# Living in Dubai, Working in India



## LondonAVB (Mar 3, 2012)

Greetings,

I am a Brit currently working as an Expat in India (Delhi). I have been here 18 months but my family didn't like it so they live back in the UK which is hard for us. I have the opportunity to extend my assignment here in India which will be good career wise but will not be able to do that without the family. Having visited Dubai a few times was wondering what the practicalities would be of locating the family (wife + children 6 & 7) in Dubai and then me working in India Monday-Friday and commuting back to Dubai at the weekend. 

The company will pick up most of the costs of housing and schooling but wondered if anybody else did this sort of arrangement. It seems far more favourable than what we have been doing for the past 18 months where I only get home every 2-3 months. 

Any views on whether this would work out? 

Thanks


----------



## Dozza (Feb 17, 2009)

LondonAVB said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I am a Brit currently working as an Expat in India (Delhi). I have been here 18 months but my family didn't like it so they live back in the UK which is hard for us. I have the opportunity to extend my assignment here in India which will be good career wise but will not be able to do that without the family. Having visited Dubai a few times was wondering what the practicalities would be of locating the family (wife + children 6 & 7) in Dubai and then me working in India Monday-Friday and commuting back to Dubai at the weekend.
> 
> ...


Its not as simple as that

How will you get your family a visa? Without a visa they would have to do a visa run every 30 days.

Without a visa, you cannot rent a house/apartment.

Schooling in Dubai is expensive, so you would need to check exactly how much they are going to pay towards this......Again - With no visa they cannot go to the schools

The list goes on, your main issue here is having a UAE residence visa for you & your family.


----------



## LondonAVB (Mar 3, 2012)

Dozza said:


> Its not as simple as that
> 
> How will you get your family a visa? Without a visa they would have to do a visa run every 30 days.
> 
> ...


Cheers. What's involved in getting a residence visa? Do you need to be employed in Dubai to get one? 

The schools don't seem expensive from what I have seen on web. Less than UK and similar to India so shouldn't be a problem.


----------



## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Maybe look at Oman.


----------



## RoBombay (Jan 1, 2011)

LondonAVB said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I am a Brit currently working as an Expat in India (Delhi). I have been here 18 months but my family didn't like it so they live back in the UK which is hard for us. I have the opportunity to extend my assignment here in India which will be good career wise but will not be able to do that without the family. Having visited Dubai a few times was wondering what the practicalities would be of locating the family (wife + children 6 & 7) in Dubai and then me working in India Monday-Friday and commuting back to Dubai at the weekend.
> 
> ...


Why don't you consider moving your family elsewhere in India? Mumbai and Bangalore have sizeable expat communities and much more 'outsider friendly' compared to Delhi. Plus there are international schools Will make it easier for you to see them as well.


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

RoBombay said:


> Why don't you consider moving your family elsewhere in India? Mumbai and Bangalore have sizeable expat communities and much more 'outsider friendly' compared to Delhi. Plus there are international schools Will make it easier for you to see them as well.


Not sure about Bangalore but if they didn't like New Delhi, I highly doubt they will enjoy the noise, traffic and pollution of Mumbai.

@the OP: Unless you or your wife as a residence visa in Dubai, they will not be able to live here. They will need to do visa runs but your kids won't be able to go to school etc. So perhaps your wife needs to look for a job in Dubai, that way she can sponsor the kids?


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

LondonAVB said:


> The schools don't seem expensive from what I have seen on web. Less than UK and similar to India so shouldn't be a problem.


What school have you been looking at in Dubai that is similar to India? I'm paying nearly USD 10,000/- for my son who is in KG2! With that amount, I can sponsor an entire classroom in India!

Schooling is expensive in Dubai, at least the good schools are. I recommend you do a bit more research into this.


----------



## RoBombay (Jan 1, 2011)

pamela0810 said:


> I'm paying nearly USD 10,000/- for my son who is in KG2!


*shock and awe*


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Dubai International Academy

Fees : : GEMS Wellington International School

Bradenton Preparatory Academy, Dubai

Just to give the OP an idea, here are the fees for 3 of the better schools in Dubai. There are plenty more but this should give you a fair idea of what the school fees are like.


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Naval R said:


> I would suggest to shift your family to India to avoid costly weekend due to frequent traveling to Dubai. You can locate your family to a hustle and bustle free locality of the chosen city. If you don't like crowd and noise level you can stay put in the apartment.


