most likely includes no nose rings.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Lillindy said:


> On to a new subject... I have a nose ring. Problem?


Probably not as the dress code would probably preclude wearing it at work.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Lillindy said:


> On to a new subject... I have a nose ring. Problem?


Generally speaking no - given that many of the population are from the subcontinent and have them. From a teaching perspective - yes, because unless you're from one of those countries, where it's the norm to have them, you wouldn't be able to wear it. Piercings and visible tattoos are a no no.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Oh, and no alcohol licence .........


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

And that has stopped how many people from drinking?

Ten years in the UAE. Still don't have an alcohol licence 



twowheelsgood said:


> Oh, and no alcohol licence .........


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> And that has stopped how many people from drinking?
> 
> Ten years in the UAE. Still don't have an alcohol licence


I didn't have one for a decade. Finally got one. Can't get another one under my current sponsorship as it's a paperwork nightmare.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Tell me about it.

I actually tried to get one last year. But I'm on an AD visa and live in Dubai. I could get an alcohol license for AD but it would only be valid for drinking in AD Emirate and not Dubai Emirate and as I never drink in AD and only drink in Dubai, it defeated the purpose. 



Chocoholic said:


> I didn't have one for a decade. Finally got one. Can't get another one under my current sponsorship as it's a paperwork nightmare.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> Tell me about it.
> 
> I actually tried to get one last year. But I'm on an AD visa and live in Dubai. I could get an alcohol license for AD but it would only be valid for drinking in AD Emirate and not Dubai Emirate and as I never drink in AD and only drink in Dubai, it defeated the purpose.


I have an UAQ visa. I'd have to go to UAQ CID get an NOC, then get an NOC from the Freezone, then give all that to Dubai etc etc etc Really can't be bothered with all that running about.


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## ttdubai (Dec 28, 2015)

@Lillindy:

No offense to you, but you should maybe rethink your decision to move to Dubai if the first thing you do in this country is disregarding the laws and sneaking around regulations.

I would not be happy if I had to live a 'secret' life, pretending a marriage in front of certain people, pretending to be single in front of others etc.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Say that to the tens of thousands of cohabiting couples. 

Wouldn't it be a sight if the police ever did a raid for cohabiting couples. I can imagine the queues of thousands outside the buildings of Dubai Marina, waiting for the police vans to haul them off to jail. 

* You are correct that it is illegal and one should always be mindful of it. But in 10 years I have never heard of a cohabiting couple arrested and deported if they were not involved in some type of domestic issue or drunken fight. 



ttdubai said:


> @Lillindy:
> 
> No offense to you, but you should maybe rethink your decision to move to Dubai if the first thing you do in this country is disregarding the laws and sneaking around regulations.
> 
> I would not be happy if I had to live a 'secret' life, pretending a marriage in front of certain people, pretending to be single in front of others etc.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

TallyHo said:


> But in 10 years I have never heard of a cohabiting couple arrested and deported if they were not involved in some type of domestic issue or drunken fight.


Sadly, thats an all too common occurrence. its one of the nice things about Dubai - that public drunkenness and fighting is vanishingly small in frequency.


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## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

When it comes to side-stepping the regs, I'd always say to newbs, "do as I say, not as I do". 

After 20 years I know what I can get away with and how.


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

How much do teachers usually get paid? 
Also, I work in the Pittsburgh city schools where it's acceptable to wear my piercing.


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## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

Lillindy said:


> How much do teachers usually get paid?
> Also, I work in the Pittsburgh city schools where it's acceptable to wear my piercing.


At this point I think the best response is use the forum search function, teacher salary has been discussed many many times here.. does the yes or no to nose piercing really need more discussion? surely you can just take it out during school time.

Good luck, try not to get arrested


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

Drinking license? Do I have to obtain a certain license to drink here?


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Please use the search function on the forum. All of your questions (with the possible exception of the nose ring) have been discussed multiple times on the forum. Please also go through the stickies titled "Please read before posting...."

Thank you!


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Lillindy said:


> Drinking license? Do I have to obtain a certain license to drink here?


Yes - you need an alcohol licence to purchase and consume alcohol in Dubai.
Even visitors are supposed to get a licence to purchase alcohol from the bars of the hotel they are staying at (even though visitors can't actually obtain a licence - only people with residence visas can get one).
The alcohol shops in Dubai won't sell you alcohol without you handing over the licence - which looks like a credit card, has your photo and a microchip - that goes into a card reader every time you make a purchase (to ensure you are not buying more than your monthly allocated limit).
Cheers
Steve


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Lillindy said:


> How much do teachers usually get paid?
> Also, I work in the Pittsburgh city schools where it's acceptable to wear my piercing.


I'm sorry but this is a completely ignorant comment to make!!! You won't be in America, different rules and laws apply, get over it.

Here UNLESS you are INDIAN or from another subcontinent country where facial piercings are part of your cultural heritage, it's NOT acceptable in educational institutions. Search any of the schools and it states quite clearly what staff are expect to wear and what is not allowed.

Surprise, surprise - 'Merica ain't the be all and end all and there's a whole world outside.


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

I couldn't agree more. My first post said how absolutely clueless I was about this situation and culture. I am the first person to openly admit how ignorant I am. I really appreciate the people who have taken the time to kindly and respectfully provide information without criticizing me for my lack of knowledge. I honestly wouldn't be here asking these questions if I was "in the know" or educated in the culture. Thank you so much for this wealth of information.


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

I wish there had been internet (it didn't exist in the way it does now), google, blogs, and the numerous websites with a wealth of information when I first moved abroad!
I bought a book, Culture shock... It was useful and informative but nothing taught me more than living in the country.

Now when I move somewhere I do as much research as possible before the move as well as after the move. There are so many questions already answered if one can be bothered to search and read through pages and pages of information.

Always remember that Dubai won't be like "back home".


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

QOFE said:


> I wish there had been internet (it didn't exist in the way it does now), google, blogs, and the numerous websites with a wealth of information when I first moved abroad!
> I bought a book, Culture shock... It was useful and informative but nothing taught me more than living in the country.
> 
> Now when I move somewhere I do as much research as possible before the move as well as after the move. There are so many questions already answered if one can be bothered to search and read through pages and pages of information.
> ...


So true - when we took our first step into Bahrain, it was like stepping onto a new planet - fun but took some getting used to it. Now, we can't imagine going back to where home used to be, it's certainly not considered as home now !


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## Lillindy (Mar 28, 2016)

I was very lucky to have the Internet before moving abroad for work in Picardie, france. It wasn't a complete culture shock, as I teach French and English, but it definitely helped with the quirks!


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