# Looking to relocate to the Middle East. Seeking advice.



## ollyfinn (Jul 24, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I work in the Oil and Gas industry and I am looking at starting the process of applying for jobs in the Middle East. I looking for answers to a few questions and would be grateful of any help.

To give a bit of background information I am an unmarried man, I co-habit with my girlfriend in the UK, neither of us have any kind of criminal record, neither of us have any bad credit history or debts and we both currently work full time. No children but planning to start trying for a baby soon. The one questionable issue is that my girlfriend is still married to somebody else and is waiting for a 2 year separation to end before getting a divorce. This has approximately 12 more months to run. We want to relocate together and want to know what our options are. 

Anyone got any comments if I had an offer of work in UAE and had the following circumstances?

Scenario 1

Me not married
Girlfriend NOT yet divorced
Girlfriend with no job offer

Would she be able to come out to live with me at all if i financially supported us both? 

Scenario 2

Me not married
Girlfriend DIVORCED
Girlfriend with no job offer

Would she be able to come out to live with me at all if i financially supported us both?

Scenario 3

Me not married
Girlfriend divorced
Girlfriend also with a job offer

Scenario 4

Me and my girlfriend married
Only me with a job offer

Scenario 5 (Guess this would be perfect situation but the longest to get sorted!)

Me and girlfriend married
Both of us with job offer

I know this is all very vague but without going into a lot of personal details my girlfriends divorce from her husband could be brought forward if required its just more amicable for her to go via the two year separation route.

I am trying to get all possibilities straight in my head before submitting any applications and declaring my current situation to any prospective employers.

Any info or advice would be gratefully received.

Also how would having a child or preganant girlfriend affect any of the above scenarios?

Thanks,

Olly


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## Artrat (Jul 2, 2010)

Scenario 1: You will not be able to sponsor her, she will have to come on a tourist visa, which I believe is renewable indefinitely by doing an Oman visa run (assuming British passport). Please bear in mind that cohabiting with a member of the opposite sex who is not immediate family is illegal. Many people do it, but there are serious consequences if caught. Adultery is also illegal, although it's unlikely that they will care about (or even be aware of) a marriage not registered in the UAE, to a partner not in the the UAE. 

Scenario 2: As above, minus the adultery.

Scenario 3: As above, but she will not have to do visa runs, as she will be able to get her own residence visa.

Scenario 4: No problem here as long long as you can support her. You will be able to sponsor her on your visa.

Scenario 5: No issues here. You will probably have to choose one job for the main visaholder, who can then sponsor the other spouse. (Best to use the one with the higher salary). It will affect certain things, e.g. only one of you can claim a housing allowance etc.

I would not recommend declaring anything other than scenarios 4 and 5 to a potential employer.

Also, most important, DO NOT GET HER PREGNANT!!!!!! If she has a child out wedlock she will be jailed and eventually deported. Do not, under any circumstances do this unless you're married.

Hope that helps, there are many other far more knowledgeable people on this forum who may have better advice to add.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

May I just add to Artrat's post above that in any or the unmarried scenarios, you won't be able to sponsor her for a visa so that means that unless she's got a job that sponsors her, she would have to do visa runs every month. No big deal, just the hassle, do a search here on the forum for more info.


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## ollyfinn (Jul 24, 2011)

Thanks for the info.

So basically it breaks down that cohabiting together unmarried is taking a risk and if we wanted children we certainly couldn't do it out there untill we were married. 

Can a woman with a child who gets an offer of a job in UAE relocate there or would they not let a single parent have a visa due to their views on unmarried mothers?

I guess this is the stance across much of the region. I have heard Dubai is the most lenient country but does this stance still apply there?

Looks like a career move will have to be put on hold for a while untill a divorce and a wedding can take place!!! 

Thanks, 

Olly


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## Artrat (Jul 2, 2010)

ollyfinn said:


> Thanks for the info.
> 
> So basically it breaks down that cohabiting together unmarried is taking a risk and if we wanted children we certainly couldn't do it out there untill we were married.
> 
> ...


I'm not 100% sure on this, so hopefully someone else will answer too, but a single parent, male or female, *can* live and work in the UAE without any problems, as long as the child has already been born.

There may be a requirement to show proof of divorce though, but I'm not sure.


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## mgb (Sep 6, 2008)

ollyfinn said:


> Thanks for the info.
> 
> So basically it breaks down that cohabiting together unmarried is taking a risk and if we wanted children we certainly couldn't do it out there untill we were married.
> 
> ...


note: Dubai is not a country, it is one of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is seen as the "flashiest" emirate, and the city itself is very cosmopolitan and has lots of western influence. Abu Dhabi is the largest and richest emirate, and that is where many of the oil jobs are based.

Single parents can sponsor their children, but they have to jump through a few extra beauracratic hoops to make it happen.

You are best to wait til you are married, it will make life so very much easier for you.  If your g/f did get pregnant while co-habiting with you here, you would have to get her out of the country asap, as she may not be able to get pre-natal care etc without an attested marriage certificate. And if she gave birth here whilst unmarried, then she, and possibly you are looking at jail and deportation.

Good luck for your move when the time is right


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