If you read the original post properly, you will see that the OP's family did live in India but didn't like it there. So they moved back to the UK.

Also, what sort of advice is telling someone to "stay put" in the apartment? Is that what you would do to your wife and kids? Keep them locked indoors because they don't like the crowd and noise?


----------



## gunner (Dec 20, 2010)

LondonAVB said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I am a Brit currently working as an Expat in India (Delhi). I have been here 18 months but my family didn't like it so they live back in the UK which is hard for us. I have the opportunity to extend my assignment here in India which will be good career wise but will not be able to do that without the family. Having visited Dubai a few times was wondering what the practicalities would be of locating the family (wife + children 6 & 7) in Dubai and then me working in India Monday-Friday and commuting back to Dubai at the weekend.
> 
> ...


@OP you can probably look at the option of moving your family to Chandigarh its a neat, quiet place. You don't have the hassles of a metro city and you get all the facilities like good schools, malls, places to go out etc. I have got a couple of friends living there who moved from Mumbai and they certainly are loving it there. A nice place to live with your family with posh villas, greenery, not so crazy traffic etc.

You could at least go and visit the city I am sure you will find it different than the metros of India. Plus its very close to Delhi


----------



## indoMLA (Feb 6, 2011)

Naval R said:


> I would suggest to shift your family to India to avoid costly weekend due to frequent traveling to Dubai. You can locate your family to a hustle and bustle free locality of the chosen city. *If you don't like crowd and noise level you can stay put in the apartment.*


ound: You're my hero....


----------



## Welsh_lady (Aug 20, 2011)

Like others have said you need a visa for schools, to rent and open bank accounts etc. The only way I can think of to get one (with out a job) is to open a free zone company, I know people who have this to obtain visas and live here. Costs are something like 7,000 GBP set up and 1-2,000 GBP every year after. I've not done it so don't know much more than that, but may be an option for you to look into.


----------



## Guest (Mar 4, 2012)

Hi 
I suggest you approach a lawyer and check all the option you have available to get a Dubai visa for you family .(Their might be a possibility )
I gather your family does not want to live in India so Dubai would be an excellent option we have a huge british community here.It would be easier on them to ease into
the commute is only 3 hours from Delhi to Dubai so easier for you to fly on friday and be back at work on sunday (2 to 3 days a week with you family - great !)
However you might want to check for schools prices again as it is expensive not close to india school prices but then again your company will cover the lot so no worries there either.
If you can get a visa for your family then this would be a better option.
Good luck 



LondonAVB said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I am a Brit currently working as an Expat in India (Delhi). I have been here 18 months but my family didn't like it so they live back in the UK which is hard for us. I have the opportunity to extend my assignment here in India which will be good career wise but will not be able to do that without the family. Having visited Dubai a few times was wondering what the practicalities would be of locating the family (wife + children 6 & 7) in Dubai and then me working in India Monday-Friday and commuting back to Dubai at the weekend.
> 
> ...


----------



## LondonAVB (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks everybody for the help. There is no way my family will come back to India I am afraid. Just too many things didn't work out. The dirt, poverty, lack of independence (dependant on driver), poor schools (they are international in name only but very Indian) etc. 

I assumed it wasn't necessary to get a visa just to live in Dubai so that makes things more difficult. I'll speak to my company to see if they can employ me in Dubai (they have a presence there as well) or something in order to get a visa. Apart from that it seems more and more attractive so I don't want to give up just yet.


----------



## LondonAVB (Mar 3, 2012)

pamela0810 said:


> What school have you been looking at in Dubai that is similar to India? I'm paying nearly USD 10,000/- for my son who is in KG2! With that amount, I can sponsor an entire classroom in India!
> 
> Schooling is expensive in Dubai, at least the good schools are. I recommend you do a bit more research into this.


The American School in Delhi is US$17,000/pa for KG through grade 5. This is the only school in Delhi that is not predominately Indian.


----------



## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

You could look into buying property in Dubai to get a visa.


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

LondonAVB said:


> The American School in Delhi is US$17,000/pa for KG through grade 5. This is the only school in Delhi that is not predominately Indian.


That is ridiculous! I studied in a convent school, completely Indian and my parents certainly didn't pay that much but I'm quite sure my Catholic private school, with all it's teachers is still better than this American School with that fee.

I can empathise with your family, that's why so many Indians (that can afford to) leave India. I second Wanda's advice, look into buying property in Dubai. Your wife and kids will like it here and you will be close enough to visit them often.


----------

